Wood SLICING

Hi everybody!
As we have wrote in the first article of this year (you can find it here), we wanted to improve our international side, also by making available articles in English, for all our foreign online visitors.. So, here we go!
First of all, I'm going to translate the articles speaking about techniques.

Wood SLICER machine, is a device that, from an entire log, obtains sheets of wood, from 0.3 to 3 millimeters thick. If you think about that, it's a very precise and delicate processing, as the sheet can be thinner than your skin! (take a look at this scale of the universe, just to be aware of the dimension we are talking about). The name of this machine come from the fact that the piece of wood is literally sliced by a putting it on a lathe, with a fixed or moving blade. This sheet will be used, then, for the veneering process, that creates furniture at a lowest cost, but not always at a lowest quality, as we'll see soon.

Now we are going to describe some cuts and their result.

1) lengthwise cut (also said italian): the log is cut in the middle and the slicing is made parallel to the plane face. The result is a variegated figure, called flame or cathedral (you can easily see why!)

2) quarter slicing (or french slicing): in this case, the log is cut in 4 pieces and every piece is sliced parallel to the annual growth rings of the three (probably the image will explain much better then the worlds). The resultant sheet will have a straight grain appearance.

3) rotary cut: this is one of the two cases of slicing with a fixed blade. In the examples we have just spoken about, the wood was fixed, while here it rotates and comes nearer to the blade. if you can imagine it, it's like a spiral slicing. This kind of slicing is used for poor wood, that can be used afterwords for plywood and multi-ply.

4) half-round slicing: here is the second type of slicing with a fixed blade. As the rotary cut, the log rotates on itself, but it is not sliced all along its circumference, but on an arc parallel to the center of the log. 

This type of slicing is made on very precious essences and on small logs: in this way the wood don't get damaged and there are very few residuals.

Every type of cut gives the wood a very particular appearance; the sheets can the be combined as you like and create million of different patterns.

If you need some more information, don't hesitate to contact us!

I remember you that you can find us also on twitter and facebook! Our web sito is alwais available, both in English and in Italian language!