How thick does a drawer front "veneer" have to be before it is considered not a veneer, so that the back of the drawer front also does not have to be veneered? In other words how thick does a "laminate" board have to be, to avoid the need to place a matching board on the back of the drawer front.
- Jim
Atchison, KS
Our Expert
As a rule-of-thumb, when the face of a panel is veneered the back should be veneered as well. This method is used to keep the moisture content of the substrate in balance and help prevent warping after the veneer is applied. This is most important when sheet stock, such as plywood or MDF, is used for the substrate. If the back of the panel absorbs humidity at a different rate than the face the panel may warp.
However, whenever I veneer drawer fronts and door panels for fine furniture, I use a solid wood substrate of the same species as the veneer and I only apply veneer the face of the stock. Also, I cut the veneer on the bandsaw to a thickness of 3/32". Even though the veneer is relatively thin, it has more stability and is less-prone to chipping and cracking than the paper-thin commercial veneers. In my experience, as long as both the substrate and veneer have an equal moisture content (I test the MC with a meter), once a finish is applied the panel will remain flat.
