Method and apparatus for drying veneer

A method for drying sheets of veneer comprising the steps of:

• establishing a vacuum condition in a drying chamber;
• successively introducing a series of veneer sheets individually through an inlet into said drying chamber while sealing said sheets at said inlet to maintain the vacuum condition therein and moving said sheets continuously along a path through said drying chamber;
• directly exposing substantially the entire face of both sides of each individual veneer sheet to radiant energy of the long wave infrared spectrum from radiant infrared emitters located on opposite sides of the path of the sheets in spaced relation thereto while said veneer sheets are moving along said path;
• controlling the level of said radiation to which the sheets moving through said chamber under the prevailing vacuum condition are exposed to raise the surface temperature of said sheets to a level sufficient to dry the sheets but insufficient to result in damage thereto;
• and
• thereafter withdrawing the dried sheets from said drying chamber through an outlet while sealing said sheets at said outlet to maintain a vacuum condition in said chamber.