Veneers vs. Solid Wood

[ericp502]

My previous messages got deleted and I got banned. Maybe I jumped in a bit too quickly. My names Eric and I have a number of years under my belt now dealing with high end furniture. I work directly with antiquepurveyor.com where we have blogged a great deal of very helpful information that I think could really benefit a lot of the people on this site. Hopefully future posts wont be deleted as I do have a good amount of information to share and I'm sure there is still more I can learn.

[drcollie]

Hi Eric,

Your posts were deleted and banned because you came onto the list as a spammer, with (2) of your posts doing direct links to your business (forbidden) and your other post about solid wood was not factual. We have a very large number of spammers come on the forum and there are three or four to clean up every day - I have neither the time nor the patience to investigate them and if they start with links to businesses then out the door they go. You are more than welcome to participate, but do not make your posts look like ads for your business. If you wish to advertise your business here, you may do so in the VENDOR CLASSIFIED section only, and that is free of charge. Please read the rules for that section first. Thanks.

[ericp502]

Sorry about that, did not mean to step on any toes. I would however like to respectfully disagree with what I presented about solid wood vs veneer.

http://janushomevintage.blogspot.com...vs-veneer.html
http://birchwoodfurniture.wordpress....veneer-debate/

Here are just 2 quick links showing how solids are prone to warping, checking and splitting (i'm in no way affiliated with those sites). I'm sure it comes down to different strokes for different folks, but my statement or the link I had previously presented in my deleted post were in no way false in my opinion.

[ericp502]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh_8TCRti_8

again no affiliation

[drcollie]

If you care to post up your original post again under WOOD FURNITURE, we can have that debate on solid vs. veneer, Eric. I sell both in my store and I am an expert on wood furniture. That You Tube video is full of incorrect statements, by the way.

[aaron]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh_8TCRti_8

again no affiliation

They say that you'll find cleaner and simpler designs in most solid wood due to the nature of working with solid boards? No, not really - you can't carve a veneer (I say as I turn my head to the right and look at my solid walnut, @160-year-old bookcase, and note the intricate, hand-carved details). The notion that you can't get an inlay detail such as a veneer in solid wood is also incorrect. Can a veneer over plywood provide more stability and less inclination to split, crack or warp than some solid woods? Sure - some solid woods are prone to splitting, and on a slightly different note some are so rare or expensive that even if they would make great solid surfaces you're almost never find them except as a veneer. If you find a table with a solid, crotch mahogany surface, you will be spending a fortune for a piece that will likely eventually split - solid crotch mahogany has a natural tendency to twist. Than all solid woods? No, not at all. And long pieces of solid wood are more rigid, while manufactured boards tend to flex or torque, so there can be real advantages to, e.g., a kiln-dried hardwood frame in upholstered furniture. I have hardwood furniture that I can heft around the house, but at the far extreme of veneered furniture you have stuff like Ikea that can easily be damaged by an attempt to move it post-assembly. Are certain solid woods affected by humidity? Yes - at a certain point, all wood is affected by humidity. Does that mean that solid wood will under-perform veneer over plywood in a wet or humid environment? No - unlike plywoods or veneers, solid wood won't delaminate, so cheap plywood construction or (gasp) veneer over chip board or particleboard (which can suck water up like a sponge), can be far more susceptible to damage or deterioration if moisture penetrates the surface.

What they're doing in that video, in my opinion, is pitching the furniture in their store against comparably priced solid wood pieces or against lines of solid wood pieces that they don't carry but may be available through competitors at a higher price point.