The day finally came. I needed poplar drawer stock for a project I was building and there was nothing usable on my lumber rack. But sitting peacefully in the corner of my shop was a poplar project I was not too fond of , it was a relic from my early days of woodworking.
It was so early! When I was in high school (the doweled construction had to give you a clue), I built a small chest for the girl I was dating. She was very happy with the piece, so I decided to build a shelf unit to sit on top. As happens with high school dating, we broke up , before I finished the unit. Before moving to my shop, the bookshelf was in my parents basement.
Once it was in my garage shop, I used the unit to store things. The base began to collect cobwebs and the shelves were covered in scratches, spills and other debris. I didn’t want to finish the unit. The outer surface was working back toward the dirty brown color of yet-to-be-milled poplar.
Since rearranging my shop, I discovered there was no practical use for the unit , no place to hang the unit and certainly not enough coveted floor space to sacrifice. And, I had long ago gotten past the idea that the girl and I would some day hook up again.
And because the pieces were a full 7/20 cm in thickness (back then I believed that building thicker meant building better), I knew I could salvage
Another project I started in woodworking takes up space in my basement. It doesn’t have a high school connection but it was my first attempt to make cabriole legs. This bad boy might be next.
After tearing apart the unit I began to wonder if I was not the only one who had deconstructed a project from the past. I’m sure there are a few other people like me. Fess up. Post a comment. Let me know that I’m not the only one.
