To accommodate customer requests for thicker veneers, Superior Veneer & Plywood in New Albany, Ind., added Artisan Thick Veneer, featuring 1/16” veneer faces. Species include maple, cherry, oak, alder, walnut, ash, poplar, mahogany, teak and sapele. Faces are available with paper backings or solid cores and in A, AA and rustic grades. 

“A couple of years ago we started getting more requests for something thicker than our standard veneer which is a 1/42” or 1/50” thickness, so we started looking into offering 1/16” slices and found some suppliers that slice it to that thickness. Fortunately, we have some older machinery that is capable of trimming and splicing it so it worked out perfectly,” company owner Matt Gilland says.

He describes the Artisan line as a very forgiving veneer that will withstand a host of different applications, inviting customers to explore more creative ideas with their projects.

“We are seeing in a lot of applications where some people just want to replicate older-looking furniture or cabinets. Veneer used to be a lot beefier than it is today. Some customers are distressing it to create a rustic, worn look or texturing it to give depth to their projects.

“You also don’t have to worry about sanding though it like you would with a thinner veneer because there’s a lot more veneer to sand off, unlike with a 1/42” thick piece where you don’t get a whole lot of material to remove.”

Artisan Thick Veneer is available in a variety of sheet sizes and no minimum purchase is required. Sheet prices start at about $3/sq. ft.

For more, visit www.superiorveneer.com.

This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue.