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My First Bookcase

This weekend I had a great trip to Pennsylvania. I helped my Sister-in-Law move into her first apartment (congratulations Caitlin) and I had the opportunity to meet Kari Hultman of The Village Carpenter  I had wonderful time with both women and will have a post dedicated to Kari and her shop comming soon.

This post is about moving my Sister-in-Law . . . or rather its about a bookcase I moved for my Sister-in-Law. You see, this particular bookcase is the first piece of furniture I ever built.

I built it in high school with my now Wife. I honestly dont remember if we made it for my Wife and then it was passed to my Sister-in-Law or if we made it for my Sister-in-Law directly. Regardless my Sister-in-Law has had it for many years now and it is continuing to serve her well as she begins life as a college graduate.

The bookcase itself is not something I would have let out of my shop today. Its actually fabricated from a single sheet of 3/4" CDX plywood. The shelves are each attached with many brads and there is solid wood banding attached to the front (brads again) to hide the plies. As the CDX is so rough, it actually received a few coats of spackle before it was painted. It has now been painted so many time and so heavily that it is again rough textured.

Regardless of how it was built and how my construction techniques have changed Im still very proud of this bookshelf. It has served its function of reliably holding and organizing books for over a decade and it continues to do so. When it has served those I love for so long how could I not be proud?

Are you still proud of your first piece?