Ahh, I don't even have a TV, which explains why I had no idea what a Neilsen rating is. This thread beats TV any day, eh?
Someone here has a sig line attributed to Gaucho Marx which I like very much. It is to the effect: "I find TV very educational. Whenever someone turns it on, I go into the other room and read a book."
Anyway, I made a little bit of progress. I got the dados cut for the center divider. I've learned a little better technique since the last time I did this. That was on the nightstand I made for my mom, which seems like a century ago now.
Used a piece of scrap that I edge jointed straight to keep the saw straight and prevent it from slipping sideways and marring the wood.
Repeated on the other side, and cleaned out most of the waste with a chisel.
Used a No. 71 router plane to clean up and even out the bottom. Here's the top and bottom of the carcase, with pegboard groove and divider dado. I guess they don't show up too well because of the flash.
Next I'll (carefully!) measure around the top and bottom, and mark the location of the dados on the other side. Then I'll cut the through-mortises. The divider still needs to be trimmed to proper height and squared so I can make the tenons.
The old bench is actually handier for this task, because it is narrow enough to clamp the pieces on both sides. Getting some holdfasts should greatly increase the work-holding options on the new bench. I think I've put it off because I've got a psychological block about drilling holes in my new bench.
Turning impaired.