The Quality of Samama Rotary Cut Veneer

Lathe check on veneer is formed as wood response to peeling process, which is usually analyzed in green veneer. After the veneer passed through drying process, the tendency of lathe check rises due to another factor and then it properly named as veneer check. This study was carried out to analyze lathe check and veneer check of samama. The fresh 8 year old samama log was peeled with the thickness of 1.5 mm and 3.0 mm subsequently after pretreatment of boiling in 50˚C for 4 hours and no boiling treatment as the control. Several 2-centimeter wide segmentations were noted from pith to bark and the resulted veneer of each segment was analyzed to determine the quality of lathe check and veneer check. The result showed that the total of peel crack (lathe check) declined from pith toward bark. The thicker veneer produced more lathe checks than the thinner veneer. Whereas, the depth and length of lathe check showed the same tendency as the total lathe check, which showed reduction toward bark’s segmentation. Boiling pretreatment in 50˚C for 4 hours before peeling process tended to increase the quality of samama wood veneer. It was indicated by decreasing in total, length, and depth of lathe checks. Further, it was found that veneer check increased by 19.42-24.94% in comparison to the lathe check. Therefore, the result of this research can be used as consideration in veneer production process of samama including handling and drying, so the quality of the veneer is well sustained.