Maybe it’s just being a novice woodworker but maybe I’l be in good company with others who have experienced/done the same thing I did. I’m in the process of building a chest of drawers for junior and after many hours of planning, sketches, and getting it right in my head, I have stopped dadoes for the dust frames supporting the drawers. Well, after cutting two through dadoes in the top and bottom of the two side panels and center panel, I realized what I had done. Aside from the expletives that quicky made their way out of my mouth, I kept asking myself how could I overlook this. Fortunately, I should be able to hide the bottom through dadoes with the base but I’m hoping the top of the panels won’t be too noticeable since the top will be overhanging. It’s more of a cosmetic issue than anything so maybe I’ll be the only one to notice my bonehead “mistakes.”
Maybe I have some company out there so what’s the way to curb this? Any other “oops” stories?
Brett
Replies
Unless you are building a second copy of something you have built before, and paying unwavering attention, and have had plenty of sleep, and have eaten well for the prior two weeks, but not too much, and have an assistant on hand along with a mentor, and the moon is in a perfect alignment with the Earth and Sun so as to put all things in balance, and a few more I'm not thinking of right now - this stuff happens.
Figuring out how you're going to fix it is the fun part. A carefully choosen glued in patch - an apron - a contrasting wood glued in patch ( a design element!) - rip the over shot and edge glue a replacement strip, etc etc. Lots of options. Overcoming the unexpected, whether its a mistake, a cantakerous board, or whatever, is part of the fun. If it was easy, everyone could do it !
It is not a mistake, it is an undocumented feature!
Doug
Any time I am working with multiple panels, particularly those that fdace each other and make a left and right, I draw the dados out completely and then stand the pieces up as they will go in the finished piece before making cuts. If stopped dados are included, I draw a very clear stop line on the surface and on the edge that I will see when making the cuts.
Maybe I shoujld be able to do this without all of the layout, but I can't so I do the layout and avoid most of those kinds of mistakes. Most. The ones that get through are professional overcuts or "unique" design features, sort of like mentioned in another post.
I had a retired master cabinet maker who works with me say that the mark of a true veteran woodworker is the ability to compensate for the stupid things they do.
Tom Hintz
Because there is always more to learn!
Dear B,
I like Doug's suggestion about an "undocumented feature"! Mabe I could even bill someone for it!
As mentioned, the real question is not whether you will make mistakes, it is whether you can correct your mistakes. It sounds like you can and did, so I would say that your skill level has improved. If you keep making the same mistakes, I might get concerned, but new mistakes? I make them all of the time! Have fun!
Best,
John
I had a boss ask me at the end the day in a new job, " did you make allot of mistakes today?". I said no. He said, "Then I guess you didn't learn a thing."
I think that I have started every project I have ever done thinking that I know how to do it. Then when the project is underway and I make a mistake or see something that I did not plan for I realize that I only know how to build something when it is finished :) Maybe that is just poor planning but it is always exciting when an "oops" turns into a "YES!!!" when I figure out a solution. That's one of the reasons I love woodworking!
John l
Look at my profile. "No one will ever know come fifty years after the big fire."
"Any other "oops" stories?" Ohmigod, plenty of them. You are not alone and these things will happen again! (and again, and again) I love Sampson's reply -- it's right on.
Chalk is your friend.
The inside of all my work reads like a book.
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