taglierinatura: riduzione del foglio in pezzi di grandezza appropriata.

Plywood production

Before peeling, the majority of timbers need to be conditioned so as to soften the wood in order to facilitate peeling and to produce an acceptable quality of veneer. Conditioning involves the exposure of the peeler blocks to both heat and moisture by way of soaking in hot water vats or exposed to live steam or hot water sprays.

Debarking of the logs then takes place so as to facilitate the lathe operator's task and to remove the dirt and debris which would otherwise prove detrimental to the lathe knife, whereupon the logs are cut to length to fit the lathe, which is normally 240-270 cm.

Peeling, reeling and clipping

Nowadays, in almost all cases, plywood veneer is rotary cut, in that the peeler block is rotated around its axis in a lathe, whilst a continous veneer sheet is cut by a knife mounted parallel to the block's axis.

The veneer sheet is then wound on spools, or led to a multi-tray system, so as to provide storage and surge capacity in the event of fluctuations in the veneer feed from the lathe; speeds of both storage systems are generally synchronized to that of the lathe.

The green veneer is then clipped to size, either manually or by high-speed knives, graded and stored in piles ready for drying. Any defects, such as knots and splits, are then cut out of the sheet.