Workbench su 2014
by Lew Larason
We never make the same thing the same way twice,” said Dave Becker. His partner Jeremy James added, “You won’t walk into your neighbor’s house and see the same cupboard that you just bought from us.” Both craftsmen from Phoenix Custom Cabinetry are proud of their individual designs, unique construction and the diversity of their handiwork.
Dave started the business over 25 years ago in the basement of his home. Jeremy graduated from Northwestern University with BAs in both Finance and Entrepreneurship about 12 years ago. After college, he started working for Dave. Then, nearly two years ago, they became business partners.
Their shop is located in an old brick building in the center of Trumbauersville in Upper Bucks County. The work area is open and airy with plenty of light. The main work space is about 3,300 square feet and has a section partitioned off where they show samples of their craftsmanship and designs. However, most of this floor is used for fabricating with plenty of work benches and numerous power tools.
They have all of the standard woodworking tools, plus some other special pieces of equipment. The regular tools include a lathe, a molding machine, a radial arm saw with lots of surfaces on each side in order to cut long pieces, two band saws, two table saws with large beds, a drill press, a morticing machine, “… which is not a converted drill press but is only for cutting square holes,” said Dave. Jeremy, talking about the molding machine commented, “That has paid for itself many times over.” One of their two main sanders is a 16-inch drum model that can sand a 32-inch diameter top by opening a door at one side of the sander’s cover. The other unit is an oscillating edge sander.
To continue reading, turn to page 52 in the Summer 2014 issue of Bucks County Magazine.