TLDR: Moving company damaged back panel assembly and due to age of panels, had to remake them from scratch. Managed to do so and get the shrank reassembled for the client. Complete photo at the end.
Full Story: So, to start- this took way longer than it should have. A sweet lady, we'll call her Miss B for the story, reached out to me, borderline in tears, and expressed her needs in getting her German Shrank assembled after a move. Okay, cool. Easy enough I do that all the time. Let's go. Here's the pictures she sent me.
Little did I know, that this would be a job that almost beat me. Upon my visit to the home, I'm pumped and ready to get this assembled. I did NOT understand the assignment. After a few moments of confusion, Miss B explains that a local moving company dropped the back panel assemblies during the move, and had a lot of difficulty putting it together. We'll leave that story for her to tell if she wants. At the end of the day, the back panels that were previously glued, were reassembled completely wrong and multiples of the eight panels were brittle, and cracking. Mostly due to age, but definitely some during the move. So after some time talking with Miss B, I took the panels with me back to the shop. I did explain that I wasn't prepared to take them back and I had a couple projects in front of hers. She understood.
I'll just get them put back together right and reglue them, too easy? Right? RIGHT!?!
Wrong. After more hours than I'd like to admit, I realized these panels were not square, whether they were cut like that, or warped with time- I'm not sure. They just were not going back together and they were breaking left and right. After some deliberation I made the decision to cut new panels out of new 1/4" oak plywood. I did explain this to Miss B and she understood and agreed. She expressed she didn't really care too much, as long as she could use the piece.
After measuring thirty times and cutting the panels, I stained both sides, color matched the front and came out with this result. The slats were still in decent condition and could be reused. This picture is before sealing, glazing and finishing. I opted to do alternating grain patterns to add a bit more character to the already unique piece.
This process took awhile, because after a drought, the weather decided to rain for over a week and with humidity through the roof and an unsealed shop- I couldn't finish this or I risked trapping moisture in the finish. On a lucky break of a drier day and running the dehumidifer all day, I was able to seal, glaze, seal and finish the panels. I also darkened the slats slightly to ensure an even color match.
I reached out to Miss B and we scheduled the install and assembly the following day. Upon getting there, we caught up a little and then I got to work. I dry fit all the paneling, showed Miss B, who was absolutely ecstatic about it. (That alone made it all worth it) Once all the panels were in place and I got the okay with the grain pattern I went with. I took it all apart and then glued up the eight panels and slat assemblies. This way in the future, there are two full panel assemblies for easy assembly. I also marked all the panels in the back in the event that this happens again. With some touch ups, some assembly and some prayers to god to give me strength- because the top of the schrank was so darn heavy- it was finally done. The color match was nearly perfect, and looks absolutely stellar in person and also in photo- though in photo some panels appear a little dark but you can't tell in person. Miss B was extremely happy and thankful that we were able to get this resolved. Although I didn't understand the assignment at first, I was able to get her taken care of. Miss B was wonderful to work with and made it all worth it.
Color match proof
I did center this on the wall and removed the sliders after the photo. Let me know what you think.