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karmasalwayswatching t1_iy9ppn9 wrote

It's a very common thing in most restaurants with those style tables. They're inexpensive and can be purchased in bulk, especially for a major chain restaurant like this.

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jonny24eh t1_iya8a9d wrote

Whats funny is that it's covering something cheap (particle board) with something also cheap* (plywood) instead of end grain veneer to make it look like solid wood.

*plywood is of course more expensive than particle board but it's generally not considered as a finish material using the edge grain like this

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CovidPangolin t1_iycc1xa wrote

This is like hyper capitalism. Soon only the truly wealthy will be able to have plywood finished like solid wood.

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Nenotriple t1_iycqhdh wrote

The kind of plywood the grain depicts would be very high quality solid veneer core furniture grade plywood. Not the same stuff you might build a shed with, and probably 2 or 3 times the cost.

You can find a lot of high end furniture using this kind of plywood. It's commonly used with steam bending chairs here's an example

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jonny24eh t1_iycvcx9 wrote

It's still a substitute for solid wood 99% of the time.

A chair like that I would assume the craftsman is laminating their own veneer and not bending purchased plywood.

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pvfjr OP t1_iy9q3yg wrote

What's funny is right behind me they have two counters made from legit 2x6 stock, biscuit joined, from Ash, I believe. I guess they ran out of budget after buying those.

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karmasalwayswatching t1_iy9qa4x wrote

Who knows. That may also be a franchise location and the franchise owner(s) did something else.

Just a wild guess 🤷‍♀️

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saraphilipp t1_iy9zuws wrote

We had veneer covered tables in the 70s at our house. All affordable tables are this way.

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pvfjr OP t1_iyb3cyu wrote

Yes, veneer has been around forever.

This is not veneer, however.

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saraphilipp t1_iybjyfk wrote

There's literally a piece of verneer on top of that particle board.

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nicholasjof816 t1_iybnn6n wrote

I think I can settle this as someone who works with these materials daily. The edge that has broken off is simply called edgebanding. Put on by an edgebander. The table here most certainly is a laminate capped particle board with edgebanding. Likely the underside of this table is either raw brown paper or potentially another laminate layer or melamine. You can tell it is laminate by the distinctive 0.8mm thick decorative layer exposed now that the edge has failed.

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pvfjr OP t1_iybk6uv wrote

Perhaps colloquially, but not literally. The top is synthetic. No traditional wood veneers to be found here.

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Not_Smrt t1_iyc55c7 wrote

That's a wood print HPL, not actually a wood veneer which wouldn't last very long in a restaurant environment.

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Ya-Dikobraz t1_iyb2qgy wrote

Why not have real raw plywood cracked edges, then?

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pvfjr OP t1_iyb36rh wrote

Plywood is the new hardwood, apparently. Prices of it are pretty high I suppose.

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thorpie88 t1_iybyulu wrote

120aud a metre for some of the LVLs my company makes

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Maria_506 t1_iyc5zz3 wrote

That and from what I was thought in school they are much lighter than normal wood.

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