Creation
Wood
I choose our veneers as individual trees around the world. I look for burrs and complex grains that add interest…’ Dan Butler wood veneer bookline matcher.
‘I examine the sheets cut from a single tree to find matches. Aligning the edges is like matching wallpaper. The skill is in being able to visualize the final symmetry of the whole work.’
‘Book matched’ wood veneer is one of the highlights of a Rolls-Royce interior. Using up to 5m2 of the finest veneers in the world, our craftsmen apply their unrivalled skill to create a magical mirror image, where the figuring and grain on the left of any veneered panel is an exact copy of that on the right.
Crossbanding is another type of veneer work. It requires even more skill and patience, as it involves combination of different veneers with contrasting graining on each panel, and separating them with strips of hand-applied boxwood beading that is just 1.5mm wide.
For strength and safety, the veneers are mounted onto wooden carrier panels (48 in total), which are made by compressing and bonding up to 15 layers of wood, together with two layers of thin aluminium. Holes for fitting instruments, switches or gauges are then machined into the carriers by a computer-controlled milling machine, before the veneers are carefully trimmed, shaped and bonded to the panels. They are then sanded by hand, covered in six coats of high-gloss lacquer then polished to a flawless shine before being carefully installed inside the car.
