Hall Table

your goal was to make something you could use—sure sounds you are putting this to good use!!!!

Those first projects—gotta love them!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

we learn to do by doing. Next time ; different mistakes but fewer of them. It’ s not that the pros don’t make mistakes; it’s just that they know how to get around them better. go do another one. And bring it to show.

-- Thos. Angle

AND.. according to past comments, the professionals don’t point out their mistakes. But now we know better—they make them too.

I, personally, am so glad that the LJ’s point out their learning opportunities. It really helps to see what might go wrong, what to do if it goes wrong, and what the options are to work around the “wrong” and turn it into a “right”.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Welcome Jason. Reading your profile, I see that you are a lucky man to have a wife you love and adore. And now you have a hobby that you love. You will find that it loves you back and gives you more and more positive results. I don’t even want to think about the mistakes in the first piece I built, but I still have a warm place for it in my heart, so I like what you said about reminding you where you started.

I wouldn’t count using cheap pine as a beginner mistake. It might not work in every living room, but pine furniture is good stuff. As long as it’s dry enough, flat enough, and cut close enough, it will work fine.

One nice thing about our times is that it’s easy and cheap to acquire knowledge about just about any subject, including woodworking. There are lots of good books and magazines out there. You might be able to limit your investment by borrowing from your local library. Consider checking into local woodworking clubs.

And of course – practice, practice, practice.

Keep posting. We’re anxious to see your next piece.

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

Jason,

One of the goals for every project should be to increase your skill level. In that regard, it sounds like you’ve succeeded.

-- John

This project is not a failure, if you learned one thing from doing it. Fear of making mistakes and ruining projects can keep you from even trying (I speak from experience). At least you weren’t using super expensive material. As far as building furniture, there is allot of reference material about design guidelines so the pieces you make will be in proportion and not tip over. I find that whenever I jump into a project without planning it out first I always end up making some kind of design mistake…but you learn from it and move on. Keep making sawdust!

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Nice work for your first try Jason. There is nothing wrong with using the Pine. The other “mistakes” can be resolved too. Like Brad said, there are a ton of references out there now. You can find plans online, books, of course any number of Lumberjocks here. So you have a lot of resources you would not have had some years ago.

It is good that you keep the table around. It will help you in your succeeding projects. But, you do not have to keep it in plain sight. It can be a shop bench or something too. I bet if you look at it awhile, you will find a way to keep it from tipping over. Maybe some type of base, shorter legs, whatever. I say take what you learned with this one, and make another. Go ahead and use that inexpensive wood, and try again. I bet the next one turns out many times better just from what you learned on making this one.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I like the look of it! I’ve made the odd thing that doesn’t turn out how I wanted. I’m glad you pressed on when you made some mistakes. As a nameless woodworker once replied to a forum, “they aren’t mistakes, they’re design elements.” Thanks for posting the work and the story!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

“WOW” Thank you all for the comments and support. i Greatly appreciate it. This was build about six months ago so I have done many projects to date i will post them in the order that I build them each one has a story and many lessons learned.

-- Jason, Wood Working Has Taken Over My Life. And I Love It.

I like the selection of grain that you used for the piece…. nicely balanced
ie, it has that looks-like—it-belongs-there feel.

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever