Hi

The weeks come and go so quickly, don’t they! Was it really seven days ago the last Newsletter plonked into your inbox? I hope it’s been a good week for you, mine got off to a great start with a demo at the Bury St Edmunds club on Monday, a welcome return there and unusually local – although the road was closed on the way home and I had to take a diversion. Always happens.
Thanks to all the members there for making me feel so welcome, I had a great evening. More and more clubs are getting back to ‘real’ meetings now, so if you haven’t returned to yours yet, and feel able to, please get along and support them. I think we’ve all got a bit lazy about going out over the last couple of years, let’s keep these wonderful clubs going!

It’s back to the Buffing Wheel Kit again for the first question this week. I’m going to give myself a little plug as the questioner did mention that he loved the kit, one of those things you say to yourself ‘why did I not buy it earlier?’. Anyway, he admitted to making a couple of errors in use but watched our ‘excellent demo on YouTube’ (his words, not mine) he was back on track.
The question, though, was about using the kit to buff the inside of a bowl. The wheels can be used for this, but it’s not really recommended. Unless it’s very shallow, the shape of the bowl means that the rotating wheel will grab the edge of it, trying to pull it out of your hands. The better option would be to use one of our Dome Buffs, available in small, medium and large. (The medium is probably the most universal one). These fit into the same mandrel as the wheels. And if it’s a food bowl, use the Microcrystalline Wax (paste or stick) as the final finish, as this wax is suitable for food contact.

A common question, especially at shows (they’re coming back!) is about our Finishing Oil. Would we consider it to be a good alternative to Danish Oil? The answer is yes, it’s really our equivalent to that product. It shares all of the best aspects of it, including Tung Oil, UV filters, and various driers to make it easier to use. Danish Oil was championed by our much missed friend Ronnie Rustin – the original powerhouse behind the company that still bears his name today. Ronnie was very good to us, especially in our early days, so it was out of respect to him that we called our product Finishing Oil – we feel it is also a little more descriptive. So now you know!

We’re proud to be members of the British Coatings Federation, a trade organisation looking after the best interests of its members and trying to make the coatings industry better understood. They recently created a webpage dealing with the facts about how green coatings are (I’m ignoring the obvious joke there) and some of the claims made about them. It’s very interesting reading and as it answers some of the questions we get asked on a regular basis, I thought it worth bringing to your attention. It’s a good read, well worth five minutes of your time. Click here to see it.

That’s everything for this week. Next week you can see me demonstrating and talking about our products at the Woodturning Shop in Hampshire (yes I know!). I’ll be there on Friday and Saturday, with a selection of products for sale as well. Space limitations mean that I’ll only be able to bring our most popular ones, and probably only in the 500ml size. So if you want something in particular (especially stains or paints etc) please let me know beforehand and I’ll make sure I bring it for you.

Maybe see you there, and if not, back here next week?

Cheers

Terry