| About Us |
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The workshop is situated
in the small picturesque village of Stoke Rochford,
just south of Grantham in Lincolnshire.
After 20 years as an engineer,
Paul Procter’s life-long fascination for
wood, and an interest in design, led him to take
up woodturning as a full-time occupation in 1989.
Paul is self-taught and like
many woodturners obtained information on the basic
techniques from the many books and articles written
on the subject, developing his own style along
the way.
He chooses wood with a variety
of natural colour and interesting grain patterns
to give each piece a unique identity. Burr elm,
oak and yew are ideal raw materials.
More than 20 different species
of native timber are used, including apple, ash,
spalted beech, cherry, elm, oak, walnut and yew.
These are obtained from local estates as thinnings
and storm-damaged timber, and from sawmills as
mature harvested trees.
A small amount of exotic wood
from countries such as Australia and Cameroon
is used to add interest and vivid colour. All
the wood is obtained from ecologically sound sources.
In addition to the products
to be found on this web site we also undertake
commissions for businesses and private customers.
These are widely varied and include joinery and
furniture parts, architectural turnings and prototype
manufacture.
Furniture restoration started
off as a fill-in for quiet periods, but has now
established itself as a significant part of the
business.
Our philosophy is to produce
top quality work at a fair price and our reputation
has been built upon this and the high standard
of our customer service. |
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| Information About Lamps |
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- Lamps are made from solid wood
with a wide diameter base for stability.
- Most lamps are made to order,
so you can specify different woods, sizes, or
finishes.
- Lamps can be supplied in pairs.
- All lamps are fully wired and
this includes a top quality switched brass lampholder,
gold flex and plug.
- Lamps are finished with either
Danish oil, shellac sanding sealer or wax polish,
whichever is appropriate. The final coat is always
wax, applied by hand to give that unmistakable
feel to the wood.
- Customers can specify the type
of finish.
- Natural finish - the above
finishes are applied on unstained wood to enhance
the natural colour.
- Antique finish - the wood is
lightly stained to achieve a mellow appearance.
- Most lamps can be supplied
in Acrylic Primer ready for you to apply your
own paint finish, if you prefer.
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| Information About Fruit |
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Making
the Fruit
All the round fruit
are hand turned on the lathe. Bananas
are shaped with a spoke shave. After
sanding, the fruit are finished using
either Danish Oil, or shellac sanding
sealer, then waxed. Some are cellulose
lacquered instead. Whichever method is
used, an attractive durable finish results.
Some large fruit,
particularly the oak, are just given
several coats of wax polish as they look
better that way. |
Burr wood
A burr (or burl in USA)
is an abnormal growth on the outside of
a tree varying in size from a walnut to
several feet. It will have lots of little
twigs growing out of it. Each twig means
a small "eye" or knot will exist
inside the tree. The timber obtained from
such burrs is invariably more colourful
and always more highly figured than wood
obtained from the normal tree growth.
It has a tendency to
develop cracks and other character defects
whilst seasoning, but they rarely detract
from the attractive appearance of the timber.
Wasps
A real wasp has yellow
and brown rings on its body, so our wasps
are made by laminating alternate blocks
of walnut and pequia (yellow wood), which
are then turned to make head and body. The
wings are also pequia. This is a little
artistic licence, since we cannot obtain
transparent wood.
Over the years, I have
made thousands of wooden fruit and enjoyed
most of it! I have had a few returned from
shops and galleries for replacement of broken
stalks, but high standards and attention
to detail have ensured that I have only
ever had one complaint. |
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