Читать книгу Woodworker's Guide to Veneering & Inlay (SC) - Jonathan Benson - Страница 11

Wood is an organic, dynamic material that continues to react to its environment long after it has been cut, dried, and finished. Knowing how and why woods react to moisture, seasonal changes, and sunlight is essential to creating effective designs that will last for generations.

Wood growth creates the grain patterns and figures seen on solid wood and veneers. Slicing veneers from a log creates the most beautiful wood out of the rarest, most interesting logs, and the process can produce a variety of figure patterns. An understanding of the manufacture of veneer helps the craftsman know what to expect when purchasing the material. Proper storage also is important to keep veneers flat, intact, and ready to use. The veneers shown in Chapter 2 are not enhanced by any wood finish—they are all raw wood, not sanded or finished.

Beautiful feather figure in black walnut arises where a large branch merges with the main trunk. The two leaves are book-matched.

Figure 2-1. Many woods, such as these book-matched leaves of curly walnut, show light-colored sapwood alongside more deeply colored heartwood.