Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe it's 2020. Time just seems to be flying by anymore and I can't always recall where it's gone or what I was doing. This week, however, has been an exception to that rule.

One of the goals Nick and I have made for this year is to spend more time enjoying life. For the last five years we've put everything we have into building the woodworking business. It's been a good thing. Our business has grown and we now have clients who come back to us anytime they want a high quality cabinet or piece of furniture. We're doing it our own way, which after a lot of hard work has begun to pay off.

But that hard work has meant not a lot of time for ourselves. This year we are determined to change that.

The first thing we did as a kick off to our new year was go see some Christmas lights. It's something small, but it was a nice break from the hours of work.

It's called the Lucy Depp Light Show. Six houses get together to put on this show and I have to say it was pretty impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have in store for next year.

That doesn't mean we've been slacking when it comes to work. The woodworking shop is as busy as ever. We've been working on two podiums for a client.

Both podiums are curved and a chocolate brown color. There is space in the top for microphone equipment as well as holes to feed the wires down through the podium.

We started making podiums like this for a client four years ago and they've come back several times since for use to make more with various changes.

Today Nick stained all the parts He'll be applying the lacquer finish and final assembling this weekend.

These podiums take around 40 hours each to build, but the end product is quiet stunning.

Interested in having your own custom piece made? Contact us via our website www.herricksfurniture.com.

You Can Never Have Enough Clamps...

I remember several  years ago, I was out in the shop helping my husband gather all his clamps together so he could organize them. When I say he has a lot of clamps, I'm not exaggerating. He has an entire wall of clamps of all different sizes. It's crazy how many clamps there are.

When I pointed out how many clamps he has, he very seriously told me 'you can never have enough clamps.'

Today was a perfect example of why he owns so many clamps. He's working on two curved podiums for a client. To ensure the wood is glued properly, there has to be even pressure. That means LOTS of clamps.

He once had to use almost every clamp he owns when building a table top. Even the ones that weren't quite right had to be used because we needed all the pressure we could get to secure the veneer. 

Because there are two curved sides to the podium, each side has to be glued and clamped individually. There also has to be just the right amount of glue applied. Not enough, and it won't stick. Too little, and glue will ooze out the sides creating a mess that has to be cleaned up before proceeding to the next step. 

One of the  things I see all too often on woodworking shows is the use of too much glue. It gets all over the place and most of the time the person doesn't make sure all the glue is removed from the surface before applying the finish. Or they will take a wet rag and wipe the glue, which smears it into the pores. Unless this is sanded out, it will effect the overall appearance of the project once it's complete.

Interested in having your own custom piece made? Contact us via our website www.herricksfurniture.com.