What To Look For in Ordering Parts for Wood Flags

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Properly sourcing wood flag parts is crucial since the longevity and effectiveness of these components affect how sturdy and useful a flag would be. Substandard parts will shorten flag setup lifespans, while premium materials will maximize the usability of wood flags.

When choosing wood flag parts for your application, it is vital to look at several significant factors before making the purchase. This article will dive into the things to consider when ordering parts for wood flags.

Flag Parts Size and Pole Height

Consider the best sizing specifications for your flag to ensure they complement one another. As a general guideline, the flag’s width should be around 20% of the height of the pole. For instance, a 20-foot flag pole would generally hold a 4 feet x 6 feet flag.

Wood Quality

Birchwood is often used to manufacture wood flag parts, but pine or oak wood are equally common options. Birchwood is notable for its straight wood grain and appealing pattern. It is also light in color yet strong and long-lasting. Further, this wood resists deterioration and dyes and polishes well.

Wood Flags Finish

The wood flag should be well-sanded before applying several coats of the chosen finish. The typical finish consists of a white primer, two coats of undercoat, and two coats of gloss. Flags can also be supplied with several coats of clear varnish to highlight the grain and figure of the wood.

Reliability of Parts

The product must work and function as advertised or promised by the manufacturer. The more reliable your flag parts are, the more likely your company will have a solid reputation in the eyes of your customers.

Other Considerations

Aside from the things to consider when ordering parts for wood flags, there are also other factors to take into account:

Additional Services Provided

In addition to their primary services and solutions, it is a good idea to explore a wood flag parts supplier’s other products and see what more they offer. Rather than focusing on individual services, you’re best served by a manufacturer offering comprehensive solutions completely suited to our various business concerns.

Manufacturer’s Reputation

We live in a global economy where products and services may be sourced from all over the world. Still, it is best to patronize American-made products in buying wood parts for your flag, as the influx of foreign goods does not guarantee superior products or materials. Moreover, American-made benefits the economy, communities, and our collective awareness as a country.

Competitive Pricing

Look beyond the price tag to see whether a product will be cost-effective in the long run. After all, you don’t want to purchase parts at below-market prices just to end up with massive expenses for defective components.

Top Quality Wood Flags From E.W. Hannas

Wood flags are often more affordable than their metal counterparts. Their low price makes them an appealing option for homes and business owners wishing to cut costs while purchasing a durable product. Aside from the aesthetic value it provides, it also cannot corrode since they do not contain iron.

Since the 1940s, E.W. Hannas has been a major supplier of wood flag parts to the top American flag makers. Our products are 100% Made in America, and we have a fast, dependable workforce constantly focused on flags.

Contact us today, and our Customer Care Professionals will assist you in selecting, purchasing, and installing the wood flag parts you need. If you want immediate assistance with your wood flag parts purchase, you may also request a quote from one of our expert salespersons.

What Are Wood Biscuits Used For?

Wood biscuits are oval-shaped, compressed beech or engineered wood pieces used to join two wood elements together. Utilizing a method invented in 1956 by Hermann Steiner in Liestal, Switzerland, the use of wood biscuits remains a popular choice for many craftsmen today. 

What Are Wood Biscuits Used For

What Are Wood Biscuits Used For?

When joining two wooden pieces together, wood biscuits are often used to create a strong bond that is easier than utilizing other joining methods such as mortise and tenon joints. The process of using a wood biscuit involves creating a crescent-shaped hole in the two pieces of wood being joined. An adhesive is placed into both holes, and a single wood biscuit is inserted into both slots, seamlessly bringing the two pieces together. Some of the most frequently used applications for wood biscuits include:

  • end-to-edge joints
  • edge-to-edge joints
  • rail-to-leg offset joints
  • face-to-edge joints

Used in cabinet making and other areas where a joint spans a large area, wood biscuits provide a strong, straight alignment, which needs much less sanding than other methods. While these are the most popular uses, there are a wide variety of applications that utilize wood biscuits as a wood-joining method. 

Common Sizes for Wood Biscuits

There are three commonly used engineered wood biscuit sizes:

  • #0: 5/8″ x 1 3/4″
  • #10: 3/4″ x 2 1/8″
  • #20: 1″ x 2 3/8″

Engineered wood is comprised of strands, fibers, veneers, or even thin wooden boards that have been compressed together with adhesive to form a solid piece. Common types of engineered wood include medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and plywood.

  • MDF utilizes a hot press to compress the wood fibers. This process creates a higher density and, therefore, a more robust engineered wood product.
  • Particleboard is formed by using synthetic resins to bind wood chips, sawmill shavings, or sawdust together. 
  • Plywood consists of cross-laminated wood veneer sheets that have been bonded together using heat, pressure, and moisture-resistant adhesives.

While each of these processes is slightly different, they all create engineered wood products that continue to prove their value year after year. Durable and water-resistant, engineered wood is affordable and easy to manufacture. In addition, engineered wood creates a much more efficient construction process. By using fewer trees and creating less waste than other wood products, engineered wood is also an environmentally sustainable product.  

EW Hannas Manufacturing Buttons, Plugs, and Biscuits

Whether your needs are best suited to standard biscuit sizes or require custom sizing, EW Hannas provides quality biscuits with the close tolerances needed for exceptional craftsmanship. In addition, we can meet any packaging needs you have in order to supply or display biscuit products on your shelves. 

EW Hannas applies the same quality assurance to our buttons and plugs in order to meet all of your precision wood product needs. Request a quote or contact us for more information on how our quality wood biscuits can drive your business forward. 

Understanding Dowels & Dowel Pins

While working on any wood project, you need dowel pins to secure wooden parts firmly. This ensures your crafts are strong enough in every joint. You can use dowel pins in structural reinforcements such as shelf support, cabinet making, toy wheel axles, movable game pieces, and more. Read on to learn more.

Dowel Pins

What Are Wood Dowel Pins?

Wood dowel pins are straight, solid pins that contain chamfered ends. These pins help during alignment and insertion, usually utilized as fasteners.

What Are Wood Dowels?

They are made from a cylindrical wooden rod, usually cut into shorter lengths. You can purchase a wide range of pre-cut dowels that are ready for use in your project.

How Do Dowel Pins Work?

For dowel pins to work, you should first drill holes in your wooden pieces that will fit your dowel pins perfectly. You can then squeeze the dowel pins inside the holes to subsequently attach the other pieces of wood. When you insert a dowel pin in concentric holes through two or more components, it locates and securely keeps them together. A slight transitional fit or interference is also used to compress the pin and generate enough friction to firmly hold the pin in the hole.

Advantages of Using Wood Dowel Pins and Dowel Joints

No Need for Hardware

When using dowel joints in your woodworking project, you can forgo nails, screws, and staples. This means you will also avoid the potential injuries caused by these hardware items when connecting wooden pieces. Aesthetically, your project will have a professional, finished look, because screws won’t interrupt the grain pattern.

Versatility

You can use dowel joints in flat or angle joints as well as complex joints. You can make reinforced dowel joints for use in items such as shelves and cabinets that need extra accuracy.

Stronger Joints

Dowel joints provide extra strength to parts that are constantly pulled or twisted. These joints provide an even more secure connection than using a tail and pin.

Different Types of Wood Dowel Pins

When wood dowels are cut to dowel pins, they are utilized as reinforcements to joints. Note that you should always leave a path for air and excess glue to escape once you press the dowel into place. If you decide to hammer the dowel to relieve the hydraulic pressure, it can lead to a split in the wood.

If you join two wooden pieces using dowels embedded in blind holes, you can place pieces of shot between the wood to produce indentations once you clamp them. After releasing the clamp, the indentation indicates the center point where you can drill.

Here are different types of dowels:

  • Pointed Dowels
  • Color-Coded Dowels
  • Stained and Finished Dowels
  • Slotted Dowels
  • Tenoned Dowels
  • End-Bored Dowels
  • Ladder Rungs
  • Engraved or Imprinted Dowels
  • Stakes – Sod Stakes, Plant Stakes
  • Craft Dowels
  • Skewers
  • Apple Sticks
  • Cosmetics & Healthcare – cotton tip applicator, make-up sticks, and cuticle sticks
  • Poles
  • Marshmallow Sticks
  • Mop Handles
  • Pennant Sticks

E.W. Hannas Manufactures Superior Dowels for Your Needs

Dowel pins make your woodworking projects easier because you don’t need hardware, and you actually achieve stronger joints. Even better, your final project has a professional, finished look. As you plan to work on your next wood project, get the highest standard dowel pins from E.W. Hannas. Contact us today for the custom wood part you need.

Solid Wood vs. Manufactured Wood

Houses, furniture, boxes, decor, cutting boards, skewers, popsicle sticks, and so many other items are made of wood. Durable and reliable, wood is a go-to material in a number of industries. However, different applications call for different types of wood, and the first big decision is whether to use solid wood or manufactured wood.

Solid Wood

Solid wood is wood that comes directly from the tree. It’s divided into two primary categories: hardwood, like oak, walnut, and maple, and softwood, like pine and cedar. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in certain applications.

While solid wood is more expensive than manufactured wood, many people prefer it for its natural beauty, density, and strength. Because every tree is different, every item made of solid wood features unique grain and coloring. It’s incredibly durable—many pieces of solid wood furniture can be passed down for generations—and is commonly used for flooring, construction, fine cabinetry, and more.

Engineered Wood

Engineered wood is a composite made of wood fibers held together with adhesives. These manufactured woods include plywood, particleboard, and fiberboard. While it’s not as strong or durable as solid wood, it offers its own advantages.

Manufactured wood is much less expensive than solid wood. It’s as versatile as solid wood, with the added advantage of being easier to work with and install, and it’s available in a wide range of colors and patterns to suit your aesthetic preferences. When used for flooring, for example, it’s more affordable than a solid hardwood floor, but it can be made to look like real wood with better resistance to scratches and stains. Manufactured wood is not as susceptible to water damage.

Engineered wood is also more sustainable than solid wood. A home made of manufactured wood, for example, demands fewer trees than a home made of solid wood. Some types of engineered wood are made of waste products like sawdust and wood chips, and they may also incorporate the use of bamboo or hemp, both of which are rapidly renewable.

E.W. Hannas Manufacturing Wooden Products

Manufactured wood is a great choice for packaging, affordable furniture and cabinets, interior doors, cost-effective construction, and products that aren’t subject to a lot of wear and tear or aren’t meant to last for decades. From crates and advertising novelties to handles, drink stirrers, and more, manufactured wood is often a practical choice.

E.W. Hannas is a fourth-generation family company specializing in custom wood products. For more than 100 years, we’ve been your go-to source for high-quality wooden crates, handles, food-safe products, dowels, crafts, and more. We uphold the highest industry standards, as evidenced by our certifications, including ISO 9001:2008, FSC, and C-TPA, and our involvement with industry associations like the National Association of Home Builders, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Wood Products Manufacturers Association, and the Global Food Safety Initiative. Contact us to learn more about our standard and custom wood products and our range of services, including private labeling, shipping and warehousing, and more, or to request a quote for your project.

What Kind of Wood Are Popsicle Sticks Made of?

What Kind of Wood Are Popsicle Sticks Made of?

Though it can vary from company to company, popsicle sticks are typically made of birchwood. Occasionally, plastic or another type of wood is used for ice cream sticks and holders, but birchwood remains popular for many reasons. It’s accessible and sustainable, and its unique properties are well-suited for use alongside food items.

Benefits of Birchwood

Because it’s smooth and durable and offers a neutral smell and taste, birchwood is a prime choice for food grade products:

  • Smooth: Choosing the wrong wood for an ice cream stick could result in a consumer getting splinters, which would be a nightmare for both the consumer and the company that produced the dangerous treat. The smooth, even texture of birchwood is safe, and it feels better in your mouth as you eat a popsicle.
  • Durable: Popsicle sticks made of birch are unlikely to break during normal usage; if they do, the properties of the wood allow for a cleaner, safer break. 
  • Tasteless: Birch offers a neutral taste that doesn’t interfere with the ice cream or popsicle flavor. 
  • Food Safe: Food manufacturers must use food grade materials to package their products, and that includes any wooden components. Birch features a fine grain, making it harder for food to get trapped in the wood. It’s used to make a number of products that are used with food, including cutting boards, rolling pins, skewers, corn dog sticks, drink stirrers, and more.
  • Biodegradable: Whereas a plastic popsicle stick will stay nearly forever in a landfill, a wooden popsicle stick will decompose.

Food Safe Products at E.W. Hannas

At E.W. Hannas, we have decades of wood-based experience. We work with birchwood for a variety of our food safe products, and we take our responsibility to you seriously. We monitor the entire process involved in creating our ice cream and popsicle sticks, from harvesting the tree to enjoying a frozen treat. We offer extensive testing, backed by industry certifications, to ensure ecological responsibility, efficient production and quality control, and consumer safety. 

Contact E.W. Hannas for Your Popsicle Stick Needs

We offer wood assemblies ranging from popsicle sticks and other food safe products to crates, handles, dowels, advertising novelties, crafts, and custom wood products, but we don’t stop there. Our full line of services includes private labeling, supply chain management, and shipping and warehousing. 

With both third-party inspectors and internal auditors, we ensure our entire operation is held to the highest standards for safety and quality. We hold ISO 9001:2008, FSC, and C-TPAT certifications and belong to leading industry associations like the Global Food Safety Initiative, the National Association of Home Builders, the Wood Products Manufacturers Association, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and others. Founded in 1918, E.W. Hannas is a fourth-generation company committed to ongoing growth, a renewable future, and complete client satisfaction.

Contact us for more information about our popsicle sticks, corn dog sticks, kitchenware, and other food-safe wooden products, or to get a quote for your project. 

A Guide to E.W. Hannas’s Custom Woodworking Capabilities

A Guide to E.W. Hannas’s Custom Woodworking Capabilities

Wood has been prized as a key construction material since ancient times. Today, it continues to find application in modern manufacturing operations as it is used to craft everything from industrial boxes and crates to children’s blocks. The process of making these parts and products is known as woodworking, and it can utilize a wide range of techniques and technologies to turn the raw material into a functional or decorative item. 

At E.W. Hannas, we are proud to have carried on the history and tradition of custom woodworking for over 100 years. In addition to maintaining a vast catalog of wood-based components and products that are found in hundreds of industries and applications across the globe, we continually invest in new machines, supply chains, and sustainability efforts to ensure we can continue to roll out new solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s customers. Below, we highlight our custom woodworking capabilities. 

Buttons, Plugs, & Biscuits

Biscuits, buttons, and plugs must be built to tight tolerances to ensure they fit in their designated holes. As a specialized supplier of high volumes of precision wood parts and products, we have what it takes to manufacture all of these components to your exact specifications and standards. We can make CQ or CCA-treated plugs up to 3 inches in diameter and any length for filling core samplings, composite wood biscuits for furniture assembly, and various buttons and plugs. 

Our button, plug, and biscuit product capabilities include: 

  • Bungs
  • Fluted dowel pins
  • Joiner biscuits
  • Screw hole buttons
  • Spiral groove dowel pins
  • Tree plugs

Wood Handles

Handles can serve both a functional and decorative purpose in woodworking applications. That’s why we put in the effort to make beautifully crafted wood handles that allow for a tight ergonomic grip and add value to a wooden piece. We can custom make handles in any shape or size for indoor or outdoor and houseware or hardware use. Various options for stains, varnishes, imprints, and hardware are available to ensure we can match your functional and aesthetic needs.

Our wood handle product capabilities include: 

  • Fan handles
  • Ferruled handles
  • Finished handles
  • Flat handles
  • Pole handles
  • Turned handles

Crates & Boxes

Boxes and crates can be used as a simple containers and/or a marketing opportunities depending on their design and construction. We offer a variety of assembly methods, hardware options, and customization capabilities to allow you to tailor your boxes and crates to have the look and feel you want. 

Our crate and box product capabilities include: 

  • Candy Boxes
  • Food Crates
  • Ring Boxes
  • Tea Boxes
  • Wine Boxes
  • Custom wood boxes and crates

Advertising Novelties

Customized novelties are a good way of getting your brand out there. By distributing wooden products instead of plastic ones, you can market your business without contributing to the growing plastic waste crisis. We can add your company logo or message to thousands of different wood products or ship out the products for you to imprint yourself.

Our advertising novelty product capabilities include: 

  • Golf tees
  • Imprinted wooden eggs
  • Keyrings
  • Pens
  • Tokens and “nickels”
  • Toys and trinkets

Wood Crafts

The wood crafts industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Equipped with carefully crafted tooling and standards, we can make the high-quality, competitively priced products and packaging you need to succeed in this industry. 

Our wood craft product capabilities include: 

  • Balls and blocks
  • Beer flights
  • Cutting boards
  • Display racks
  • Miniatures
  • Picture frames
  • Shapes
  • Slats
  • Split handles for grills
  • Tool handles
  • Wedges

Flag Parts

E.W. Hannas has supplied wood flag parts to the largest United States flag manufacturers since the 1940s. We have a dedicated team of hundreds of workers who focus on providing quality flag components reliably and quickly. 

Our flag part and product capabilities include: 

  • Bases
  • Brackets
  • Eyelets and grommets
  • Finials
  • Flag poles
  • Flag sticks
  • Two-piece flag poles
  • Other flag accessories

Food-Safe Products

Food-related products are subject to strict requirements and restrictions that ensure the food that comes into contact with them continues to be safe for consumption. All food-related products produced at E.W. Hannas meet and/or exceed these specifications and standards. We aim to comply with the highest level of direct food contact suitability that wood parts and products can offer. 

Our food-safe product capabilities include:

  • Corn dog sticks
  • Drink stirrers
  • Ice cream sticks
  • Kitchenware
  • Ornamental picks
  • Skewers

Dowels & Dowel Pins

Dowels and dowel pins play a critical role in many pieces of electronics, furniture, and machinery. By joining two separate pieces of material, they help hold an assembly together. If need, they can be made strong enough to withstand use in heavy-duty applications. 

We produce dowels and dowel pins at the highest standard in the world. We can make them in a range of sizes and with various tips to suit different applications. This quality and customizability, combined with our competitive pricing, make us a leader in this product market. 

Our dowel and dowel pin product capabilities include: 

  • Color-coded dowels
  • Craft dowels
  • End bored dowels
  • Engraved or imprinted dowels
  • Pointed dowels
  • Slotted dowels
  • Stained and finished dowels
  • Tenoned dowels
  • Apple sticks
  • Cosmetics & healthcare components (cotton tip applicator, cuticle sticks, make-up sticks)
  • Ladder rungs
  • Marshmallow sticks
  • Mop handles
  • Pennant sticks
  • Poles
  • Skewers
  • Stakes (sod stakes, plant stakes)

Custom Wood Products

The above product list is not all-inclusive. The woodworking experts at E.W. Hannas can accommodate requests for a broad selection of other standard and custom wood products. We can take your product concept from initial design to prototyping to market distribution, all while ensuring it is customized to be unique to your company. 

Our custom wood product capabilities include: 

  • Custom veneer and finishing options (including furniture-grade)
  • Custom moldings beginning from a CAD drawing or product sample
  • Custom turning with manual and automatic lathes
  • Custom boxes with the ideal dimensions and appearance for your brand

Contact E.W. Hannas for Your Custom Woodworking Needs Today

Looking for a partner for your custom woodworking project? E.W. Hannas is here to help! Companies have turned to us for their woodworking needs since 1918 when we set up shop in Manhattan. We now boast the strongest consortium of wood manufacturing plants in the world, which enables us to deliver high-quality wood parts and products for a diverse range of industries and applications.

Most of our products are available in both standard and custom sizes, with further customizations available depending on the item. We also offer container and pallet rates to keep prices affordable and blanket orders for customers requiring a consistent supply. Whatever your project, we are dedicated to making woodwork for you.

Contact us today to learn more about our product capabilities or discuss your project specifications with one of our team members. 

Breaking Down the Parts of a Flag

Breaking Down the Parts of a Flag

At its simplest, a flag offers a means to display an idea or a message to the world. Many people fly flags to represent their sports team affiliations or other fandoms. Other flags get displayed in support of charitable or political causes. And of course, state and national flags typically signal pride or patriotism. Many flags also tell a story. For example, each of the 50 stars in the American flag represents one of the nation’s 50 states, and each of the 13 stripes stands for one of the original 13 colonies that created the United States. 

What are the Parts of a Flag Called?

  • Header. This heavy fabric runs along the flag’s inside edge to reinforce its connection to a flagpole.
  • Grommets. Usually made from brass or steel, these metal rings reinforce the holes found in a flag’s header.
  • Field or ground. The flag’s field, sometimes called a ground, refers to all fabric between the fly and the hoist.
  • Canton. The canton houses a specific flag design element. For instance, in the American flag, the canton includes the blue field with the 50 white stars.
  • Fly end. The fly end of a flag is the loose end that blows and flaps in the wind.
  • Fly. The fly is the length of a flag from the header to the fly end.
  • Hoist end. The hoist end refers to the flag’s side that includes the header and grommets and attaches to the flag pole.

What are the Flag Structures?

Here are the three most common flag structures:

  • Single-sided flag. The design of a single-sided flag is only printed on one side and doesn’t show through on the other side.
  • Single/reverse flag. A single/reverse flag has the design printed on one side, but a reverse image of the design shows on the other side of the flag. This method is most common for making affordable flags.
  • Double-sided flag. A double-sided flag tends to be of higher quality, with the design displayed prominently on both sides without bleeding through to each other. A double-sided flag is created by sewing two single-sided fabric prints together into a heavier, durable piece of unified fabric. While more costly, these flags are ideal for exposure to wind and weather.

What High-Quality Flag Parts Can We Provide?

E.W. Hannas provides a variety of high-quality flag parts:

  • Flag sticks
  • Flag poles
  • Finials
  • Bases
  • Brackets
  • Eyelets/grommets
  • Two-piece flag poles

E.W. Hannas has been a leading supplier of wood flag parts to the largest American flag manufacturers since the 1940s, without interruption. We have hundreds of dedicated workers who provide unparalleled consistency and commitment to this industry alone. Let our efficiency and quality add value to your finished product, with a timely and reliable team that always stays focused on flags. We stay ahead of the curve with production in numerous regions, and our products are 100% Made in America. 

Contact us today to speak with one of our knowledgeable salespeople for a quote.

 

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