Finger Joints - Strong, Durable & Virtually Indestructible!

A finger joint, also known as a comb or box joint, is a wood joint made by cutting complementary rectangular slots in two narrow pieces of wood, which are then glued together.

If you interlock the fingers of your hands together at ninety degrees (hence the name finger joint), you’ll get the idea. 

 Finger Joint

Finger joints are stronger than mitre joints, butt joints, or even lap joints and are often used when a more ‘rustic’ quality is required!

An alternative name for a finger joint is a box-pin joint.

Finger joints are ideal for box making, as well as household furniture and kitchen cabinets and are suitable for use with natural woods such as pine and mahogany and wood based products, such as plywood and MDF.

Finger joints are really strong when used with a good quality, wood working glue such as PVA. If you lock your fingers together, try forcing them apart and you’ll find it difficult to do. The same principle applies to finger joints in wood boxes.

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses finger joints mainly for larger wooden boxes, where stronger, more durable joints are required. 

Polmac Finger Jointing

If done by hand, finger jointing is a slow, laborious process and takes a great deal of time, effort and skill. For this reason, special finger jointing machines are often used.

When cut, the ‘fingers’ should fit together like a glove, without any gaps and the glue will ensure that the joint is virtually indestructible!

http://www.polmacuk.com

Crystal And Glass : Can You Tell The Difference?

Crystal and glass has been used for centuries to make glasses to drink fine wine and champagne and other spirits. However, many people find it difficult to distinguish between them.

 Wine & Champagne Glasses

When they use the word "crystal," they are usually describing a type of glass that is made from potash, soda or oxide and other additives.

Lead crystal is durable and has many properties, that is ideal for creating decorative effects and derives from the Italian term "cristallo".

Lead crystal is the type of crystal glass that is most commonly used for wine and champagne glasses, as well as other functional and purely decorative objects, often found around the house.

There are many ways glass and crystal may be differentiated by sight alone...

One major difference is that crystal glass is generally a lot thinner and more ornate than plain glass, mainly because of the lead content.

However, whilst the presence of lead helps with the process of decoration, it also makes crystal glass more fragile and more prone to scratches.

Polmac (UK) Ltd supplies custom made, wood, gift boxes that can transform a simple crystal or glass object into an exquisite presentation pack, or an irresistible gift set!

Polmac Perfume Boxes

(with crystal glass perfume bottles)

They are designed in a range of different styles and finishes, with beautiful silk, or flock fabric linings and can be overprinted with logos and text to provide that all important branded finish.

Polmac, wood presentation boxes are beautifully made, versatile and terrific value, which means they help boost company sales!

http://www.polmacuk.com

Pine - The Tree Of Life!

Pine trees are found in the Northern Hemisphere and are evergreen conifers that can grow up to 80 m  although most pines average about 15-- 45m. The Pine family is the most diverse of all the conifers species.

Pine trees grow cones that are packed with seeds, rather than flowers, or fruit and are easily recognized by this one feature. They generally have thick scaly bark and a tough, resinous wood. Some Pines today are over 4500 years old.

 Pine Tree

Pine wood is one of the most widely used softwoods, because it is relatively inexpensive, robust and readily available.

Pine wood has many uses including -- paper, furniture, roofing, flooring and window frames. It is also a very good material for making wood boxes. The resin from some pine trees is used to manufacture turpentine.

Polmac Pine Hamper Boxes For: Fortnum & Mason

[with white wicker infill panels]

One of the most well known and popular uses of Pine is of course Christmas trees. Pine cones are sometimes painted and used as decorations.

Pine wood has a warm amber colour with streaks of brown but has little grain character. For this reason, most woodworkers use knotty Pine for cabinets and furniture, to bring out that more rugged quality.

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses Pine wood where larger, more durable wooden boxes are required and these are usually fitted with heavy-duty, brass, or nickel-plated, metal ironmongery.

Pine wood can be colour stained but Polmac Pine boxes are generally supplied with a clear lacquer finishes, because of the resinous quality of the wood. They are beautifully made, versatile and terrific value!

http://www.polmacuk.com 

Keepsake Boxes - A Simple & Easy Way To Store Precious Memories!

Keepsake Boxes are essentially memory boxes. They're usually made from wood and are designed to store mementos of significant events, usually beginning with a child's birth. However, keepsake boxes can be limited to a child's early years and for adult events.

 Polmac Baby Keepsake Boxes With Crocodile & Frog Motifs

It's usual to have one keepsake box per person and to personalize it with the name, date of birth and a photo of that person

As momentos can be collected over a lifetime, keepsake boxes need to be large and robust enough to resist constant wear and tear.

They're an easy way to preserve precious memories and scores of different mementos of various shapes and sizes can be stored.

These can include a hospital wrist band and measuring tape, the babies umbilical cord (in a sealed plastic bag), baby bottles, clothing, photos, videos, birthday cards, wedding cards etc

Polmac Baby Keepsake Boxes With Ballerina & Lion Motifs

Momentos from events such as christenings, first communion, birthdays and weddings, in later years, can be added at the appropriate time.

Once you've got your momentos, it's usually a good idea to attach a note to them, particularly if it's not immediately obvious what they represent.

Polmac (UK) Ltd manufactures, custom made, wood, baby keepsake boxes and keepsake boxes used to store memories for other specific events.  

They're beautifully made, versatile and terrific value, meaning they're ideal and strong enough to  store a lifetime of precious memories.

Polmac keepsake boxes have hinged lids, secured with brass or zinc plated, metal catches and 90 degree, metal stays to keep the lids in the upright position.

For a truly stunning finish, our baby keepsake boxes are hand painted in background pastel colours and decorative motifs, such as butterflies, hearts, animals and cartoon characters, depending upon the particular theme, or effect required!

Polmac keepsakes boxes should always be kept a secret, as children will be thrilled when they are finally old enough to understand their significance.

http://www.polmacuk.com

.

Cheese Safes - Little Miss Moffat Must Have Had One!

The art of Cheese making goes back at least 4000 years, although no-one knows who the first person to make cheese was.

It is thought that an Arab merchant who was about to cross a desert put some milk in his pouch, so he could quench his thirst during the crossing.

 Polmac Cheese Safe For: Harrods Ltd

However, because of the intense heat, the milk turned to curd and whey during the crossing. In the evening he tried the resulting mixture.

The whey satisfied his thirst and the curd his hunger. The curd had an unusual but delightful taste which he liked!

Since then, cheese making has turned into a huge, global industry, which in some countries consumes a third of all milk production. 

Cheese of course is best eaten fresh and keeping it fresh has always been a challenge. 

Most people today in the know, keep their cheese in the fridge, wrapped in paper, or parchment to allow it to 'breathe' and to protect it from other strong food odours!

Cheese safes are used when the cheese is taken out of the fridge, to bring it up to room temperature, so it will taste at it’s best.

Once the cheese is inside the cheese safe, it can be stored in a cool pantry or cellar, for short periods until ready to be eaten!

Polmac (UK) Ltd cheese safes are made from food compatible, natural beechwood, with fly proof, metal mesh sides.

There are four, raised legs at the corners, to allow air circulation around the whole of the cheese safe. 

The hinged lid is located at the top and is secured with a metal ‘hook’ fastener, for ease of opening.

Inside the cheese safe there is a natural beech, cheese board with a long handle grip at the centre, to allow the cheese to be quickly and easily taken out, when required!

Polmac cheese safes are custom made to order and can be overprinted with a logo or text, using screen printing, metallic foil blocking and laser engraving techniques, if a more personalized, branded finish is required! 

http://www.polmacuk.com

Laser Engraving Colour Infill - Printing At It's Best!

Laser engraving is a specialised printing method used to apply company logos or text onto wood and acrylic products, for an exquisite and personalised branded finish.  

Laser engraving however, can be enhanced considerably by adding colour and is just one of the printing techniques Polmac (UK) Ltd uses to print onto it’s custom made, wood presentation boxes and packaging.

 Laser Engraving Over Masking Tape

The surface of the wood is first sealed with a clear lacquer finish to prevent the paint ‘bleeding’ onto the wood. 

Masking tape, with a weak adhesive application, used to mask paintwork, is an excellent masking medium. However, it's important to ensure the masking tape can be removed quickly and easily after painting, to prevent the paint lifting.

A special paper mask can also be applied to the engraving area and smoothed down with a squeegee to remove any air bubbles underneath. This is done by applying pressure at the centre of the paper mask and working out towards the edges.  

After laser engraving, the squeegee is used again to remove any air bubbles that may have been missed and to smooth down any paper edges that have curled up.

 

The depth of the engraving should not be too shallow or too deep. If too shallow, the paint may not be deep enough to hold the paint filling. If too deep, it may be difficult to work into the engraved crevices.

On average, the depth of the engraving should be about the thickness of a standard metal staple.  

Heavy body, acrylic paint in various colours is then carefully applied to the engraving, using a flat head paint brush, a large ‘Q-tip’ cotton swab, or a squeegee.

                                                  Applying Acrylic Paint With A Squeegee              

 

The paint is carefully worked into the engraving, to ensure all the crevices are filled with acrylic paint. Once this process is completed the engraving is set aside and the paint allowed to dry.

Before the paint is completely dry, the masking tape, or paper mask is carefully removed by lifting the corners and working towards the centre. If the paint is completely dry, there is a danger it will adhere too strongly to the masking tape, or paper mask and may ‘lift’ the paint from the engraving. 

                                                             Removing Masking Tape

After the masking tape, or paper mask is removed, ‘weeding’ takes place, using a sharp scalpel, or craft knife. This process removes any excess paper mask, or paint still on the wood surface. 

 Weeding Excess Masking Tape & Paint

Excess paint can also be removed by careful scrubbing with a damp cloth, if the paint is not too dry. However, if this process is unsuccessful, excess paper, or paint can be removed by careful, fine sanding. 

http://www.polmacuk.com 

Corrugated Carboard - A Dynamic Packaging Solution!

Corrugated cardboard packaging is used around the world today because it is cost effective, has good impact and vibration resistance for goods in transit and can easily be over-printed.

 The term ‘corrugated’ comes from the fluted and sandwiched inner layer of cardboard. Corrugated cardboard is made of two to seven layers of corrugated paper. These corrugated layers are glued together with layers of straight paper. 

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

In 1871 an American, Albert Jones, inspired by the pleats in women's skirts patented the first corrugated board, as a creative way of packaging glass bottles.

It was thought that the first corrugating cardboard machine was made from old Civil War cannons.

Three years later Oliver Long improved the Jones design by adding a solid board, creating a two-ply solution. The first European factory began producing cardboard in London, in 1883.

Since then, new technology has considerably improved quality and introduced innovations in cardboard design.

Individually Wrapped Wooden Boxes

Corrugated cardboard has good impact and vibration resistance because the corrugations can absorb    severe impact, which minimizes the chances of damaging the goods inside.

Corrugated cardoard is designed for stacking. It withstands top and side pressure, is crush-resistant and has tear, tensile and burst strength, to withstand shipping pressures. 

Corrugated cardboard provides uniform stacking and weight distribution. For additional 'stackability' stiff, vertical plastic strips are sometimes provided, to reinforce the corners of palleted loads.

Cardboard has low water resistance, which can be overcome by treating the cardboard with a water resistant solution, or by shrink wrapping the cartons with water-proof polythene sheeting, on pallets.

Corrugated cardboard is the most re-cycled, packaging material by weight in the world, greatly reducing the amount that’s discarded, so provides an effective, environmental packaging solution. 

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses five-ply, impact resistant, corrugated cardboard cartons, shrink wrapped and paletted as standard, to transport your custom made, wood presentation boxes to the UK. 

To prevent abrasion damage in transit, your wood boxes are also individually wrapped in white paper. This ensures they are delivered in pristine condition!

http://www.polmacuk.com