In and Out

If you live near the west coast, you know all about In-N-Out. 

It's a wildly successful burger joint, one that shouldn't be missed. So if you're on a quest for the perfect burger, you may want to visit California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona or Texas.

If you don't live near one - sorry. You're missing out on a pretty damn good burger. Their menu is limited - burgers, fries and drinks. Not much else. But seriously - they narrow their concentration and make perfect grub.

Here's a great blogpost about the history of the company, in you're interested in reading more. 

So the phrase - in and out - was rolling around my brain today, when a fellow walked into my shop with this perfectly charming sculpture from Africa. Doesn't everyone need a wooden hippo? During a move, the sculpture was damaged - he's not waving in this picture. 

During better times, he was holding a hat, tipping it, as if to greet someone. Poor thing!  

The break was pretty clean, and actually revealed a dowel that had attached the hat to his hand. I re-drilled it in a different area, 

and sanded the two surfaces flat. It took a time or two to get the angle correct. And although I couldn't identify the wood (possibly Mahogany?) it felt slightly oily. 

A trick for gluing oily woods is to wipe the two surfaces with acetone, to clean off the oil. 

Once they were cleaned, I used a bit of Titebond II glue, and clamped the two pieces together. 

I'll have to do a bit of Dremel work once the joint has dried, to blend the two mated surfaces. 

But this was one repair that was In-N-Out of my shop in one day.  I love repairs like these! 

But here's the truth about me and burgers - I've tried them.  Many of them here in town! 

And if I had to rate them...   here are the best burgers in town, in my opinion:

#1 - Five Guys

#2 - Sonic

#3 - In and Out