Wood Carving: A Reviving, Traditional Art Form!

Wood carving has a long and distinguished tradition, from the earliest times and has been used to produce religious figures, sculptured decorations, ornaments, mouldings and tracery.

 Wood Carving Computer Modelling Technology

Wood carving requires careful maintenance, particularly in external conditions, because it is vulnerable to decay, insect damage, and fire. For this reason it has struggled to survive as an art form but is now undergoing a renaissance.

It has a unique quality that is difficult to match in other materials. Wood is light and is ideal for carving fine detail, particularly where tracery is involved and is a lot easier to work than stone.

Wood carving reached it's zenith in Europe, in the Middle Ages, where Christian iconography was the theme of choice. In England, many complete examples of early wood carvings remain from the 16th and 17th century, where oak was the preferred wood used.

The best wood carvings start with an idea and not when the chisel is placed onto the wood.

Wood carving should start with the vital preparation stage. This is the process of gathering information, assimilating and then designing, to create a vision of what the craftsman wants the viewer to see, in their minds eye!

Many carvings are unsuccessful, due to a lack of preparation and not in the actual carving process. Those that succeed take the preparation stage seriously. For instance, there are many examples of  carvings that look primitive but have an exquisite, aesthetic quality?

The preparation stage can take longer than the carving itself and is a reflection of how important this stage is!

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses traditional hand carving and advanced computer modelling technology to create textured areas, motifs, decorations, patterns and designs on the surface of our custom made, wood presentation boxes, promotional boxes and gift boxes, where specified.

http://www.polmacuk.com

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

.