Balance Veneer

You may know that I often work with wood veneer. I also know that some people recoil at the thought of using veneer. But when you stop and think about it, veneer is probably featured in some of your favorite furniture designs.

If you want to learn more about veneer, then check my Modern Veneered Bookcase project.

Take mid-century modern furniture, for example. Many, if not most, iconic mid-century pieces incorporate veneer in some way. It might be a drawer front, a desktop, or an entire cabinet. Often, those veneered panels are supported by a solid wood frame or base that cradles the cabinet and gives the piece its character.

One question I get asked often is whether I use a balance veneer, essentially, veneering both sides of the substrate to keep everything stable.

The answer is: almost never.

And honestly, I haven’t had any issues because of it.

One reason may be that I almost always veneer over plywood. My assumption is that the veneers already used in the plywood construction help balance the veneer I’m applying to the surface.

All the cabinets, doors, drawer fronts, and even the bookcase from my most recent post were built without a balanced veneer, and they’ve performed beautifully.

If you’ve been thinking about working with veneer for the first time, I’d encourage you to check out this simple bookcase project. It looks great, it’s genuinely useful, and you’ll learn all the fundamentals you need to start veneering like a pro.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one.

Jon