Hi

Well, another busy week here. How has your week been? It’s the start (well, sort of) of a long weekend, the last Bank Holiday of the year in England, are you planning any woodworking during it? We’re always interested to hear about it, and pictures to be included in the draw for inclusion in a future Newsletter are always welcome.

One of the products in our range that just keeps trickling out of the warehouse is our Liming Wax. It’s a traditional product, used to create the white limed effect in open grained timber. It doesn’t often generate any questions, but we were asked for some clarification about how to use it today. Importantly, can it be left as the final finish? The answer here is ‘no’. The wax in Liming Wax is mostly a carrier for the pigment, and doesn’t really buff up. Further, of course, most of it is removed as part of the process. Applying a clear wax on top is recommended, this also helps seal the Liming Wax in, and protect it from marking if handled.

Another question came in regarding stabilizing some soft, punky timber. There are various products available on the market that will do this, we don’t make one specifically for this purpose. But if getting a good final cut is the part that’s causing problems, a good workaround is to use either our Cellulose Sanding Sealer or Melamine Lacquer. Thin it down 50/50 with Cellulose Thinners (for either one), which will allow it to soak in far enough to be able to get a better cut, once it has hardened and dried. It’s a very popular shortcut to a better finish off the tool.

The final question this week isn’t as much about how to use our products, more about how to get the best from us (or, any other delivery company). I was asked today if we could guarantee a next-day delivery on an order, as the customer needed it urgently. The carrier we use offers a next day service. We changed to APC earlier this year due to repeated headaches with our previous company, and they have a very good track record. However, it is impossible to say for certain that the delivery will happen next-day. There are so many variables, so many things that can go wrong, from a flat tyre to a road closure to… well, you name it… that anyone promising this is deluding themselves. I’d say that 98% of the time goods arrive the day after despatch, but it’s best to plan ahead and order before it’s desperate!

And that’s everything for this week. The phone has been very busy this week with technical questions, some of which have been included above. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them, I’ll be back here again next week with more of them!

Have a great weekend

Terry