###### Abstract
For instance, slicing checks were shown to negatively influence the shear strength in plywood [7; 8] and LVL panels [9]. Considerable research studies on veneer quality have considered slicing check characteristics to be a principal focus area. The depth of the lathe checks in relation to the veneer thickness, known as the check depth ratio and check frequency, were used to characterise slicing checks [4; 10; 11]. The impact of some production parameters on slicing check characteristics was evaluated, e.g., the pre-treatment temperature, cutting speed and pressure bar geometry, the pre-compression ratio, and species [4]. Wood structure and density significantly impact the slicing quality; therefore, medium- and high-density wood species, i.e., above 500 kg/m\({}^{3}\), require a thermo-hydro pre-treatment before slicing [4]. The pre-treatment temperature was positively correlated with check depth ratio measurements in birch (_Betula pendula_ Roth) and beech (_Fagus sylvatica_ L) species [12; 13; 14]. In rotary-cut beech veneers, increasing the pre-compression ratio reduced the check depth ratio [14]. A too-high pre-compression may result in significant damage on the pressure bar veneer side as surface roughness and small cracks [15]. The slicing quality depends on the wood species, mainly due to macro-anatomical features such as rays [14]. Maple, birch, and beech sliced lamellae and rotary-cut veneers were found to be tight-cut, i.e., with a check depth ratio below 50% [10; 12; 16; 17], while oak species were found to be loose-cut, i.e., with a check depth ratio above 50% [9; 16; 18]. Hence, slicing- or sliced lamellae thickness is one of the most critical production variables impacting the processing efficiency and sliced lamellae quality. Sliced lamellae thickness can impact the sustainability aspects of sliced-lamellae-based products, i.e., reduced adhesive consumption with increasing sliced lamellae thickness due to fewer adhesive layers. The check depth ratio was positively correlated with the veneer thickness for rotary-cut beech veneers [9; 10], but a negative correlation was found in plain-sliced oak lamellae [18]. Such discrepancies in results may be due to the significant wood fracture mechanisms when cutting in different wood growth directions, i.e., the tangential direction in rotary cutting and a mixture of the tangential and radial direction in plain slicing. Besides decreasing the mechanical performance of veneer-based products, slicing checks are assumed to impact the surface-checking of veneer and sliced-lamellae-basedproducts [19; 20]. Surface-checking is an extensive defect represented by small surface cracks appearing on the veneer's surface and sliced-lamellae-based products. This phenomenon occurs due to residual tensile stresses developed on the surface of a multi-layered structure subjected to a moisture gradient [21]. A significant role in surface-checking is attributed to the low mechanical properties of sliced lamellae. For example, while sliced-lamellae-based engineered wood flooring has exhibited significant surface-checking, the sawn-lamellae-based one showed no surface checking at all [22]. The material edge-chipping was another drawback reported in sliced-lamellae-based engineered wood flooring production [22]. Consequently, knowledge of sliced lamellae's mechanical properties is essential for appropriate product design, quality control, and further investigations on sliced lamellae quality optimisation. Due to the occurrence of slicing checks being mainly in the wood radial direction and surface checking occurring when the material is under surface tension loading, it is assumed that tensile strength perpendicular to the grain is a critical parameter that could describe veneer or sliced lamellae mechanical performance. Regarding this aspect, a relevant study represents the investigation of the mechanical properties of plain- and lengthwise-sliced beech lamellae [6] and birch rotary-cut veneers [23]. Hence, these studies evaluated low slicing thicknesses, i.e., 0.5-1.5 mm.