Alan McNeilly takes a look at some wooden bases from UK Wooden Bases.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

I was ordering from Derek for a long time now and his bases are first class. I'm definitely a happy customer.

Thanks for a quick review and a reminder... I'll have to get couple of bases for my new projects.

Mario

As a woodworker, "hand turned" is misleading. They are cut with either a shaper or router.

Hi Mario,

I found him just by chance,

Hi Darrell,

Hand turned is part of the company name and the introduction to his product is quite clear at least to me.

Quote

Hand Made using Traditional Methods…

We have been producing wooden bases for modellers and trophy makers for over a decade. Our products are hand made at our workshop in Surrey, England. We use traditional wood turning methods for round bases and our square, rectangular and oval shapes are made using routing machines.

We use only the best materials, our bases are made in Mahogany the traditional wood used for bases, we are now also able to offer all of our bases in a satin black finish as well as our polished mahogany finish.

Unquote

I don't see anything misleading about that.

Al

Has anyone had any issues with wood warping when wet plaster or diluted white glue is sprayed onto the top? I read rumors that wooden bases warp when anything wet is added on top and there's solutions such as sanding the top rough, gluing down plastic, or gluing on a thin frame to prevent the plaster from sliding off the slick top surface.

A layer of PVA glue should work as a barrier to prevent that issue, and the PVA itself should not cause warping unless the wood is swimming in it.

Thanks!

Never heard of wooden bases warping... I guess you would have to soak them pretty well to have wood warping. Besides, the bases from woodenbases.co.uk are all varnished.

As for sanding the top, I usually drill a series of small holes to make the plaster stick better to the irregular surface.

Mario

Thanks, Mario. The small holes make sense in securing the plaster to the base as a sort of "peg-in-hole" system.

Another method of ensuring that the plaster stays put is to hammer in some panel pins and leave them slightly proud of the surface.