Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La chapa de madera cubre el tablero.

In la chapa de madera, it usually means a wood veneer or thin wooden facing, not metal. Even though chapa often means sheet metal in other contexts, the phrase de madera makes it clear that this is made of wood.

So here la chapa de madera is best understood as the wood veneer or the wooden sheet/layer.

Why is it de madera instead of an adjective like maderera or something similar?

In Spanish, the material something is made of is very often expressed with de + noun.

So:

de madera = made of wood
de metal = made of metal
de plástico = made of plastic

This is much more natural than trying to turn the material into an adjective. So chapa de madera is the normal way to say wood veneer or wooden sheet/layer.

Why is it La chapa de madera and not just Chapa de madera?