An apparatus for processing sheets of wood veneered substrate stock into product blanks suitable for use in shipping goods, displaying goods, etc: is provided. The apparatus may include either a flat bed or platen die cutting machine or a rotary die cutting machine. In either case, the apparatus further includes a set of die cutting rules suitably configured for processing wood veneered substrate stock. The set of the die cutting rules includes at least one cutting rule and at least one slit scoring rule. The cutting rule includes a cutting blade having a cutting edge. Similarly, the slit scoring rule includes a cutting blade having a cutting edge. The cutting rule and the slit scoring rules are correspondingly dimensioned such that when mounted to the die board, the cutting edge of the cutting rule extends beyond the cutting edge of the slit scoring rule a distance D.