"Veneered slatted panel"?

[Garald]

I went to a carpenter today to ask about possibly having some bookcases made. Making them out of solid ash is an option (less expensive than solid oak), but the carpenter said that, given that solid wood changes shape over time, he prefers making bookcases out of something called "panneau latté plaqué chêne" (literally: "slatted panel with oak veneer"). He showed me it consists of a core of long, thick pine strips glued together, with what looked to be about 2-3mm thick oak veneer on both sides.

 

What is the name for that in English? I know of plywood or MDF covered with veneer, and didn't want either - but I did not know about this option, and would like to know more about it.

[SteamyTea]

Could it be cross laminated timber, but with an additional veneer?

[Garald]

Ah! I'm not sure it's cross, though, so - glued laminated timber, veneered?

 

I'm finding precious little about its use in furniture, though. Sure, there's furniture made of rectangular bits of hardwood pasted together (I have a table like that - plenty of furniture sold online is like that). But glulam with hardwood veneer? I didn't even know that was a thing, and can't find much on it.

[markc]

Ive never heard of the stuff, slatted panel could indicate blockboard. See if you can get a pic to post up here.

[dpmiller]

yep sounds like blockboard.

[Russell griffiths]

Yep block board. 

Ive had some reasonably expensive oak units made, and 75% of it is oak veneer mdf, the bits really on show are solid oak, the reason again is the mdf just doesn’t move. 

[Alan Ambrose]

Personally I would take the solid ash or oak anytime and treat any movement as evidence of 'life'. It's a funny thing, but antique dealers tell me they get far more money for the 'wonky' chairs they sell.

[joe90]

Yup blockboard,,,,Blockboard (or Laminboard) is classified as a plywood due to it’s construction of at least 3 veneers (face, core & back). However, it differs from plywood as it’s core is comprised of strips of solid timber or veneer laid on edge which is bonded and then faced with veneers on each side.

 

”wood always moves” well I built a bookcase some 40 years ago from some Russian pine I scrounged from a restoration project on a listed building when I was also working there and its not moved a millimetre in all that time. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by joe90

[Garald]

Of course the ash or oak one get on Pickawood and the like is really small blocks pasted together. Sigh. I just don't know whether made-to-order solid wood bookcases are in my future

I've got and put together a couple of solid pine and solid oak bookcases - they were not expensive at all, but everything is either too small or too large.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Garald