Quality Materials Matter

In this article: hardwood timber, construction timber, resin, pigments & colours, oils & finishes

Firstly, a confession. I'm a little bit obsessive, somewhat of a perfectionist and a touch OCD. No bad thing by any stretch of the imagination - a lot of my favourite people share similar traits - but it can be a little frustrating when I'm trying to get something done quickly. Even if I know I'm just doing something for myself or as a test or a temporary solution; I can't help but over think and obsess about it for a disproportionate amount of time...and that's before I even start making it.

I need to know that if there is even the remotest possibility of some nuanced, tiny, future edge use-case for something, I've either addressed it in the design up front or left room to modify the piece at a later date. Consequently, that means that small, simple jobs become over-planned, over-engineered and over-executed on a regular basis.

The flip side of this however is that everything I produce ends up being incredibly satisfyingly thought through and constructed to withstand pretty much anything.

Part of the structural integrity and quality has to come from the materials - you can't polish a turd as they say; and even if you do put lipstick on the pig, sooner or later it's going to have its face buried in the mud again! So yes, as you may have guessed, quality materials matter. As the saying goes, 'Buy cheap, buy twice'.

I've been lucky to have built up a network of long-standing, reputable suppliers and products who care about my work and perhaps even more importantly, care about my clients and customers. These are the people and products I know I can rely on to meet the high standards we should all be able expect.

Left to right: Elm, Pippy Oak, Olive & American Walnut

Timber

Take for example my favourite hardwood timber yard, Surrey Timbers . Every time I visit, I end up spending far too long browsing some of the incredible timber they have on offer - it's a genuine Aladdin's cave for someone like me with such an incredible selection of products. It's not the most local of places for me so it's super handy I can order online too, but to get a full selection of everything in stock, it's worth a bit of a drive over there.

For all my construction and framing timber and especially exterior, treated wood for garden bars and buildings, I trust the team at Crowthorne Fencing completely. Great inventory and great prices and always happy to help for any specific requests. They are part of the Lawsons group which again means online ordering is a possibility which is handy for bigger deliveries too. One of the first projects I worked on with their materials was a bespoke Bike Shed and since then, I haven't ever looked back. And yes I've tried most of the other big builders merchants and timber suppliers at one point or another but these guys are always my first choice.

Vista Lake Art Resin

Resin

When it comes to resin, quality of product is critical. Resin that doesn't cure hard enough, goes off too fast, doesn't mix or bond well can cause no end of issues. That's why I love Vista Resin from Vuba. They are a UK based manufacturer with a great range of products for various applications and depths of pour. The team are super friendly too and do a great job of supporting their customers and their businesses.

Another great resin company is Glass Cast. Not only do they have a great product but they also do a terrific job of providing info and support for anyone just getting started and even offer a starter kit of all the various accessories you need to try working with resin yourself.

Glass Cast Mica Powder

Pigments & Colours

A lot of people get into resin because they love the colour options which leads me to pigments. Unfortunately, the UK market is well behind the US and Australia in terms of sheer numbers of options but there are still some great pigments, dyes and powders easily available. A quick amazon search will pull up a load of mixed selection packs of mica powders from all over the place. My preference however is to buy larger sizes in specific colours as for my requirements, that's often more likely to be what I need. Both Vista and Glass Cast have a good range of various types available but one of the nicest selections I have found is courtesy of Resin8. These guys have a wide range of all kinds of colouring options and in good size variations too.

A selection of Resin8 mica powder pigments

If you're prepared to look further afield and risk getting stung for the import duty, there are US based companies who ship to the UK. Guys like Eye Candy Customz have a stunning range of pigments as do Black Diamond Pigments and if you're looking for really unique colours, I have yet to find anything as exotic from a UK supplier.

Oils & Finishes

The final touch for a lot of projects is the finishing. Oils, waxes, butters - there are plenty of products and plenty of suppliers but almost without exception, time and time again, the same names come up and it's not by chance that these are also my preferred products.

Odies is amazing. Smells great, great range of products, simple to use and maintain. It isn't cheap but a little goes a long way. If you're in the UK like me, woodandmetalcrafts.com are an official UK supplier and one of best places to get hold of it.

Odies Oil

Osmo TopOil in Clear satin

Osmo's range of products provide great protection and finish and Wood Finishes Direct are always well stocked.

I should mention that Rubio Monocoat gets a lot of good chatter from those in the know but I have yet to try it out myself. Do let me know if you have though.

Stains, Dyes & Varnishes

You may be thinking I've missed out things like dyes, stains and varnishes. Well I haven't entirely overlooked them, but I don't have a personal relationship with any of the brands/suppliers so they don't quite fall under the same umbrella (apart from the guys at woodandmetalcrafts.com who sell Odies in the UK) . However, in the interest of completeness, when it comes to stains and dyes I always get on well with Liberon (or again, Odies). My varnish du jour (based on recent experience of using it to cover the top of my new workbench) is this stuff from Sadolin which is so tough it's amazing. Proper 2-parter full of dizzy chemicals though, so watch yourself and keep well ventilated!

That's all for now but if you have any questions or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

The Oaky Blokey

'Learning all the time'

*All information correct at time of publishing

**These are only the views of The Oaky Blokey

***The Okay Blokey is no way affiliated with any product or supplier