Went to the showroom in Newport Beach - thanks for the tips on the phone numbers! Well worth the trip, totally made my decision easy. The Capital looks so much more refined than the Blue Star. The Blue Star was top of my list but it looks so industrial that I just couldn't put it in my kitchen. I thought I wanted a self-clean but after looking at both, I liked the manual much better. The shelves in the manual slide in and out much better than the shelves on rollers in the self-clean version. The rollers seemed to stick on the self-clean displays and the rotisserie is a beast! I'm sure if I was really into rotisserie cooking, it would be great but it looks like you could spear an entire turkey on that thing! Sam was super accomodating and made everything super easy - I ordered my 36 Culinarian the next morning and cannot wait for it to arrive . . .

Last week while shredding yellow squash for kugel, my 1980's Cuisinart that I got second hand from my mom, kinda broke. The shaft cracked and now the shredding disk tube cracked too. I don't think I can replace the shaft, I can't see any way to detach it. I really hate the idea of replacing this thing. Newer appliances are even shoddier, IMHO, if that is possible. My newer Cuisinart blender/small food processor is almost completely broken up, the plastic on the bottom of the bowl broke so it doesn't lock in place, and the feeding tube is cracked. It's a different kind of plastic from the older Cuisinart one, more brittle. I use the Cuisinart basically to do things that calls for large batches--like shredding cheese, chopping nuts, making bread crumbs, pie crust, chopping up parsley to freeze, pesto and other herb pastes, hummus. I have never been able to finagle coleslaw.

Here's the update. I tried brushing on the lacquer thinner to smooth out the finish, and it just didn't work very well. Some of the deeper crackled areas smoothed out a tiny bit, but certainly not enough that I would put a new layer of finish on them. So, on to plan B and stripping the whole top off. I'm still undecided about a finish. I think brushing lacquer is going to be too fussy and error prone for me. I thought about lacquer in the spray can, but wonder how many coats that would take. I'm guessing a lot. I had almost convinced myself to buy the Waterlox, but I've seen the varnish in a few videos, and it looks really, really dark. And much too reddish. Since I'm only refinishing the tops, I think I need something that leans towads amber. After lots of reading, the Sherwin Williams product is out. Many more negative comments online about this product, particularly as a wiping varnish, so I'm not even going to try it. The Cabot's products available at Lowes are all poly or spar. Of the choices available locally, this leaves poly or Formby's. I know many people have an issue with Formby's over the whole misleading marketing of "tung oil" and all, but really, what about the product itself? Does anyone have experience with this? Application? Durability? What color is it? Repairs and touch ups? If I use a coat of shellac on the top after stripping, can I apply ANY finish on top of that? BTW, my set of unfinished chairs was delivered. The plan is to sand (gently), stain, assemble (with added glue in all appropriate joints), then finish. Any other suggestions or tips?

Well thank y'all for that. BAMA - I've been wondering if we'd ever see you post again - missing you a lot. I forgot to mention that the flowers standing on the right are a gift from BAMA. They cover the electric cord nicely. Yeah, CALAM - my back yard is very small. Ever since I put the path of rocks in to the grotto, Toby does his business on it every day. It's as if he is kneeling at the altar. Bratty dawg! The blower takes care of that little cleaning problem - no breaking him of that habit.