Thread: How to find face side of veneer?

Nothing much on Google, but I found it on YouTube here, Woodworking Masterclass with Steve Hay S02E01 at the 18min 30sec mark. He gives a couple of examples too.

Turns out the 'tight' side of the veneer is the best face side, the one with the least damage to the cells

Only trouble is, both sides of the ash burl veneer were equally difficult to bend, and each bent the same amount

So it is back to Post #1 above

Then I would choose the side of best appearance to be the "face" side.

Thanks EG, I totally agree. I was thinking that it would not really make much difference whichever side was used, because if I were to bookmatch them and join them into a single sheet for the face, both the "loose" and the "tight" sides would be on the face side.

He was too fast in his description... I can't work it out

The description may be a best fit to straight grained woods which are being book-matched.
The wood grain in a burl goes in 97 different directions. You can't create a "sweet side." Try carving one.

In the finishing process, a cabinet scraper will cut the wood cells not shred them as all sandpapers do.
That should correct the variable knife shredding which is bound to occur.
Worst case, your burl will peel open like the segments of an orange.