Veneer for Lamp Shades and Similar Projects
New trends in lighting design that use veneer are very nice, but we do not sell veneer for this type of use.

There is a new and growing trend in lighting design where veneer is used to make lamp shades. I frequently receive emails requesting help choosing a translucent veneer for a customer's upcoming project. There are numerous road blocks that prevent me from offering anything of value for this type of project. Here's why...

1. Some veneers have small splits or defects which may not be obvious in the pictures on our website. These defects should be expected but they are typically repairable or made invisible when glued to a standard substrate such as plywood or particle board. We do not guarantee that our veneers are perfect and reasonable expectations are required from the customer.
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   The intended and expected use of our veneers does not include use on translucent substrates or projects where no substrate is used, and because of this we do not warrant our veneers against defects that are easily repairable when applied to a standard substrate.
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2. Even veneers that are sold in sequence can vary in thickness. This variance is small but it will affect how much light can pass through the veneer. We cannot examine every sheet of veneer for thickness variance and its impact on translucency.
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3. Any veneer, regardless of species or grain pattern, will change moisture content with seasonal changes in ambient humidity and this will lead to buckling and warping of the veneer if it is not backed with a stable substrate such as plywood or particle board. A lamp shade made without a stable substrate will likely deform even after a finish is applied.
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4. It might seem that a paperbacked veneer will keep the veneer from buckling. That may be true for many species but the paperbacking will not allow light to come through. The veneer lamp shades found online or in a decorator's showcase are usually made with a translucent backing that requires specialized machinery for application to the raw wood veneer. I've not yet found any supplier willing to spend the money to apply a specialized backer for what little demand that exists.
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5. There is also a huge liability for us to recommend this type of use for a veneer. A lamp shade made from veneer will likely require an LED bulb but if an incandescent bulb is put in the socket by mistake, there could be a huge potential for fire.