Plain Slice/Flat Cut

Probably the most common way to slice a log for the production of wood veneer is plain slice, also known as flat cut as illustrated in the diagram. When producing flat cut wood veneer, the log is sliced across the grain of the wood leaving leaves or tiles that are about 6 to 10” wide. The result of this cut is a very desirable grain pattern as it combines the look of swirling cathedrals and linear straight grain.

The center part of the log or “heart” produces a cathedral of more swirl looking grain pattern while the outer part of the log yields a straighter grain. When combined they produce a resulting veneer leaf that is considered very desirable for its variety.

When slicing the log this way the resulting veneer has what is called a tight side and a loose side. This is a result of the blade traveling across the log and compressing the side that is facing towards the center of the log. This inside face of the veneer is the tight side and the side facing away from the center is considered the loose side. This is relevant to the way the leaves are layed up on a backer and which side is facing out as the two different faces will appear to vary slightly in color. Veneer sheets can be specified as tight side out or loose side out depending on preference.

Flat Cut Veneer Sheet

These leaves are then spliced together to form sheets that are typically 4 or 5 feet wide by 8 or 10 feet long. These sheets are sometimes sold in this “raw” form however, in this state, this veneer sheet is very brittle and hard to handle. For that reason more commonly the next step is to apply a backer of some type to the wood veneer sheet. The backer adds flexibility and stability to the sheet for transporting and manufacturing. A sheet with a backer can then be shipped rolled and in a box.

There are several alternative methods for slicing hardwood veneer that are typically more difficult and time consuming and therefore much more expensive. For those reasons and due to the variety of grain pattern, flat cutting wood veneer seems to have become the preferred method used by many veneer producers.

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Wood Veneer Sheets, The Rotary Cut

There are 2 main characteristics that determine the appearance of a wood veneer sheet.  The first is the way the log is actually cut and the other is how the sheet is put together, either one big sheet or separate smaller leaves that are spliced together.

There are several ways of cutting a log to produce the thin wood veneer.  One of the more common ways is called "rotary cut".  This type of cut is achieved by placing the log in a spinning lathe and allowing a long blade to move into the log, thus pealing it like a roll of toilet paper.  The veneer comes off of the log in one long sheet.  This sheet is then cut to length, usually 8 or 10 feet long, leaving a wood veneer sheet that is 4x8 or 4x10.  When this wood veneer is used in it's full form, it is referred to as a "rotary cut, whole piece face".


Though it is slightly more common to cut the original piece to size and use each sheet as a whole piece, there are other ways of creating sheets of these sizes made out of smaller pieces put together. This method is called "rotary cut, spliced face" and allows the mill to cut out defects of the long sheets of wood and splice the best remaining parts together to form a full sheet.  This is probably the least expensive way of producing full sheets of veneer wood.


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