Wood Turning - Art Or Science?

Wood turning is a craft using a lathe to make rounded wood objects and can be considered an art form, with technology playing a large part in the process. Wood turners therefore typically regard themselves as separate from mainstream wood working.

 

Wood turning differs from most other types of wood working because the wood is held firmly in a lathe and spun rapidly, whilst a special, stationary, hand held tool is used to cut and shape it. Many intricate shapes and designs can be made by turning wood in this way.

 

Wood Turning On A Mini Lathe

Watching an expert wood turner making an exquisite bowl, spindle, or goblet from a rough piece of wood can be inspiring.

Wood turning does requires skill but can be turned into a profession, or a satisfying hobby with the right attitude and effort.

If you're interested in wood turning as a hobby you can start with a mini lathe, which compared to a full size lathe is relatively inexpensive, portable and requires minimum space to operate.

Once you understand how to operate your lathe, how to use simple wood turning tools and understand   basic safety procedures, you'll be in a position to develop and improve your wood turning skills quickly.

The wood turning profiles that can be made from a single block of wood are almost endless but when all said and done, these profiles are usually formed from just a few common cuts, including fillets, coves, squares and v-grooves. 

 

Polmac (UK) Ltd Wood Turned Herb & Spice Boxes

Furthermore, you only need three basic wood turning tools to create these profiles. They include ...

• The roughing gouge which is used to form and shape the basic profile.

• The skew chisel which is sometimes used to create square grooves. It can also be used to plane and shape many other profiles.

• The parting tool which is used to separate a finished 'turning' from the remainder of the stock profile. The parting tool can also be used for cutting square shaped grooves in spindles.

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses skilled wood turners to create small round boxes with lift-off lids for containing fine herbs and spices. They're beautifully made, versatile and terrific value.

http://www.polmacuk.com

The Natural Beauty Of Wood Presentation Boxes!

Wood is a material that has been deeply embedded in the history, culture and life of humans worldwide. It was used to create fire, build shelters and make weapons, so it has satisfied the basic survival instincts of human beings, from the earliest times.

 

People have been fascinated by the colour, texture, tone, durability and flexibility of wood for thousands of years. It's one of the reasons it resonates so well in many traditional industries today, such as the Scottish whisky industry.

 

Polmac (UK) Ltd Wood Perfume Boxes

 

Wood is ideally suited to meet people's basic needs and desires. They want a calm, stress-free atmosphere in their lives. They also want to counter the constant 'white noise' they're subjected to, every day.

People today are savvy about the environment and how it impacts on their lives, so are searching for more sustainable, eco-friendly materials. When managed properly trees provide a rich wood resource that satisfies this need.

Polmac (UK) Ltd manufactures custom-made, wood boxes and sources it's wood supplies from sustainable and managed forests, near the beautiful, jagged Carpathian mountains in the south of Poland.

Every step of the manufacturing process draws on the expertise of our craftsmen, whether using the very best hand-crafting techniques, or technological innovations.

No other material today matches wood in versatility or beauty, so it is fantastic to see how creatively wood is used today, whether as a sleek modern design or a more traditional design.

Wood's true beauty emerges gradually over time and develops a subtle, yet rich, quality that gives it a true personality. This is why products associated with natural wood increase in perceived value and become instantly more attractive to potential customers. If people see real value in a product, they will always be willing to pay more for it.

This combination means that Polmac (UK) Ltd can create custom-made, wood presentation boxes and packaging of exceptional quality and beauty that your customers will find irresistible!

http://www.polmacuk.com

Plywood v Solid Wood - The Pefect Combination!

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses a combination of solid, natural wood and plywood in the manufacture of it's customized, wood presentation boxes.

 

Plywood is essentially a wood product made from multiple layers of thin solid wood that are glued together to form a panel of a specified thickness. The layers are rotated so that the grain direction in one ply is at right angles relative to the adjacent layer. This increases the strength and dimensional stability of the plywood.

Plywood is most commonly manufactured in thicknesses of approximately 5mm to 19 mm. A standard sheet of plywood measures 1.2 m wide by 2.4 m long, although over sized plywood, can also be ordered.

Harrods Wine Cases (Made from a combination of solid wood and plywood)

Plywood is made from softwoods and hardwoods and is available in a number of grades. For example, 'A' grade plywood is practically free from all defects, whereas 'X' grade plywood has plenty of knots, knotholes, cracks and other defects.

The choice of plywood grade would naturally depend upon the usage. Where specified, only the best 'A' grade plywood is used in Polmac wood presentation boxes.

In large presentation boxes, Polmac (UK) Ltd often uses a combination of plywood and solid wood. Plywood is used for lids and bases where the surface area is large, in order to prevent warping. The sides of large Polmac wood boxes are usually made from solid wood, unless otherwise specified, as they are usually shallow and are stiffened and restrained by the lid and base panels.

Solid wood planks are sawn from logs, then cured outdoors and / or kiln dried. The drying process reduces the moisture content of the wood and increases its strength and dimensional stability. However, even after kiln drying, large solid wood pieces can still experience some shrinkage in changing atmospheric conditions particularly humidity. Careful monitoring of the moisture content is therefore necessary.

Solid wood is also graded depending upon whether it's a softwood or a hardwood.

Plywood is used when a sheet material is required that is not susceptible to cracking, shrinking, or warping, or where curved surfaces are required, such as round hamper boxes or hat boxes. In these circumstances using birch ply is ideal!

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses natural wood, in the manufacture of it's wood presentation boxes not only for it's intrinsic strength and stiffness but also because of it's beauty and aesthetic quality. Where there is the possibility of movement, high grade plywood is used.

http://www.polmacuk.com