Good Wood Gone Bad

Naa! I have never screwed anything up on the last operation! :-)

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Are you sure that you actually screwed it up? I am a little concerned about this since I thought I was the only one who made mistakes. :)

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Nope, never done it. That’s my story, and I am sticking to it.

-- Maplewood, MN

HA, I actually thought of putting up a tread to the same sorts. I was feeling the irritation this weekend, was even a simple task at hand too…..measured once (width of window) measured twice (o/o trim for window) re-measured both to check. Went to the moter saw and cut…..whistling all the way back to the window to find out I had cut the width not the o/o I needed. DOOOOHHHHHHHHH

Somedays things seem to just go your way and you think, man I must be getting better at this. Then there are days like my Saturday when you think why the heck I keep doing this to myself…...I don’t need this and my blood pressure can’t take much more. But some how I manage my may back to the good days…..

runngt

-- It seem's I just make scrap wood and saw dust most of the time !

It doesn’t happen as much these days but I remember a time when it seemed like every time I tried to nudge something a little further, I’d end up creating firewood. The hardest part of teaching others how to be good woodworkers is trying to teach them when it’s time to stop. It’s that “one last pass” or “I just want to get it a little closer” that usually causes the problem. Then again, it’s those efforts to stretch your skills that get you to the point where you can fit something, or cut something or mill something (carve something, etc.) and it’s right where you want it to be. So, Bbq, you didn’t make a mistake you expanded your woodworking skills.

-- Chuck Bender, period furniture maker, www.acanthus.com

What Chuck said…ditto!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

bbqking,

Patience, that is the key word. It is one of my greatest enemies. Whether we are in a hurry to get it done or in ahurry to get to the next segement, lack of patience can kill a project.

Viewed your projects and they are great.

-- Bill - If I knew GRANDKIDS were so much fun I would have had them first.

I seem to have a terrible time visualizing the obverse view. Last week I was making a replacement door jamb for the house. Because I know I have this visualization quirk, at the point of laying out the hinge mortises I measured three times looked at the direction of the board three times and cut them upside down. Down tools and leave the shop – time for a break and don’t let the wife anywhere near. As for teaching others, I like them to realize that there are times their mistakes can be accommodated by a simple design change – but misplaced hinge mortises, no.

-- Phil in British Columbia

I once burned up an entire length of crown molding in 3/8 increments trying to get an inside corner perfect…. I got it eventually but I had to use up every word in my vocabulary ;-) to get it right….and another trip to buy more crown molding.

-- ....next big purchase is wood for the next project, Mark

If you haven’t cut a board too short, you haven’t cut enough boards! LOL, no wonder my ‘scrap/cut-off’ bin is so full.

-- Smile. Life can be FUN!

It seems like every project I try is a “learning” experience. I usually screw up several times and then tell myself that it’s ok….... I’ve learned something and know how to do it the right way next time. Trouble is, it seems like all the projects are different and I keep learning (screwing up). I guess it’s just part of woodworking, especially for someone like me.
JJ

-- Make things with wood.

i do that once in a while, recently too i was making a dovetailed box with my D4R and i didn’t tighten the did quite enough so it slipped a little out of the color and i didn’t notice and just kept on cuttin. needless to say the whole piece was ruined. luckily it was just some scrap and i was practicing with my jig :)

Recently I was routing a rather deep groove in a long piece of jatoba—a very dense, hard wood. I took a first pass at about 1/4-inch and all was well. I raised the router bit height and ran it through again, only I inadvertently reversed the piece. The first groove wasn’t perfectly centered, but I didn’t notice it until it neared the end of the second pass. It suddenly wouldn’t budge. I shut her down and discovered the router bit was kaput. The cutting edges were simply gone! First mistake I ever made—I wish!!!

I cut a gorgeous piece of mahogany for a drawer front on my Highboy an inch too short! I discovered this after I had milled the rabbet along the edges and took it to the case to check the fit. When I discovered that, I went inside, and took a nap. I usually make mistakes due to fatigue. I can’t eat as much as I would like too, and keep my sugar down. Once rested, I discovered I could make the 2 small upper drawer fronts with the previously ruined short board. There is lemonade in lemons!!

-- Matt, Houston Texas

A mistake just makes the next project look even better.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python