Rotary Cut Veneers: Rotary Birch, Maple, Red Oak and Cherry

When it comes to veneer cutting patterns, flat cut and quartered are usually the first most people think about. Flat cut gives you the characteristic curved grain wood and quartered gives the mostly straight look.

But one type that is more rare, and more abstract-looking as well, is rotary cut veneer. This is where the blade slices the log as the log is spun in a circle. It's kind of like unraveling a Fruit-Roll-Up, if that helps give you a picture. See the page on veneer slicing for full visuals.

Here are some rotary cut veneers that might be interesting choices for your next project.

Rotary Birch Veneer: This is a creamy white to beige veneer with wavy, non-patterned brown grain lines across the top. Rotary Birch Veneer is available as a one piece face (single flitch or piece of wood makes the whole sheet) or with seams (multiple flitches put together into a sheet).

Rotary Cherry Veneer: This is similar to Rotary Birch with a warmer, slightly reddish color and more concentrated squiggly lines. Rotary Cherry is only available as a one piece face.

Rotary Red Oak Veneer: This is probably the least abstract of all the rotary veneers. The grain actually follows a bit of a pattern, although the lines are more zig-zag fashioned than quas you can see from the picture on the left.

Rotary Maple Veneer: Rotary Maple is similar to both Rotary Birch Veneer and Rotary Cherry, but it is much more subdued and lighter colored than both, with a fainter grain pattern as well. Rotary Maple is now also available in a cross-grain 8'X4' sheet. (Note that there is not a separate web page or image for Rotary Maple currently, however it is in-stock).