Month: November 2016
Behlen Fingerboard Oil
All good things come to an end. The 18 month loan of Hugh’s mandolin reached an inevitable conclusion. Lavish attention restored his battered and worn mandolin to a memory of factory gleam. Even more hours, summer picking under the old oak tree in Hockessin, returned some dirt and dullness to its finish. Time for spa treatment.
Strings into the rubbish bin. Gentle wipe-down with a hot damp slightly soapy cloth, first the body, then the neck. Extra attention to the fret board. Looking a little dry, methinks. Time for Behlen!
When Mohawk sponsored a banner ad in July 2016, they sent me a box of product to try out (actually, I sent a list of stuff I wanted). Included? Their fancy Behlen Fingerboard Oil. Not just a step up from mineral or boiled linseed oil. Far beyond, it turns out. A crisp hard finish. A Zamboni treatment for my fretboard, without the ice.
First I used it on the ’70s Conrad banjo. Then the Framus cello. And now, full circle, we have arrived at Hugh’s mandolin. The product has proven itself. A professional-quality sealer applied on instruments I own, use, and sell.
An Indonesian-made 1990s Hohner guitar and a 1970s Japanese-made Madeira (by Guild) guitar both received this magic elixir. Fan-TAS-tic results. One’s finger’s literally glide along the fingerboard. Moments ago, my newly returned and beloved 1996 Guild D4 fingerboard was refinished. Tomorrow, with D’Addario Bluegrass Mediums carefully wound, we’ll be flat-picking a lively homecoming!
Luthiers discuss the best treatment to an instruments’ fingerboard with cantankerous zeal. Only among cat food debates will you find more acrimonious opinions. There are generally two old-school options: mineral oil and boiled linseed oil (“BLO”). Almond oil is another, which I classify similar to BLO.
Turning to National Finishes Expert Phillip Pritchard, I ask, “What makes Behlen’s product so good?” Our Fingerboard Oil contains a resin binder that hardens in the wood to give a more permanent finish than a non-curing mineral oil or boiled linseed oil alone. Our product applies and looks like an oil finish but has a crisper feel and doesn’t require the maintenance of a non-drying oil. “What is its base? How does it smell to you?” It contains mineral spirits and has an oily hydrocarbon smell.
Fast curing, crisp finish. Odor? Not really. –editor
Ridgid Plumbers Tools
It was a dark and stormy night. We had been digging for two days. The water main was exposed, its pit shored and braced. A lovely, plumber-friendly trench ran from our customer’s foundation wall to the pit. Shiny heavy-walled copper had been rolled along the trench floor in two directions from the curb cock: into the basement and to the municipal water main. All that was lacking? City water department employees to make our final connection. A little background, we give you …
The crew of American Toolbox last week enjoyed their favorite hobby, plumbing. We chose a cold autumn day with constant drizzle and wind. For further enjoyment, a 3:30pm water main tap time was chosen. Knowing these things run late, a dark muddy trench awaited us when the work got hard.
Hard it did get! City employees arrived predictably behind schedule. Everyone was hungry, tired, chilled to the bone. Wrestling K-copper in a narrow muddy trench? Not my idea of a relaxing evening. But one constant, the one thing I can depend will go right?
Ridgid hand tools. We had between us five Ridgid pipe wrenches, six tubing cutters, and the all-important pipe flaring tool. When it was time to cut, ream, flare, and wrench tight, Ridgid was there. Nearly indestructible, Ridgid tools may wear out, but they seem not to break.
The cold #15 cutter was familiar in my hand as I tightened and sliced copper in semi-darkness. After reaming my fresh cuts, the E-47 Hammer Tool created flared ends one uses in underground water piping. Tightening the flared copper to the water main tap and the curb cock, Ridgid pipe wrenches. Even one of the shovels was Ridgid. This was a Ridgid job start to finish. Everything except my aching back.
Democracy In Action
Aug 11, 2015 – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Five Guys Burgers
Twice a year or possibly a dozen times more, a hamburger and fries are necessary to balance the universe. Make everything right. American Comfort Food at its prime, protein and starch.
No one does it better or more consistently than Five Guys, even hobbled as they are by the All-Powerful FDA. Most impressive, the fries are burningly fresh. If I’m going to subject my body to fried food, it better be well-prepared fried food. That’s why I save up my fat-intake points for a Five Guys visit. The potatoes are labeled with the grower’s name – Five Guys makes a big deal out of that, the kitchen is wide-open, and the manager is constantly circulating, cleaning, adjusting the work flow.
After visiting a few franchisees across the country, I’ve yet to find one with lower standards than perfect, a great testament to Jerry Murrell’s philosophy. Keep It Simple, Simon.
If we could get the FDA out of our business, I’d like my burger medium-rare. Condiments? Salt and pepper only, please.
Most health reviews place this restaurant chain’s food as among the most unhealthy on the planet, which means even the experts acknowledge it must be good! Everything in moderation. I’ve moderated to a small fries with my burger . . .
Rule of thumb? For each visit to Five Guys, I visit Agno or Pure Fare thirty times.
American Toolbox 
