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Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, or falling at the last hurdle.

3K views 47 replies 24 participants last post by  renners 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
You know how it is, you've just patiently sanded down the front of that door you made, flipped it over to do the back, then flipped it again to inspect and admire your handywork, only to find that the front now has an indentation from that glob of glue/nail/screw you didn't see when you put it down to work on it.

I've had my fair share of last minute mishaps, including dropping a router smack bang in the middle of a desk about two minutes before it was about to be loaded into the van, putting things down on top of screws which I swear were never there, and absent mindedly drilling holes for handles in the wrong location (though I only did that once).

What have you done that you're kicking yourself over? I'm hoping we could learn something from other people's mistakes.
 
#5 ·
I put pieces in a vice to sand edges. I like to sand down end grain to 600 grit before applying finish. There have been many occasions where I have applied too much pressure and left small indentations. Those come out with some water and some heat. The worst is not applying enough pressure and having the piece move around in the vice and getting all scratched up. I have to break out the 80 grit and start all over.
 
#9 ·
Bill…I have a sign in the shop that reads "measure twice, cut it onc"

and somebody here has a signature that says "I didn't cut it short, it was meant for a smaller project".

my biggest mistakes come with the router…I only do overhands but I get in a hurry and lift before it has shut down (I know…it takes all of about 30 seconds).
 
#10 ·
When I finally get close to the final stages, I will clean up the work area, I have several large towels I will use to put doors on and finish the face side last. Vacuum, having a couple of clamps with leather on the face is nice to keep wood from getting marred.

Router issues, like setting it down before it has stopped all the way, build yourself a stand with a big hole in the middle so you can sit it inside and it stands right side up. What I call a router cradle….

Been there myself and nothing is so fustrating and time consuming than fixing mistakes that should have never happened but hey it happens…..
 
#11 ·
I've made mistakes on my mistakes only to have me drop something on it after I've fixed a mistake that created another mistake and then realize the original mistake was actually not a mistake…..and I am out of stock to redo the project to make more mistakes.

Confused?...yeah, me too.
 
#12 ·
Phew! I'm glad I'm not the only one to have such mishaps and that someone else has had the bottle to own up to woodworking mayhem.
I think I have had a mishap on virtually every project I have built but as a friend of mine told me, a good craftsman can always make good.
 
#13 ·
20 years ago I'm lying on my back under a sweet boardroom table that I built, fancy inlays, cross banding, the works - screwing the base extensions to the top. I call out to my boss for more screws and he hands me a bunch, I take them without looking and finish the last ones. He yells "Stop, stop!!" just as the last two poke their heads above the surface. Since that day I consciously look at every important screw that I drive.
gene
 
#14 ·
Thank you Gene, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. A friend of mine did exactly the same thing attaching an oak top to the base cabinets of a breakfront dresser when he was installing it.
What happened to the table top? Was it a big job to repair it?
 
#15 ·
Just finished installing prefinished hardwood flooring and as i'm walking across the floor to put up the floor nailer stumble and drop the nailer smack dab in the middle of the floor. Needless to say heavy hard metal corners on the nailer leave some pretty nice dents.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
Gene, proof that even though things are conspiring against you, a little thought and a little work can make it right.
If anyone's ever dented anything pre-finish, you can get it to pop back out, as Lumberjoe said, with a little water and heat. To do this, I get a couple of pieces of wet kitchen paper, put it on the dent and press hard on top with a hot iron, (you know the type your wife has for ironing your shirts). It usually does the trick.
If you find an impression of a screw head in your job post finish, all is not lost. After you've let out that primal scream of NO!!! like Anakin Skywalker emerging as Darth Vader, you can fix it.
On occasion (and why does it happen on the jobs you're being super careful with?) I've had to fill these little imperfections and have managed to do so by dropping lacquer into the mark with a cotton bud. You may have to build this up until there's a blob just proud of the finish - then pare it off level with a sharp chisel, give it a light sand down down and give it another coat of lacquer. It works, no-one will ever know it's there but you.
I don't know how you'd fare with an oiled finish, if anyone has a fix for an imperfection in an oiled finish, please give us an insight.
 
#18 ·
I've never trusted the hook on the end of tape measures and have for years made critical measurements from one inch and subtracted the inch before making the cut. Most of the time I automatically get it right but on one spectacular occasion I cut a gumwood slipper (hardwood layer on bottom of keel) for a 60' siener "exactly" one inch short. This was a piece of two inch by ten inch gumwood about twelve feet long and was the only remaining piece that size we had in stock. We were not amused.
 
#19 ·
shipwright…the hook is usually "close enough" on a Stanley or Lufkin but on any project make sure you only use that single tape. and the 1" (sometimes the 2" mark) have all that hardware to hold the hook. I'm getting old and suffering from CRS syndrome so I've started measuring from the 10" mark on any tape (math can be hard).
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Gene, teejk and Shipwright, I work in metric so anytime I've ever cut a board short, it has always been by 100mm.
One tape for the entire project is a good way to avoid heartache. If there's ever any doubt in my mind about a measurement I'd try it first on an offcut - if you are setting stops for crosscutting on a panel saw it's a good way to get your measurement exactly right before batch cutting. Other than that, working to a pencil mark and sneaking up on it is effective at getting it right as well.
At this point I might add that I'm not trying to teach any of you seasoned woodworkers how to do things. I thought this might make an interesting read for any noobies out there.
OnlyJustMe - you don't look old enough to be let loose with a nailer, but I feel your pain. All you can do with something like that is put a rug over it.
 
#23 ·
Actually the reason I measure from an inch has more to do with the beating I put on tapes and the fact that even with the same tape, sometimes you butt the hook and sometimes you hook with it.

Sorry after 40 years you aren't going to get me to trust it now.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
yeah it wasn't just a dent it was a DENTalmost gouge and i fell to my knees and was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. (breath) WHHYYYYYYYYYYYYY. lucky it was where the dining table was so after a few days of beating myself up over it i didn't see it much.

Shipwright i do the same thing when i want to be really accurate with a tape and i sometimes forget to add the inch on the other end. I've actually even read the wrong side of the number for fraction and marked say 4-3/4 instead of 5-1/4, usually at the end of a long day.
 
#25 ·
That's the best one so far. You must have been gutted. I know there's a reluctance to tie a job down too tight in case the straps cut into it or rub the finish. I've used drop cloths and old duvet covers to pad things out before but you've got to watch out for buttons or press studs on a duvet cover in case they leave a mark.
Do you ever transport melamine particle board, how do you stop it sliding around?
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Renners

You are an amateur at making mistakes :) Some days I believe that woodworking is all about repairs. Here are just a couple ..

Last year I was building a couple of campaign chests … and planed the rebate on the wrong side (front rather than rear) of a board that I had spend days dovetailing by hand (very hard Jarrah) ..



Then I went and did it twice MORE in the same morning!

That is why I titled the chapter on my web, "Some Days I Should Have Stayed in Bed"

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/SomedaysIshouldstayinbed.html

Fortunately the repairs were good and impossible to detect ..



Recently I built a bench. The last one I had built was about 20 years ago. I was not planning another for the foreseeable future. Consequently, the dovetail holding the wagon vise was going to get The Treatment.

It took some time cutting it because it was awkward, not to mention on the high side of complex. I had completed all the work, with only the assembly to go, when I dropped the tail section. It was heavy and landed near the dovetail/end piece intersection, denting it significantly ..



I soaked the dent in water ..



It came up decently, but there is a little reminder ..



Website chapter on this dovetail: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/BuidingaBench4.html

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
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