Products Produced * Architectural millwork; Bed Frames; Birdhouses/ feeders; Blinds, wood; Boxes, wood containers; Butcherblock/ cutting board; Cabinet door cutstock; Countertops; Dimension; Door, frames; Door/window cutstock; Doors; Dowels; Flooring; Furniture parts; Games, toys/ puzzles; Handle blanks; Logs; Lumber; Lumber, kiln-dried; Lumber, pallet; Lumber, quartersawn; Lumber, rough green; Mouldings; Pallet cutstock; Plywood, hardwood; Plywood, softwood; Stairs, rails/ parts; Stakes; Timbers Bark; Beams, sawn; Biomass power; Cabinet door cutstock; Cants; Chips; Cutstock; Decking; Dimension; Door/window, Decking; Flooring; Mantels, wood; Mouldings; Paneling; Siding, log/ wood; Stairs, rails/ parts; Staves, barrel, Firewood; Sawdust, Manufacturer of custom windows and doors. Products Purchased * Formica; Hardboard; Laminate; MDF; Particleboard; Plywood, hardwood; Plywood, softwood; Veneer Equipment * Edge bander; Finishing booth; Jointer; Moulder; Planer; Resaw, band; Router; Sander; Shaper; Tenoner; Cutoff saws; Dry kiln, dehumidification; Moulder;CNC; Planer; Resaw, band; Ripsaw; Sawmill, portable; Edge-gluer; End trimmer; Moulder; Planer; Press, cold; Resaw,Ripsaw; Shaper; Services Chopping; Custom millwork; Cutting; Gluing; Moulding; Planing; Remanufacturing; Ripping; Sanding Specifying Hardwood Veneer For many people, the process of properly specifying veneer is a challenge. The wide selection of available hardwood species, veneer cutting methods, and natural figure types and characteristics combine to confront the potential veneer specifier with a dizzying array of possibilities. Add to that mix the fact that there are no set veneer grades upon which a specifier can rely, and the process of specifying veneer can seem overwhelming. However, the process need not be confusing or complicated. With a little preparation and forethought, you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect veneer for your project. The key to the entire process is effective communication. To get the right veneer, you need to have a complete understanding of what it is you need, and you have to be able to communicate those needs to your supplier. Although there is no set veneer grading standard to refer to, there are some basic questions that any veneer supplier will want answered when taking your order. By having answers to those questions ready before you pick up the phone to call, you’ll have much of the information your veneer supplier needs ready at your fingertips. When selecting your veneer, however, please give some thought to the cut, appearance, and grade of the veneer you specify. Many busy specifiers go straight to a request for a top quality veneer because they view it as the easiest way to get an acceptable product that will do the job. However, they may be doing themselves a disservice by not considering alternate veneers that would work just fine in their application. The typical hardwood veneer log produces only a very small amount of AA panel grade veneer. If you insist on only high grade veneer, you may not only be paying too much for your veneer, but you are also putting an unnecessary strain on our valuable hardwood resource. Your veneer supplier has a wide range of underutilized cuts, appearances, and species available to meet your needs at an affordable price. By discussing your needs with an educated veneer supplier, they may be able to suggest a product you hadn’t considered that would fulfill your needs and possibly even save you money. To facilitate effective communication between you and your veneer supplier, we offer the following list of veneer buying considerations. While not exhaustive, these questions cover much of the basic information your veneer supplier needs to know to get you the proper veneer: Basic Customer Questions: Where are you calling from? What are you making? How are you going to use the veneer? Basic Veneer Questions: What wood species do you want? What veneer cut do you want? If you are requesting plain sliced veneer, will you accept half round and plain sliced production together? If you are requesting plain sliced veneer, what percentage of crown bundles are you expecting? Do you want to buy veneer priced per individual flitch or priced per graded pallet? Veneer Specifications: What are your length and width requirements? How many square feet of veneer do you need? What are your thickness requirements? Veneer Color and Figure Requirements: Do you have any color restrictions? Do you want figured or non–figured veneer? If figured, which type of natural figure do you want? If figured, do you want heavy, medium, or light figure? How many natural characteristics will you accept? Are open defects allowable? Packaging Requirements: Do you want clipped and bundled veneer stock or unclipped (flitch stock) veneer? If you want clipped veneer, do you require a measurement list and tally by bundle? How many sheets of veneer per bundle are you expecting? How are the veneers to be crated? Unitized or palletized? Additional Considerations: Is the veneer being consumed or exported? If it is to be exported, do you need a certificate of origin? Are you aware of woods such as mansonia, afromosia, Santos rosewood, makore, etc. that may present health concerns (dermatitis, breathing irritant, etc.)? Can you send digital photos or samples of the look that you want? Specifying Hardwood Plywood Hardwood plywood is an appearance-based product manufactured from a natural resource with unending variation. Therefore, every panel will be different (although it is this natural variation that provides each panel with its unique beauty!). That variation, however, can make it difficult for a specifier to get the panels they want. Is there a way for the specifier to communicate clearly to the manufacturer what it is that they want? Yes, there is. The answer is to use a published standard which defines the type and quantity of natural and other characteristics allowed in each grade. The Voluntary Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood, maintained by HPVA, describes the appearance and performance characteristics of hardwood plywood. The use of the Voluntary Standard, recognized by manufacturers, distributors, and end users, improves the communications process when placing orders. The Standard outlines the nationally recognized specs for hardwood plywood and is an important tool to help both buyer and seller. Although the Standard is often thought of as only an appearance standard, it is actually much broader in scope. In addition to the species grade tables that describe the allowable appearance characteristics in each grade, the Standard also governs the construction, core and back grades, glue bond performance, formaldehyde emissions, moisture content, dimensions, and finish of the panel. A panel manufactured to the HP–1 Standard must meet or exceed the requirements for all of those critical performance indicators. Therefore, specifying an HP–1 panel is the best way to ensure you get a quality panel. The Voluntary Standard is the common denominator of understanding among manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and end users. You, as the customer, may specify on your purchase documents that the products ordered must meet specifications described in the published Voluntary Standard. Manufacturers, if they want your business, must then uphold your wishes. Copies of the Standard may be purchased through our secure publications store. However, it pays to spend a little time thinking about what you want before you place an order. As the pressures on our hardwood resource continue to grow, it becomes increasingly important that we use that valuable resource as efficiently as possible. By their very nature, veneered hardwood plywood panels make exceptional use of this resource, but it is still important to consider what kinds of panels we use. The typical rotary hardwood log produces a large amount of B and C grade material but only a small percentage of AA grade material. Customers that automatically request an A or AA panel (without consideration of other grades) simply because they perceive it to be “the best” may in fact be doing themselves a disservice. When selecting panels for a job, take the time to determine whether or not a B or C grade panel might work for you. By considering a lower grade panel, you may be getting a significant value on a panel that will work just as well, while at the same time helping to maintain and preserve our treasured hardwood resource. Once you've used the Standard to select the appropriate panel for your needs, you can use this hardwood plywood order form to communicate your wishes effectively to the manufacturer. A statement such as: “Manufactured according to HPVA HP–1” on the purchase order along with additional information regarding the face, back, core type, quantity, etc. will give the manufacturer the information needed to provide the product you want. Your role in obtaining the product you want cannot be overemphasized. Use the current Voluntary Standard to understand the product and clearly communicate to the manufacturer exactly what you want. What will you learn? Who should attend?