Waters & Acland Fine Furniture Makers choose Kundig,Hofmann and Genisis

Amongst the cafe's and craft shops nestled away in the vibrant hamlet of Staveley Yard, Staveley, Cumbria you will find Waters and Acland, designers and manufacturers of individually crafted fine furniture.

All works commissioned carry a combination of artistic flair and traditional craftsmanship and cater for those looking for individuality and gratification felt by the unbounded attention to detail.

In early 2009 a decision was made by W & A to invest in a complete new workshop of machinery to assist in the manufacture of their works, which by the very nature had to offer the utmost in flexibility and offer a level of accuracy and quality of finish, which would be reflected in every component of every piece of furniture created for W & A's discerning clientele.

Following months of factual research into the vast array of machinery available at all price levels and differing specifications, the order to commission the new workshop which would also include the design and installation of suitable dust extraction was placed with Lancashire based J & C O'Meara Ltd.

Say's Carl O'Meara 'Needless to say we were pleased to receive the order from W & A and believe that as we are a totally independent company we can supply machinery which is right for the customer rather than just supply machinery from an available source.'

Catering for the accurate calibration and surface finishing is the Kundig Premium-2 1100 RE which is readily switched from contact roller to the segmental finishing pad by the press of a button. The machine was supplied with infeed and outfeed tables to offer the appropriate support before and after sanding which could be folded away when not in use. Also supplied for the finishing of all edges was a Kundig Uniq edge sanding machine which having stepped tables allows both the solid wood and fine sanding sides of the machine to be used simultaneously. Particularly advantageous is the motorised tilting sanding head which allows the work piece to stay flat on the cast iron bed whilst sanding bevelled edges. This machine was also supplied with 4 different diameter bobbins and additional cast table, lateral extendable support on the fine sanding side, variable speed of the abrasive so fine grit sizes can be used and an additional support table to enable sanding off the end drive roller.

For the preparation and machining the German built Hofmann AHW surface planer having 3,000mm length surface tables and 500mm working width with TERSA cutterblock was supplied. The cast iron tables are made out of ribbed cast iron to ensure easy feeding, the all cast iron construction to ensure long term accuracy and an auxiliary drop down fence for additional safety when machining smaller components.

Complimenting the planer is a Genisis SP530 Thicknessing machine with 2 motorised speeds to setting the thickness bed, TERSA cutter block and sectional infeed to allow multiple strips to be fed at any one time. The machine is also complete with numeric indication to the finished size with accuracy to 0.1mm.

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Also supplied was a Hofmann TFS 107 spindle moulder with motorised raise, lower and tilt of the spindle. The heavy duty fence assembly has centralised movement by hand wheel and numeric counter with a micro adjustable infeed fence. The cast iron table is 2000mm in length and again manufactured in ribbed grey cast iron.

For the initial cutting, a Genisis XM panel saw was supplied. This machine is of heavy duty construction and has a 3,200mm reinforced multi chamber sliding table for the accurate cutting of both sheet material and the straight lining of waney edge timber. The machine has the option of taking up to a 450mm diameter main blade whilst allowing the scoring saw to stay on the machine. Complete with a powerful 5.5Kw (7.5 Hp) motor, long saw shaft to ensure blade stability and allow easy access to selecting the blade speed. The independent scorer can be retracted when not in use and there are LED displays for both the blade speed and the angle to which the blades are set. The machine comes complete with independent over head saw guard allowing material to pass over the top of the blade, quick release to the cross cut fence and separate mitre fence for cutting angles across the face.

Completeing the purchase, a bespoke dust extraction system was designed and installed, with every machine having an individual shut off gate and the multi filter fine dust unit capable of extracting multiple machines at any given time.