Wood veneers for commercial wood doors come in various cuts that provide different finished appearances. Some species of wood can be cut in certain ways for better results. This brief post will look at the 4 most common cutting options used for wood door veneers.

These are the 4 cutting options:

  1. Plain Slicing
  2. Quarter Slicing
  3. Rift Slicing
  4. Rotary Slicing

Plain Slicing

Plain slicing wood door veneers is the most common option used. In a plain sliced veneer you have what is called a “cathedral” and straight grain pattern. Most wood species can be plain sliced. The slice is done parallel to a line through the center of the log.

Plain Slicing

Quarter Slicing

A straight grain appearance is accomplished when quarter slicing is used. The width of the stripes of grain can vary between species. When Red or White Oak is quarter sliced there is a characteristic known as “flecking” that occurs. To minimize this, Oak can be rift sliced instead (see below).

Quarter Slicing

Rift Slicing

Rift slicing is only used on White and Red Oak. It is used to minimize the “flecking” that occurs while achieving the vertical grain appearance.

Rift Slicing

Rotary Slicing

Rotary slicing is the easiest and most cost effective option for commercial wood doors. The knife slices the log following the annual growth rings. This cut provides a random appearance in the grain.

Rotary Slicing

(Images used are from AWS and WDMA standards materials)