New Material Choice: Composite Shelf Veneer

We've been busy in the NorCalMod workshop prototyping with new techniques and materials. The basis of them is the use of a resin-cellulose composite veneer on top of our maple multi-ply.

The composite material is amazing. It's rock-hard, impervious to moisture, solid-surface, sandable, and the finish is permanently renewable. For a surface that gets a lot of use (think: desk surfaces or tables), this is ideal. The material is expensive at thicker sizes which makes using it as a veneer topping a perfect solution.

The finial finish can take a variety of forms, but the best — and most renewable (from an "able to be refreshed" standpoint) — is a wax/oil finish similar to many cutting board finishes. In fact, while the pieces will ship with a more-unique shop-applied finish, you can use a few more-common finishes for renewal and maintenance.

We'll be able to offer 1/8in and 1/4in topping upon request (What you see here is 1/8in).

I'm really looking forward to doing more things with this.

The fine print: Currently, material sourcing takes some time as it's not a locally/readily available material (and the 1/8in and 1/4in come from two different places), but it's something we can build into the schedule.