The use of veneer is much older than most people think. A lot of people associate veneers with elegant rococo furniture from the time of Louis XV, in the mid of the 18th century. But veneer was used already in the ancient Egypt, 2000 BC.
Veneering can transform a simple cabinet door into a glamorous piece of furniture, sometimes even turning it into a piece of art. Veneering declined in the 19th century, when it became possible to produce good furniture with help of machines, far cheaper and faster than had been previously possible. But veneering has recovered, thanks to improved technology. Furniture that would be extremely expensive if made of exotic woods, can be made of cheaper wood and then veneered with the expensive wood, saving a lot of money.
Veneering is a little bit like woodworking in reverse. You don’t really need any power tools. But you need a couple of special tools. A veneer press is used to press the veneer sheet down on a panel. A veneer hammer can also be used to press the veneer sheet down onto the panel. A veneer saw is used for trimming and cutting veneer. It has a curved blade to ensure clean cuts.
Ironically, using good quality particleboard is often the best choice for veneering. Particleboard does not have any grain so you can arrange the veneer on the particleboard panel any way you want. If you are using a hardwood base, you need to lay the veneer parallel to the grain.
Nowadays you have more than 200 different veneers to choose from. Some types of veneers are only available in small sizes. This means that you often need to join several small pieces. This can be tricky, rightly done the result is often eye-catching and impressive. But you see at once if it has been done badly.
Veneer sheets that are going to be matched should be cut from the same log. This gives you a set of sheets that are virtually identical. If you join sheets that have different grain patterns, the end result will seldom be good. Picking suitable grain patterns for decorative matching comes with experience. But by using mirrors you can get a reasonable preview of how the end result will look like. If you want to get an idea how a diamond match will look like, you need two mirrors. Place one mirror at a right angle to the veneer sheet and set the other mirror 90 degrees to the first mirror.