Hey friends,

🎥 Videos

As I get back into the swing of editing I've released a couple of short (<60 seconds) vertical videos the kids seem to like so much. The first is to round off the bedroom project, most of which you'll have seen on this newsletter. The second is the leylandii tree removal and stump grinding I did over the summer. It's a really fun little vid...if I do say so myself.

🧰 Trend Tools Giveaway!

A couple of weeks back I received a nice email from Trend Tools offering me a choice of free tools which in return will likely pop up in my vids here and there for some free marketing for them.

Perusing their website with this carte blanche like a kid in a candy shop I was impressed by the wide array of jigs and accessories they offer alongside their power tools. However, as I don't have much space right now I opted for some little items like sanding disks and clamps though I'm most excited about my new adjustable height roller stand - how many times have you seen me with mitre saw on the ground with the timber I'm cutting resting on offcuts. Well no more...

One day I'll build a mitre saw station but until then this is going to be great.

Whenever these opportunities come along, I try to make it a win-win-win. Win for the company, win for me and win for you by way of a discount or giveaway and today it's the latter. So what have we got?

🏆 1st prize 🏆

Trend Random Orbital Sander + battery/charger + sanding disks

🥈 2 x Runner-Ups 🥈

Trend Stealth Respirator Mask with filters

How do you enter? Errrm, good question. I was going to figure that bit out after I'd finished writing the rest of the newsletter but can't find anything obvious to run it on and it's late now so I'm making that tomorrow's problem. I'll email again when I've solved it. What an anti-climax, sorry!

🖥️ Oak Worktop Desk

While I've been in analysis paralysis mode on the bedroom/bathroom project and being the dutiful partner that I am, I decided to get on with the his-and-hers desk. To continue the wood theme in my studio our shared office I decided on an oak kitchen worktop.

There are a plethora of suppliers on ebay and Amazon, most of which have their own websites too but working out what you'll get is tricky. There were a few of variables I identified:

Prime oak vs not stated - Prime oak worktops are more expensive as they have far fewer knots in them. A few irregularities are part of the charm so I wasn't bothered about that and a good supplier will orientate the knots to the underside of the worktop anyway.

Oiled vs untreated - As we'll see later, oiling takes time so it's around £10 extra per metre length to have it oiled. The recommendation is to give it 1 more oiling when you receive it so I figured I may as well do all the coats myself and save the money.

Stave width - These are the individual strips of oak that make up the worktop and often it's not stated. Some will use thinner staves which I imagine are cheaper to source and you end up like this poor chap:

This was my greatest concern so I opted for a listing that explicitly stated the stave width of 40mm. I went for a 3m length which required no cutting, 720mm wide with a depth of 40mm.

It came sanded to 150 grit which is good enough but I wanted a little smoother finish for the top and sides so I hand sanded in the direction of the grain to 240 grit and took the sharpness off the corners. You can of course go smoother but too smooth and our desk mats will slide about.

For oiling I opted for Rustins danish oil rather than the varnish I chose for my last desk. I applied 3 coats to all sides allowing around six hours between to dry. The first coat I diluted with mineral spirit by about 20% and the last two coats were pure danish oil. Before applying the third coat I again sanded at 240 grit to take down any fibres raised by oiling. You can do this as a wet sanding i.e when you've just oiled it but again I wasn't looking for ultra smoothness.

The end-grain is particularly thirsty so I gave each end 4 or 5 coats.

Were this for a kitchen worktop I'd probably use either Osmo Top Oil or Osmo Polyx Oil as they are more hardwearing and can be applied less frequently. For a desk though I think the cheaper Danish oil will be fine and it should be at least a couple of years before the oak requires replenishing.

Once it had dried I drilled some pilot holes and screwed the legs about 6cm from each end. I went for square metal legs that were W50 x H71cm so the total desk height is a recommended 75cm. Abi gave me a hand flipping it one more time and we could move it into position.

• Worktop £239
• Oil £18
• Legs £75
• Total: £332

I think that's decent for a bespoke 2-person desk but you could get a similar result with scaffold boards planed flat which I'll probably do for a dining table in future.

If you're wondering about the middle, so far the desk has stayed very solid for the 2 weeks we've waited for our new filing cabinet (rated to support desks and same height as the legs) so I think you can get away without central support.

For a similar result but much cheaper, you could use laminate or oak veneer worktop but that may be more prone to sagging. To combat that you can fix lengths of angle iron to the underside to provide the rigidity like this fellow did.

• If one or both of us fancy a standing desk, we can simply cut the table in half and replace the legs.
• For the moment I've not cut any holes for cables so they just run down the back of the desk.
• I may do a round-over of the edges with a router at some point but it's comfortable to use as is.
• My old desk will probably be repurposed for a workbench. Perhaps if I fix some ply to the underside of the legs that will provide storage and wheels beneath that to raise the height and make it mobile.

📉 The Stock Market

Markets are down from the start of the year in the largest drop since March 2020. Some are pointing to Ukraine, others to the spectre of interest rate rises or China's real estate woes. Or perhaps it's just a bit of this:

As ever, I have no idea. Three thoughts though.

1. While so far it's not a large drop it is an excellent time to evaluate how I feel about seeing my investments go down. As it stands, no faith has been lost nor any feelings of panic have set in so I think my allocation of being 100% stocks is still right for me. The point at which the value matters is still a long way off. If however you are starting to feel uncomfortable and wished you had diversified into less volatile assets, the general advice is now is not the time to make a change as you'll be locking in those reductions. Instead write down how you feel and make the changes when the market returns to some sort of normality, along with your feelings, if indeed you still want to make changes. Better yet, when times are good and you're feeling rational, make an Investor's Statement for yourself about how you will act when the market next takes a hit.
2. As far as index fund investing goes, the S&P 500 has had the lion's share of gains over the last few years. The laggard has been our own FTSE 100/250. However the stretched price-to-earnings ratios of the former are now taking a much bigger hit (-9%) than the latter (-2%). This feels like a tick in the box for the global index tracker which has a bit of both and much else besides and makes for a smoother ride (-5.75%), both up and down.
3. As we know, waiting to buy low results in a worse outcome than buying in regularly, regardless of the price (See Section 11) but re-purposing funds saved for something else (that can be delayed) to take advantage of a dip isn't such a bad shout. But trying to catch a falling knife is incredibly tricky and there's usually plenty of time on the way back up to buy in at good prices when you have a better sense that the bottom has already come and gone. No rush.

👋

After Dexter ended, rather poorly in my view, I've been watching David Attenborough's The Green Planet. The cinematography alone is spellbinding and well worth a watch. In the first episode I got a "I've seen that!' moment with the Rafflesia plant - the world's largest flower. Here's my snap from my travels in Borneo. They flower randomly and then only for a few days and I hunted for 3 days before finally getting tipped off by a local...who I then had to tip.

Hit "reply" if you've got any comments on this week's newsletter – otherwise I'll see you next time. Have an epic week :)

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P.p.s. You can find all previous newsletters here.