Making Wood Work

I have worked at many shops during my career all over the country. Being on the east coast there is the problem of winter. Cold and finish do not mix well. Luckily for me Mark Richey is ahead of the curve when it comes to green thinking. We were the first in the State of Massachusetts to put in a Bio-Mass heating system to use the scrap wood to heat our shop. 

This is our Mawera Biomass furnace

These silos outside Mark Richey Woodworking store sawdust and wood waste 

from the plant and feed them to the Mawera biomass furnace

Here is an article from Woodshop News about our system  

Many shops I have worked for really struggle with the cold weather especially with catalyzed finishes like conversion varnish or pre-cat lacquer. These coatings suffer from cold checking if allowed to get below 60 degrees F for 48 hours after they have been sprayed. The cold stops the chemical reaction and the finish can shatter. The bad thing is it can happen 6 months to a year later. 

Since we have added automation our shop uses 2K urethane exclusively.

Our electricity also is manufactured on site with our wind turbine.

Here is our owner Mark Richey cleaning the blades on the turbine last summer.

Mark is a renowned climber and likes using his skills whenever possible.