WEEK COMMENCING 5 OCTOBER 2025

Hi

Did you notice that last week’s Newsletter was a little bit late? It was my first week back from holiday, and it had been a busy week. I wrote the Newsletter, only finishing it late on Thursday evening (and it’s the same this week!), and, as usual, programmed it to be sent the following morning.
Or, at least, that’s what I thought I’d done. But instead, I set the time to send it at 6pm, not 6am! I only noticed when I got up, and was able to send it straight away, but not until 7.30.
I know some of you rely on the Newsletter to remind you when it’s Friday, I’m sorry if I sent some of you into confusion!

Have you checked out our YouTube channel lately? There’s some good stuff on there, including a short video about decorating an ash vase with Ebonising Lacquer and Gilt Cream. We need to update it, as Gilt Cream is no longer available, but just substitute Rainbow Wax and the result is much the same.

What, though, we were asked, if a black base wasn’t required? Could the Rainbow Wax be used on ‘plain wood’? Of course it can, but to get the best result, use one of our lacquers as a base, to seal the wood and keep the Rainbow Wax only in the grain. And, if required, the wood can be stained and then lacquered, to offer even more options.

Curiously, there’s a video about this on our YouTube channel, with Nathanael showing this very technique on some Christmas decorations.

Some questions that come in are really complicated. One such this week from someone looking for a suitable finish for their table. Usually quite an easy one, there were several extra factors at play here.

The table included some resin in it, which meant Hard Wax Oil wouldn’t stick properly. It had been made from a burr, so there were a lot of voids in it, meaning that wax wasn’t a good choice (the wax might dry white in them). And the finishing process had to be carried out indoors, so something with a low-odour was requested, removing Melamine Lacquer and the aerosols from the options!

We opted for Wipe-On Poly in the end; easy to apply over a large area, fairly quick drying, tough and hardwearing. It’s a good choice for a table-top, especially with the other conditions.

Did you notice I sneaked in the word ‘Christmas’ earlier? It’s creeping up on us, so I’m going to make my annual plea, prompted by an email from a customer asking where their order was!

All delivery companies are overstretched at the moment. They are handling more parcels than ever, and simply cannot find enough people to drive the vans and deliver them. (I’m pretty sure the working conditions don’t help this, so they need to get their house in order to be a place worth working at).

We usually despatch all of our mail order deliveries on the day we receive them, and most are delivered the next day; but I know volume is going to increase, and deliveries will get held up in the months ahead. So, please, don’t leave your ordering until the last minute. I’d hate for a special project to miss a deadline due to circumstances beyond our control, and it’s frustrating for us as well when things don’t go right!

Well, we’re all systems go, getting ready for the North of England Woodwork Show, a.k.a. The Harrogate Show to you and me. Are you coming along? We’ll be there on both days (don’t forget, there’s NO SUNDAY at the show this year), offering advice, demonstrating and catching up with all our friends there. We get very busy, so do come and say hello if you can, and please be patient if you need to ask a question, we love answering them almost as much as everyone seems to like asking them!!

I’ll see you back here before then, though.

All the best

Terry