The Environmental Impact Debate of Hardwood Versus Veneer

The environmental impact of planks is far greater than veneer as planks produce far greater wastes when being utilized to create furniture. Planks are sawed horizontally causing a loss of the blades width every time the log is cut, this produces a fair amount of waste in the form of saw dust which is proportional to the log’s size. The veneers are different because they are rotary cut which means they are carefully cut in a circle from the outside inward, much like a potato peeler, which produces far less waste. Think about the difference between these two processes and it is clear which one utilizes more wood from the log. Now you may be thinking at this point that veneer must have some defect for planks to be so heavily utilized today. The reason that planks are so heavily used as the character of a log is etched out of the wood by cutting it into planks; veneer retains the character it had during the time it spent as log. The weight to strength ratio on veneers is also much higher making them more stable.

Beginning in the Georgian period, furniture that was veneered was thought of as a greater quality, because of the amount of skill required to painstakingly arrange expensive veneers over throwing some boards together and saying it is furniture. This still is a relevant argument made today, some low budget furniture made of veneer has given it a poor standing in the furniture community as of late and I want to clear this issue up as it is possible to greatly help the environment by understanding it. Furniture designers first started veneers as a way to develop their style, bringing them a greater arsenal of construction methods which allowed them to use a more broad selection of rare wood types. It allowed cabinet makers to use expensive and uncommon wood that they were only available in veneers. This stays true today as some of the most attractive wood can only be found in veneers including flame mahogany and burl walnut.