Making Durable Wood Rings
Bending Wood
Our first concern at WoodAround is your ring’s durability. We craft our rings to withstand whatever your daily routine involves. Here we explain how we make the most durable wood rings on the market.
The first step in making long-lasting wood rings involves combining thin layers of real wood to achieve a continuous grain. Each layer of wood is exactingly cut into a thin strip and treated with heat and steam, making it pliable. While pliable, the wood retains its strength and can be formed into a ring.
Pressure infusing
Once the strips are assembled into a ring, we use custom-built pressurization equipment to give the wood extra help with water resistance. This process drives sealant into and throughout the ring, resulting in a ring that is sealed from the inside out.
Take a look at one ring without pressure infusion and the other with pressure infusion under a 40x microscope. For testing purposes we colored the normally crystal clear sealant black. Notice how deep and complete the sealing is on the pressure infused ring. Regardless of external damage, the ring’s wood, from it’s pores to it’s microscopic cells, is completely sealed, strengthened and water tight.
Finishing
Our commitment to durability isn’t just about the inside of the ring. We make rings that last a lifetime and look great without waxing or removal for hand washing or showers.
While many ring makers rely on quick applications of chemical finishes, each batch of WoodAround rings receives a 13 hour finishing process. We take the extra time to make sure our finish is durable, scratch-resistant and beautiful.
Testing
A large part of our commitment to durability lies in product testing. We’ve developed a method of accelerated life testing that immerses rings in water and pummels them with stainless steel shot (among other random destructive elements). Tumbling under these conditions for days on end simulates months of aggressive wear. The latest generation of rings show no noticeable wear after MONTHS of continuous (24/7) tumbling.
Each part of our process is informed by real world feedback and our own rigorous standards. The result is a wood ring that is more durable and attractive than any other on the market.
