Hard to move forward!

Hey Guy
It’s almost over (today) Start new again tomorrow . We have all had these kind of days and they suck. I try and think about people that had a much worse day . people who lost loved ones, people who are home less.
The list goes on and on. Just do the best you can we all miss up. Your boss should notice that your trying harder. Maybe start a little early before punching in and work a little after you’ve punched out. A good boss will notice extra effort. As a boss myself I know we have bad days and sometimes it’s brought on when our employees mess up. Hang in there I don’t know about your area but jobs are hard to find a lot of places. If you find it impossible to do this work correctly maybe your better suited for something else. But if this is a one time thing I’m sure a little extra effort will patch things up.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Been there, done that. I know the feeling as I’ve been there myself. But take it one day at a time and hopefully it will get better. If not, hope that the economy cahnges soon and more jobs open up. Jim has some good ideas there.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

Sounds like your boss isn’t management material. Yes, he can rake you over the coals, but before it’s all over, he should make helpful suggestions. Making you feel like crap isn’t going to improve your performance; it will only serve to distract you.

I often make miscuts; that’s why we have the joke about wood stretchers. Don’t you have one? No shop is complete without this wonderful tool.

Use this as a time to reflect on your craft and think about those things that will improve yourself and your skills. We all have set back, but it is how we deal with set back that is important. Gather yourself and come back with greater determination.

Best of luck.

I knew you guys would come back with some encouraging words, and I appreciate that. I will continue on and do my best! I just wished I knew what I did with that darn board stretcher:)

-- I wear sawdust for deodorant!

I thought of you as I was reading Ron Berneburg’s blog. I imagine losing all of his stuff of the back of his truck made him feel as incompetent as you feel now. And he OWNS the business! We all make mistakes. What’s important is what we learn from them. Ron probably learned how to tie down a load better. I’ve just about given up on measuring devices. I understand, after many miscuts, how the “story stick” came into being.

I am a production manager and a metal machinist by trade and a woodworker because i love it ,
I have found over the years with machinists it is never good to be overly critical of mistakes made by guys,every one makes them ,(me included .ive made some beauts!!)
you have to bring it to thier attention so they are aware of it ,but i just tell them its done, we will make it right and tommorrow we start again .
You are obviously a professional woodworker and good at what you do ,other wise you wouldnt be worrying or so affected by what he said to you. And i like guys with that attitude working for me.
i think he was overly harsh ,mistakes are bad but it can all be fixed ,materials can be used on ther jobs.
So.. tommorrow is another day , we will make it right and start again.
dont give up
Cheers

-- Gordon,Sydney ,Australia..Metal for money..Sawdust for love!

Bosses can suck sometimes. I feel your pain too as I find myself working for a less than desirable employer right now also. This economy has put me in a spot I wished I never would have to be in. Working for crappy companies that don’t respect me just so I can try and pay the bills.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

Don’t be too rough on yourself, like everyone has said, we have all made and still do make those kind of mistakes. It’s to bad that your boss could not have been more supportive to help you learn a better technique instead of beating you down, but that’s his downfall. Not all bosses are the smartest.
Just keep on trying to do your best. Don’t go away thinking you haven’t learned from this, I’m sure you will devise yourself a system to double check things in the future.
As far as the quality of your caps, maybe it’s because of the way he made you cut them, a way that you weren’t most comfortable to begin with. Not all your bad, he should have helped you devise a way that would have been best for your experience.
Let it slide off and just keep doing your best, that’s all one could ask.

Humans make mistakes. Its part of our charm. Some of us are especially charming this way; at times I am particularly charming this way.

Its good that you own what happened. Its good that you are letting yourself experience the crappy feelings. Its good that you’ve found an appropriate place to vent. And its good that you are determined to restore your motivation.

In a day, or a week, or a month, when the noise from today has quieted down enough so you can think clearly and objectively about the events, spend some quiet time considering what was going on that allowed you to make these mistakes, and what you could reasonably do on a routine basis at work to reduce the frequency of mistakes like this. Was it really complacency? Do you routinely go about your work day not paying attention to what you are doing? Or was it just something about that day? Maybe you have not yet developed and committed to habit a process that ensures you effectively review the details of an order. There are some tasks I choose to do exactly the same way each time I do them because the ritual makes it much less likely that I overlook something. And even then sometimes I overlook something. But the extra time I spend going through the ritual offset by the lower frequency of my goofs. Hopefully you can find at least a thing or two you can change about how you go about your work every day that will help reduce the frequency of these kinds of mistakes. And then commit yourself to making those changes you have the capacity to make.

Today you got yourself kicked in the teeth. Thankfully this is figuratively and not literally – that would be far worse. Nevertheless its gonna hurt for a while. But you can choose to make days like today less frequent in your future than they’ve been in the past.

-- Greg D.

Sometimes we need to also walk a few steps in someone else’s shoes to understand why things happen they way they do. Your boss was maybe having as bad of a day as you and this was the “straw that broke the camels back” and he took it out on you. Not the right thing to do but stuff happens that way. Rise above his outburst and condescending manner. Do your best tomorrow. Show him you understand his criticisms and will work to be more careful and less complacent. As has been already mentioned, you certainly take your craft seriously or you wouldn’t be concerned about his statements. Cooler heads will prevail and you’ll get thru this.

Jbreth,

Mistakes happen b’cause of poor communication. Take it from me, I build mansions. What you need to do is pepper the boss with questions. The best thing is a sight visit, but in lieu of that, the boss is where it all ends. I have beat the crap out of people with questions. so much so, that they made me the boss.

Your building things for people’s lives, and if you put yourself in their shoes, then you can’t mess up.

Also: Take what you can from your boss, then move on. Nobody knows everything-how can you learn more with one person?

-- Clamps are like dollars in the bank, you NEVER can have too many!

jbreth, Sounds like you’re beating yourself up as much as your boss did…...and that’s a good thing in a way. You’re aware of what happened and that you take responsibility for your own mistake. Let’s hope your boss will do the same and realize he didn’t solve a thing by just tearing you down. I’ve been on both sides of the table and it’s not easy for either. Hang in there and go to work with a good attitude and give it your best…...if that’s not good enough, then at least you know you did your very best.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

I still say a board stretcher will solve 90% of your problems :)

Jbreth,

A few mistakes do not define who you are as a person. The fact that you are upset over the mistake you made shows how conscientious you are. Don’t let your boss’ statements get you down. As others have pointed out, we all make mistakes. Perhaps your boss has never heard the adage, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.”

As A1Jim said (and Scarlett O’Hara!), tomorrow is another day. Another opportunity to work hard, do your best, and prove your boss wrong! Good luck, and best wishes!!!

If the guy is right and you goofed up, take it and move on. Look at all the times you got it right. What’s that like 95% of the time.
Man, when I screw up I have to yell at myself. Then if I don’t agree it becomes a big shouting match. Sometimes I get so mad I have to get away from myself but no matter what I do I’m always there. I run down the street screaming but I can’t get away. Self employment sucks. No it doesn’t. Yes it does. No it does not. Yes it does. No. Yes. NO! YES! NO! NO! NO! NO! YES IT DDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEESS
SSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN”””””””””””TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

I never lie and I’m always right. It works for me and I have a pile of mistakes out back that can prove it! I was at lunch next to a historic remodel in my early years (my first as a forman) & heard 2 salesmen talking, the wiser said “every time you hear the word NO, you have to believe you have made progress! Concentrate, double check and then believe in yourself. Think about this, how big of a mistake is getting injured! But it’s the same kind of concentration, have confidence & don’t rush, we all make em but mistakes take twice the time. Don’t be too hard on yourself!

-- $tudie

Another AMAZING tool to have in your workshop is the “Matababy” if you don’t have one of these you should really look into getting one. Or better yet, send your best helper or your boss to get one for you, insist on the original “Matababy” accept nothing less!

You ask… “what’s a Matababy?”

“What’s a Matababy? Nothing what’s a matta with you Baby?” :-)

-- James