Every now and then I make some wonderful mistakes , today I was routing a small bullnose up the finished ends of a pair of bookcases , I meant to stop the bullnose 3″ from the top where the top rail ends , but I very uniformly and efficiently routed all the way to the top . The little crown molding I ran for this job was to fit tight to the corner 45° miters , that left several options to fix this mistake .
I decided to use a 45° degree bevel router bit instead , I bevelled off the bull nose to leave about a 3/8″ flat or actually created a small clipped corner .Now I had a 5 piece crown instead of 3 .
The client I am building this office furniture for gives me artistic license to do my thing so I am pretty sure he will like them .
” how good we are is how good we fix our mistakes “
regards dusty , boxmaker
Replies
Well done, Dusty. Without you pointing that out, one would never know about it. I feel that it is just as important, if not moreso, to know how to repair mistakes than not make mistakes at all. I suppose that this is an example of a mistake made into a design feature. As I sometimes say, mistakes are for those who can't change the plans.
and www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Morning Chris and thanks,
One thing I can count on mistakes happen , even after many moons , makes no difference . There were a number of ways to fix or deal with this problem , I even considered leaving the crown mold off , but that is not the look I wanted .Knowing how to fix silly things sure helps one out . I tend to be hard on myself but this time I took a break and thought about the options and the next morning went for the new look.
I know quite a few furniture mostly cabinetmakers and they all make mistakes , it is just part of the work.
Some say if you failed you may want to re define success
your friend in Oregon dusty
I really like your Website very nicely done did you create it yourself ?
Dusty,I don't like to plan ahead for my woodworking projects. I just build them and design on the fly. I don't make many mistakes that require correction. I look at those "mistakes" as guidance. For example, I cut out knots, carve out cracks, etc.Yes, I built and maintain my website. I use a program on my Mac called iWeb that makes it pretty easy. There is a learning curve and I'm still learning. Sometimes it's frustrating, but it's worth it because I am in control. I'm glad you like it.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Early in my career I made an expensive mistake. After signing the destruct note the MD told me: "The only people who don't make mistakes are those who don't do anything"
Dusty,
That's not a mistake, it's a design decision.
Turned out well.
Boiler
Thanks Boiler ,
Well lets hope the client likes it , he won't know what happened , unless you tell him .
Finally wet a line Sunday just for a short time , still upper 90s ,high pressure
regards from paradise dusty
I believe the term is "design opportunity"..............
Nice save. My old carpenter mentor said that ..."a good carpenter isn't someone that doesn't make mistakes; a good carpenter is someone that knows how to fix his own ****-ups............." Thanks, Jake.....
Rich
Rich , Yeah , I make my share , but I usually can catch things before the too late stage of redo , my biggest pet peeve is doing something over , but it happens .
As the Llama people say " spit happens "
regards from Oregon dusty
Great job. great design. hope he pays extra for the " Dustly Detail"
Forgot to mention, if he asks why do did that' you reply "it was perfectly square and if any wind blew past it. it would develop a harmonic vibration and the whole room may explode.
If you can't baffle them with the BS, dazzle them the BS
Edited 9/22/2009 10:05 pm ET by Shoemaker1
Hey Shoe ,
As I said he the client won't have a clue , I am blessed to have this fellow as a client and a friend and I am very fair to him .
I'm kind of a straight shooter when it comes to business it doesn't mix well with bs.
regards dusty , an experienced mistake maker , admittedly
I hope you did not take my generaliization of a local phrase in the wrong light. Both of you are fortunate. you can do nice work and he appreciates it. I wish I had that situation.
Old D,
When I wore a younger man's clothes I worked as a carpenter. And, in that trade, especially when you're first starting out, you do whatever you can to get your foot in the door and gain some experience in the field. That's how I wound up working on some condominiums one time.
I learned from the foreman there that whenever someone pointed out a flaw in the trim work, for example, you would respond with, "Well, I did that for heightened effect."
From that point onward, whenever I was questioned about any aspect of my work, out came that phrase - and also the story behind it. It kind of broke the ice sometimes. I never tried to pass stuff off that I screwed up, but just acknowledged that sometimes I didn't get things quite, exactly right..
Not that what you made is in any way, well, something someone could label "heightened effect!"
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
Many years ago, I was working in another shop, building a highboy, a commissioned piece . On a Friday afternoon, I was in a hurry to get the base section glued up before quitting time. Got it together, clamped it up and went home. Next Monday, I pulled the clamps off, and my co-worker says, "That thing looks out of square." Checked the diagonals across the top of the case and they were off by TWO INCHES! Holy **** I still have no clue how the case got off by that amount. Well, what to do? There was no taking it back apart, the glue on those mortise and tenon joints was good and hard. So, I put a pipe clamp across the long diagonal, and slowly started cranking. With much cracking and popping, the case came to square, and just a little beyond, wherein I dovetailed a brace across what had been the short diagonal. Pulled the clamp off and with a little "Unnh", the case held. Later that week the customer came by to check on the progress of his project. Walked over to the base, layed his hand on that diagonal brace, he looked at me, and says, "This is for strength, right?" "...Uh, yeah! ...Strength."
Still an inside joke between that other fella in the shop, and me. I still see him once or tewice a year. Pick up a piece of molding out of the scrap pile with a blowout in the middle of it. "This is for strength, right?"
Ray
"For strength!" I like that. It has been added to my excuse...er..."explanation" lexicon.
Thanks, ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolt,
The US marines have a saying : That which doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.
That's for strength.
Ray
Dusty,
An old friend who was a professional bluegrass musician once explained to me that on stage, if he made a mistake, he would smile and repeat it once again. That way no one would doubt that it was "artistry". Need I say more?
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1
Shalom David ,
I suppose thats why surgeons never say oops in the operating room.
in reality making our work look deliberate is the goal regardless of the exact designs.
dusty
Doctors say they have a "practice." Makes you think, doesn't it?Bruce"A man's got to know his limitations." Dirty Harry Calahan
Bruce ,
Over the years I have worked for quite a few docs and to break the ice I have said something like " you don't want me to practice on your house do you?"
Typically they say " I never liked the term "
regards dusty
I can understand how they feel. I believe lawyers also have a "Practice." But we won't go there!
I have a great MD! When Jim Dunnan says to do this or that, I do not question him. He is the best.
Have a great day Dusty.
Bruce"A man's got to know his limitations." Dirty Harry Calahan
bruce,
yes...and we must be patient.
eef
When my brother was doing his surgical rotation in med school, he was told it was common practice for a surgeon to say "interesting" instead of "oops" so as to not frighten a patient. Now when I hear a doctor say "interesting" I begin to worry.
-pjw
Surprisingly, a phrase it is good to hear from a specialist is "I am not impressed", which translates as "There's nothing wrong with this chap, why did you refer him to me?"
Dusty,
As my Dad says, you are not a cabinet maker until you can hide your mistakes. He opened his cabinet shop in ’47 and ran it for more than 50 years. You’ve done a great job at turning a mistake into a design element.
Doug
Thanks Doug ,
Hey don't be a stranger here , nice to know you , where you at ?
I delivered the set of office furniture to the client yesterday and took a few pics , the client was ecstatic .When that happens I get paid twice and it makes things more worthwhile .
The bottom drawer is really a door .
It's hard to mess up QSWO
Regards from Orygun dusty
Edited 9/25/2009 11:02 pm ET by oldusty
Beautiful work! Both of those pieces would fit perfectly in my new house! We just finished building an Arts-&-Crafts style house with tons of woodwork throughout it with just that style. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to contribute anything to the actual building, just design (too busy doctoring). I added pics just because I love the house. :) (See "House Staircase" pics)
I am a relatively new woodworker & I don't think I have made a piece yet that didn't have "mistakes". By the end of the pieces, they always turned into "design elements", and the pieces were usually much better looking than they otherwise would have been. I attached a couple of pics that show this. The black inlay band is to cover up a malaligned inlay of the knotwork (I flipped it over to trace the outline of the piece to inlay, then when I actually cut it & went to put it in, it was 180* off & there were tons of gaps). I like it this way better.
I just opened the pics - sorry about the size & quality. It's my first attachment attempt.
Edited 9/30/2009 2:22 pm ET by Eireannach
Nice place when is the house warming party?
The first stairpic gave me vertigo at first till I scrolled down.For years I wanted a nice way to sat #### happens. I was doing a term position nursing with a bunch of Navy guys. The best we came up with is Contingio Dregis. Now in polite company we just say it and no won knows what has been said and we just chuckle.
Dusty,
I recommend that you write a book about that cabinet without ever mentioning a "mistake". Write it in the style of Sam Maloof, or James Krenov. It is possible that it will cause the emergence of a new school of design, based on your new design principles. Your new design paradigm may just result in popularizing your design to the point where you get $30,000 per box, just like Maloof got $30,000 per rocker, AND your cabinets will show up in museums, and will be featured in FWW. You can start your own "Box Building University", and accept students at $20,000 tuition per year.
I see you as just one of a line of people who developed entirely new approaches to design, Chippendale, Greene and Greene, Hepplewhite, Ikea, Krenov, Maloof, OldDusty.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, Thanks but , Your dreaming , the masters you speak of have shown the world originality and design work that far exceeds the normal cabinets or boxes I build.
I am an average cabinetmaker who is dedicated to detail and customer satisfaction and who has learned about business and dealings with clients and suppliers for that matter .
I have made a living for many years ,am not published or famous or known by anyone but a few .
A book could be inside of me but woodworking will only be part of it , the dealings and situations that occur in this business are a story waiting to be told.
regards dusty
Dusty,
Can ye put me on the list for the book? Can't wait to read it.
Awesome job on the cabinet - you'd never see the mistake.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
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