One down, one to go

After more trips than I could count to both Home Depot and Lowe's (because Home Depot is closer, but only Lowe's has the dewaxed shellac); after getting high on fumes of gel stain, shellac, water-based poly, paint thinner, and denatured alcohol; after turning my fingers brown with gel stain when I was too lazy to don yet another a pair of gloves; after moving half a room full of furniture to clear the way for the final product ... after all that, Very Large Bookcase #1 is finally finished, in both senses of the word, i.e., the finish has been applied and it is done.

Yes, several weeks ago my long-suffering friend -- who, with his dad (and his dad's pickup truck), picked up both bookcases from the unfinished furniture store, delivered them to my home, and lugged them into the garage -- stopped by and helped me maneuver the first fruit of these labors into the house, by way of the kitchen and dining room, into the living room where we deftly inserted it into the just-wide-enough space to the right of the fireplace. OK, it wasn't all that deft, seeing as the traverse rod for the window on the adjacent wall was in the way and we had to lift the bookcase over the corner of the hearth, and then the cube tap I had installed into the outlet that is now blocked by the bookcase turned out to make the space not-quite-wide-enough, so it to go. But we overcame the obstacles, and that sucker is in place at last!

The photo at right shows the finished product in all its glory, before I started cluttering up its pristine state by actually filling the shelves with books, records (LPs , that is -- yes, I still have vinyl -- and even some ancient 78s), magazines, and other detritus.

When I get the other one done and both are tastefully arranged, I'll post a view of the final setup. Of course, considering how long it took me to get around to doing the first one, Lord knows when that will be.