During the manufacture of veneers cracks and other damages occur. These damages impair and reduce the veneer cross-section. By means of microscopic investigations cracks and damages in veneer cross-sections were documented and measured. These investigations were conducted with industrially sliced 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 mm thick veneers. The results determine the residual cross-sections in dependence of veneer thickness which can be used for numerical calculations.