Surface roughness of high moisture content wood and bamboo laminated lumber sliced veneer (bamboo)

China, a developing country with comparatively meager timber resources and with natural, precious, and high-quality wood that is becoming scarcer, has produced various artificial veneers imitating the color and grain of precious wood using small-diameter and low-quality timber, which in turn has become an important way to replenish natural decorative veneer resources. Wood timber and bamboo squares fabricated by freshly-felled timber (green timber) finger-joint widened and thickened was sliced directly into wood or bamboo veneers, to not only simplify the manufacturing technique, but also to save on production costs and to increase economic benefits. Freshly-felled Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pinus massoniana, and Cinnamomum camphora with moisture content above the fiber saturation point were first, sawed into sheets or lumber; second, transversely truncated into wood blocks without knots; and third, made into combination unit or bamboo cane billets. Next, newly logged Phyllostachys edulis was cut longitudinally and planed roughly into bamboo cane billets. These bamboo cane billets were then smoothly planed and glued by polyurethane rubber and mixed glues. Finally they were widened and thickened into predetermined sizes, wood timber: 2 550 mm × 670 mm × 450 mm; and bamboo squares: 2 550 mm × 670 mm × 485 mm depending on actual production demand. The high moisture content laminated wood timber and bamboo squares used a cold-press gluing process. These were then sliced into wood or bamboo veneer. To determine whether the wood or bamboo veneers fabricated by this new technology met follow-up processing requirements, surface roughness was tested when the air-dried moisture content was about 15% and measured by the stylus tracing method. Results showed that surface roughness of high moisture content wood and bamboo laminated lumber sliced veneer and bamboo could meet the quality requirements of various base material veneers with a strong relationship to the material, grain direction, and finger-joints; but not to bamboo knots. Compared to Triplochiton scleroxylon technical wood and Tilia amurensis technical wood, differences were minor.