Dominic Ash Ltd specialises in high-end joinery and interiors. It produces premium quality designs in hard wood and contemporary materials for both the trade and general public. The company, based in Gloucestershire, has extensive experience in designing and building bespoke kitchens and in creating individual pieces of furniture for interiors.
Founder and director of the business, Dominic Ash, trained for six years with a Quaker furniture maker in Somerset, before working on boat restoration in the Caribbean. His experience led to the development of his individual practice, with an emphasis on attention to detail, simple design and the use of quality materials.
He opened his own workshop and established Dominic Ash Ltd in London in 1994. The company’s skilled team of joiners work on a wide range of commissions, from complete kitchens to individual pieces like teak basins.
“Our business is focused on first class quality and individualism,” explains Ash. “The projects we undertake are bespoke and finishes range from solid wood and veneers to painted surfaces. Whatever the finish, however, we have to be absolutely certain that each piece we produce is sanded to give the perfect surface finish.”
The search for a new sander
“Last year, we decided that the time was right to replace our old sander which was getting very long in the tooth. As a small business, we have to make sure that every piece of machinery we invest in not only does the job required, but also offers value for money.
“The woodworking exhibition at the NEC in October was the ideal place for us to see all the manufacturers under one roof. It enabled us to evaluate the wide belt sanding machines on offer and get a feel for each supplier.
“In terms of our manufacturing requirements, we were looking for a simple and easy to operate sander that could handle solid wood and veneers with equal proficiency. Our existing sander was only 950 mm wide and ideally we were looking for a machine that would allow us to process larger parts.”
HOMAG fits the bill
“Having seen the various wide belt sanders in action, the one that impressed us most was the HOMAG SWT 124 (SANDTEQ W-100). With an 1100 mm width capacity, simple operation and the ability to handle both solid wood and veneers, it was the perfect solution for our business.
“HOMAG were very helpful and extremely knowledgeable. They didn’t try to sell me the machine; they were straight-talking and very confident that the SWT 124 (SANDTEQ W-100) was the right model for our needs.
“It was a refreshing approach as others had tried to sell us machines with ‘bells and whistles’ that we just didn’t need. HOMAG has given us the right machine at a competitive price. It is an excellent all round sander perfect for our bespoke work.”
First class installation and training
“As one would expect from a brand with the pedigree of HOMAG, the delivery, installation and training went exactly to plan. Our operators found the training very informative and were able to get the best out of the sander almost immediately.
“Naturally with a new piece of equipment we experienced the odd teething issue, but hats off to HOMAG, these were sorted quickly and efficiently. All in all, our experience with HOMAG has been excellent and they will certainly be at the top of our short list when it comes to replacing other woodworking machinery,” concludes a delighted Dominic Ash.
HOMAG entry-level solutions
The space-saving design of the HOMAG SANDTEQ W-100 Series includes easy access to all functions to make changing sanding belts quick and easy. The W-100 Series includes single or twin-head options with either the air cushion sanding pad (acp®), perfect for flat work pieces or the electronic pneumatic system (eps®) which, due to the small segment width of 50 mm, provides optimal pressure across non-uniform work pieces.
Dependent on the head combinations, the machines can execute sanding tasks including calibrating, fine solid wood sanding, veneered panels as well as intermediate lacquer sanding.
Single-head models feature a combi-head with profiled steel contact roller and a work piece controlled air-cushion sanding pad. The twin head models feature a calibration-head with profiled steel contact roller and a combi-head with profiled, rubberized 60° shore contact roller and a work piece controlled air-cushion sanding pad.
The twin-head machines offer sanding in a single pass with a 2 grit sequence plus optional lacquer sanding. Both single and twin-headed machines provide a working width of 1100 mm, variable feed speed controlled by frequency invertor, a colour touchscreen operator terminal, a maintenance free DC braking system, independently driven sanding heads and poly V-belt drives.
If you would like more information or a demonstration of any of the HOMAG wide belt sanders or software, please contact HOMAG UK on 01332 856424.
“Having seen the various wide belt sanders in action, the one that impressed us most was HOMAG. With an 1100 mm width capacity, simple operation and the ability to handle both solid wood and veneers, it was the perfect solution for our business.”Dominic Ash, Founder and Director of Dominic Ash Ltd