Why Hallmark - Sawn, Rotary vs. Slice Cut

Sawn-Cut Method

Sawn-Cut Method: This is our Platinum Standard face veneer. The logs are brought into our facility and sawn into lumber. From more distant locals, this is brought to us in the form of lumber. The lumber is placed in a pre-drier, and the green lumber is slowly dried to a much lower moisture content. When ready, the boards are placed into a dry kiln where heat and humidity controls bring the materials down to a moisture content of 8 – 10%.

Next, the material is packed in a container and shipped to our flooring facility. The container is unloaded and the material is sent back to a dry kiln, where we slightly rehydrate the material and then run it through the veneer saws to create our stunning face veneers. This process runs the material through the equivalent of a seasonal cycle of expansion and contraction and produces superior product stability. The material is then sent to a climate controlled warehouse where the wood rests and stabilizes before it is joined to the core ply. The result is a stunning plank that looks like a solid hardwood floor, but has the superior dimensional stability, of an engineered floor.


Rotary Method

Rotary Cut Method: This is our Gold Standard face veneer. Rotary-cut veneer technology has been widely used since the early 20th century and is an extremely efficient method of processing logs into usable wood products. Rotary cut is at the heart of all our core materials for this very reason. Rotary-cut face veneers have a slightly bolder presentation of grain due to this cutting method.

The economy of rotary cut makes our Silverado and Chaparral products a great value. Due to the efficiency of production, we can offer a great product at our most competitive pricing.

We process the green logs by giving them a hot bath. Soaked in vats for several days, the logs are brought to the optimum temperature and moisture content before sending them to the rotary cutting lathes. Our master craftsmen then peel the logs into sheets of veneer. Great care is used to ensure that the blade pressure is ideal and the turning speed of the logs is carefully controlled. The sheets of veneer are then sent to the veneer dryers. The veneers travel very slowly through the dryers to remove the moisture in a slow and controlled way. This ensures that the moisture content is uniform throughout the veneer. The veneers are then sent to a climate-controlled warehouse where the veneer rests and stabilizes. Once this is accomplished, we ship the veneer to the flooring factory. Upon arrival, the material is slightly humidified and run back through the veneer dryers at the flooring factory. This process runs the material through the equivalent of a seasonal cycle of expansion and contraction and produces superior product stability.

Note: The great care taken with the face veneers is duplicated in the processing of all our core materials which are comprised of either rotary-cut birch or hybrid eucalyptus or a sawn core (Buena Vista) of Canadian pine.

Rotary Method

Sliced-Face Method: IS NOT USED BY Hallmark Hardwoods. This process involves soaking lumber in very hot water in a pressurized chamber. While it creates the same visual as sawn face, the amount of trauma to the wood caused by this method of processing makes these floors prone to excessive cracking. Sliced-face is more suitable for the production of very thin veneer (0.5 mm) or less and is commonly used in the production of furniture.