Wood veneers come in a large variety of appearances.
One obvious factor that changes their appearance is the species of wood that is used for that veneer.
However, there are also less obvious ways that can provide even more diversity in the veneer's appearance.
One of these, is the placement of the veneer leaves, which can be done in many different ways.
Veneer leaves are the smaller slices of the log that need to be arranged to form a full sheet of wood veneer.
They can be arranged in many different ways to make the face, or front, of the veneer unique even within the same wood species.
This all simply has to do with the differences in the assembly process of each individual sheet.
The most common way of matching veneer leaves together to form a full sheet of veneer, is known as book match.
This is especially true with plain slice or flat cut veneers.
In this case, every other leaf is turned over, creating an effect in which the grain is mirrored in each adjoining leaf, just as two adjacent pages in a book.
This method maximizes the yield of the flat cut leaves, but presents a challenge in finishing.
Since every other piece is flipped, the surface of each leaf reflects light in different ways, creating a light/dark, or "barber pole", pattern.
This challenge is much more prevalent in certain woods, such as white maple.
In addition, the two leaves will take stain differently and can result in a color variation.
This effect however, is expected in this type of matching, and is not considered a manufacturing defect.
Slip match is a slightly less common, but still widely used, technique of veneer matching.
In this type of matching, the leaves are arranged in sequence without being turned over.
This results in a repeating grain pattern for each leaf, although the grain does not match at the joints.
This greatly minimizes the "barber pole" effect of book matching.
Slip matching is more commonly used with hardwood veneers that are quarter cut or rift cut, which produces a rather straight grain pattern.
Another way to match wood veneer leaves is to randomly select them from a variety of different logs.
This method is called random match and produces a very rustic and unique appearance.
With this technique, a conscious effort is made to mismatch the grain at each joint.
This approach is typically used on wood veneers that are rotary cut, due to the fact that the grain pattern is typically very bold and difficult to match.
Balance matching is an added feature when creating a wood veneer sheet.
This type of matching can be done in accordance with any of the above methods, but requires that the leaves in the sheet are all of uniform width.
There can either be an odd or even number of leaves with this type of matching, which means the pattern may run out on one edge.
Other than that factor, the sheet is basically symmetrical throughout.
One step up from balance matching is the center balance match.
This is considered the premium way to match veneer leaves in a sheet of hardwood veneer.
As with balance match, the leaves must all be equal sizes, but there is always an even number of leaves in a veneer sheet.
The result is a seam joint running down the center of the sheet and an almost perfectly symmetrical pattern.
This type of matching is the most labor intensive, and is highly preferred in the production of doors due to its nearly perfect symmetry.
As shown in each of these examples, wood veneers can offer many different faces beyond the different species alone.
The resulting appearance in any wood project can be determined by the way the veneer sheet is cautiously and deliberately assembled.
By understanding these different ways of matching, woodworkers are able to get the exact appearance they imagined when finishing their carefully constructed project.