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There are a few things that have been kicking around our shop forever. Now and then we come across them, recognize them as valuable, and move them out of the way. Some are small, such as an ash panel glued up by a former editor, and some are big like the life size photo of Bob Vila that used to live on the top shelf of the lumber rack. One of these items is the face frame for my backbench. This face frame has appeared in the background of many photos, most recently the cover of the April issue, and in this photo from last summer taken while I worked on my bench.
The backbench cabinet, referred to around the shop as “Bob’s Credenza” will sit under the window, behind my workbench. It’s about eight feet long with four sections of storage space for tools and miscellany. I like my main workbench away from the wall, and a separate storage bench behind me. The backbench is a staging area for tools and parts, leaving the main bench free for work in progress. When it’s complete I will be much more organized, and the piles of junk that sometimes show in the background of step photos will become a memory of days gone by.
As sometimes happens, I started a project, got part way through and then set it aside. When I paused, I had no intention of leaving the project for as long as I did. But things happened, events beyond my control took over and time marched on. I got back to it a couple of weeks ago, found the door parts and drawer fronts I had set aside, and made the plywood boxes. As I planed the doors, I realized that the cherry had developed the patina that comes after a year or more. I wondered how long I had left this sitting.
I blogged about my methods at the beginning of the project, so it was easy to check back to see when I had left off. It’s been a while, but I’ve made progress recently and will be posting soon about building the cabinets, joining the face frame to the boxes and hanging the doors. I still have a ways to go; drawers to build and a top to make. The drawer fronts were milled long ago and I was a little surprised to find that they were all still there.
So I’m hoping you readers can help me to feel better. What’s the longest period of time that you’ve let a project sit without working on it? Leave a comment below. I’m heading back to the shop to get to work, although I’m curious to see who or what is on top of the lumber rack. And I’ll have to track down the pleonastic editor who left half a bibliothques’s worth of parts on my bench.
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