We have now been under way for a few weeks of the new year, and things are still very busy. We try to get orders out as fast as we possibly can, but sometimes it takes an extra day. At the end of November we started putting a little treat in every parcel we sent, and we have got through about 700 bags so far. We have only eaten a few of them ourselves.
We work very hard to keep things on the shelves and it feels like you appreciate it; there are more products in each order these days, and order values are higher. This is what it has looked like most days this winter: a full trolley collected by DHL in the afternoons. PostNord and air deliveries are not on this trolley.
We have also tried to keep up when it comes to payments and shipping. We added a new card payment option in the autumn, and we have our "automatic" Swish; these two now share almost exactly 85% of orders equally. Card payment is via Stripe and right now we accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and it is also possible to enable Apple Pay and similar services. Everything is of course handled with the highest security.
As for shipping, we are adding more options and reviewing how it works. We wrote a little about it in November 2021. There will be minor price adjustments ahead as the carriers have raised their prices. We don't make any money on shipping; we charge you what we pay the carriers. Many people get in touch about this and feel shipping is too expensive. But if we had lower shipping prices, we would unfortunately have to recover it somewhere else, and the only place is the other products. So we have always felt it is better to be honest about shipping costs and keep prices as low as possible. And given how expensive freight is when we bring goods in, our margins are very small.
Unfortunately there is little time left over for "fun things". We have had the idea of using the blog for other things too: product tests, information about techniques and so on. That is something we really hope to do this year. Of course you want to be able to make things with your children too, but that has been scarce as well. A week or so ago, though, we had some quality time together and tried out the new cordless router from Trend. The idea was for each of us to make a name sign. It was a couple of fun hours, and when we posted it on Facebook it was a popular post, even though we made a few mistakes here and there.
A quick review of the router could go like this: Solidly built, stable and light, with well-made accessories. Easy to handle, low noise level. Takes 8 mm shanks, so it is versatile. The battery lasts a long time; even after a few hours of use no indicator light has "gone out". All Trend accessories fit, of course, so if you have a T10/11, for example, this is a perfect complement if you want a smaller router. No real drawbacks during this test. One minus for the supplied template guide: it should have been transparent instead of black, as you couldn't see what you were doing.
Do have a look at the older posts here on the blog. You can comment on everything (we need to approve comments before they appear). We always appreciate your views, and many things you have suggested have later become available to buy or have been changed in the shop to make shopping better.
Another thing we posted on Facebook over the Christmas holidays was the box for the Veritas router planes. A really nice box, simple, and it does its job brilliantly.
I also thought I would post a few personal projects, so you can see what happens in the few hours when I am not running the best shop for quality tools. Over several years we have extended and renovated our kitchen. I have written about it on the Byggahus.se forum for more than ten years. But since I started working for Rubank, they now consider me a "public" person, so everything I write about tools is classed as covert advertising and blocked, even though I bought the things privately and use them privately. I have now grown tired of that and stopped posting there. So I thought you could have a few of the kitchen sub-projects instead. Enjoy. There will definitely be more to come.
Project "replacing the lights": The first set of kitchen cabinets we bought came with a light frame fitted with halogen lamps. They worked for a couple of years, but then the transformer probably failed, so it has been dark there for a while. I decided to fix it one weekend and went and bought new LED lamps that should fit. But that was only partly true. The holes were the same size, but the glass didn't sit nicely, so I had to adjust the holes so the glass would be "recessed". I needed to remove about a centimetre around the hole and half a centimetre down. I used the marking gauge as a circle cutter in the existing hole, and once I had a suitable depth I took the small Veritas router plane and removed the wood up to the circle.
This worked very well, and it would have worked even better if I had had the large router plane then, as the small one only just had enough support. Once I had removed enough around the hole, I could test with the ring that holds the glass.
It turned out perfect, and I did the same with the next hole. When both were done I connected everything to the new transformer and it actually lit up again. Always such a nice feeling when you manage something.
Project "edge behind the baking counter": When we built the latest (and probably last) section, we wanted a surface where you can bake properly. One of the cabinets has a lift for the stand mixer and the others hold baking things. This surface is in front of a window, so it needed an "edge", as the old windowsill is 5–10 cm lower than the worktop. We thought a simple piece of pine would be perfect, so it was just a matter of starting to saw it to size.
I have lots of pieces of planed pine that we used for skirting boards and window architraves, but this one was a little too tall, so it needed ripping down a bit. Just start sawing; this also worked perfectly, even though I used a backsaw. The sawing angle was good, so the back never touched the wood. I evened out the sawn edge with the plane and went to the kitchen to fit it into the existing window reveal. I use the Sjöbergs portable workbench indoors, and it is really perfect for these small jobs. After sawing and chiselling away a few bits, the strip slid down into the grooves perfectly. Here too I got that lovely feeling of having done something well. My wife has decided it will stay unfinished, in case anyone wonders.
Otherwise not much has happened at work. We are placing large orders with our manufacturers and hope deliveries will start rolling in again soon. January is a relatively quiet month in that respect, but February should make up for it. Ehoma is on its way with just over a tonne of clamps. Pegas is sending more fretsaws. We are waiting for chisels from Narex, and we have now received the Richter boxes again. Veritas is expected to ship in February, and knowing them these days and considering how much we have on order, it could be a record delivery again. We have ordered more York and are waiting for the first delivery from Easy Wood Tools. Several new suppliers have not yet confirmed their first deliveries, so there will be more to write about going forward.
Finally, we really want to thank everyone who supports us by shopping with us. It makes a big difference, as it lets us bring in even more products for you. It is also great fun with all the questions by phone and email; we try to answer everything as quickly as we can. Do get in touch if you have a project you have made with the help of our products; we are happy to show it to everyone else. Until next time, take it easy and have fun with your tools.
Share this content
