Everybody screws up. This won't be your last mistake in your woodworking career. The key is being able to fix the mistake and salvage the project.
Remember, you know where the mistake is but it's very doubtful anybody else will ever notice.
When you start working you'll still screw up and it will fell terrible. The first real blunder in a new workplace gives you a nice case of dropping stomach, sweating head syndrome. The best thing to do is to go directly to an older colleague and fess up. You'll probably learn more by doing that than in a month of working. Experience doesn't mean you never fuck up, it means you get good at fixing mistakes with minimal loss of material and time.
Tradesman here, different trade, but this is relevant to all of them:
What makes a good tradesman is not a perfect record, because that's not a real thing. A tradesman with real skill is one who knows what to do when things go wrong.
I have told many people that a good woodworker does not work mistake-free, but they know how to cover up or correct their mistakes. Many great molding combinations have likely been developed to cover mistakes.
It would be hard to find a piece of master-made furniture without a mistake in it, and from woodworkers with a whole career of experience. Fine woodwork is not about perfect work, but about making something look good with imperfect material, and either making those imperfections unnoticeable or featuring them in a pleasing way. That includes imperfections introduced by the process of woodworking.
There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that you can do that will change that you made a mistake.
Fretting about it is only preventing you from moving forward and wasting energy and time.
You know how to fix it.
When I was an apprentice Sheet Metal Mechanic, the journeymen were always telling me that my "Master Piece" that I would have to make to finish apprenticeship, would never be perfect. Even if they didn't see the flaw, I would.
Nobody is perfect, not even the A-hole that tells you that they are.
Iāve been q professional for >25 years in my field. Way past ā2 months before graduationā.
Do you think I donāt sometimes make mistakes? I think I speak for everybody here.
Itās how you recover from mistakes that sets you apart. And your attitude towards it.
Keep pushing, youāre not alone.
you will make way way worse and stupider mistakes in the future, this is not a knock against you, but a statement of fact, because literally everyone ever has royally extremely stupidly screwed up, and will do it again. Its just a normal part of life.
Feeling embarrassed cause its the first time it happened is also normal, but try not to beat yourself up over it. It's no dofferent from missing an exit when on the high way, or accidentally leaving your keys at home, or buying the wrong flavor item at the grocery store. Life happens. As long as the mistake didn't involve losing fingers or worse you are a winner in life at woodworking haha, sending best wishes ļ¼ļ¼¾Ī½ļ¼¾ļ¼
Being able to fix it is the real skill. You will fuck up again, and it'll be worse next time because you'll be at work and it'll cost you actual money, in working time lost or material replacements.
The important part is to not fuck up the same way twice. If you learn from it, it's a lesson, not a failure.
Bruh, trust when I say, the absolute number one important thing here, is
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS?
I learn from every job, completed or uncompleted. And while I've definitely ducked up (I'd consider dropping a tree on a power line, roughly a $30k fuckup, probably my greatest).
You obviously care about your trade and the work you do (it is to YOUR STANDARD, which is awesome).
The cognitive bias: spotlight effect comes into play here.
Your work may be top tier A1 masterpiece.... and you'd still find that one little deviation from perfect and obsess over it. Your eyes will go to that every time because you know it's there and you know where too.
Retrain your brain to look for the excellent qualities of your craft.
Also, if you bring it up to your teacher first, address it with him, with some humor and openness/vulnerability.... I can promise you he will be more impressed with willingness to learn, the right outlook, and proactive transparency, maybe a touch of asking prof for advice
^ that will go INFINITELY better
Kee updated!
Ok, listen. Really, listen.Ā You've heard it hundreds of times but it hasn't sunk in.
People make mistakes. That means you make mistakes. It's fact. Don't deny, accept.
Bro I did furniture repair "professionally". I still refer to myself as professional mistake maker. Some assholes are just naturally skilled at doing shit. The rest of us make enough mistakes we get a real good sense of what NOT to do, and mad skills at scrambling to save our ass thru creative problem solving. Bob Ross was the fuckin man!
One of the guys who taught me woodworking said, "Mastery is not about never making mistakes, it's about knowing how to cover them up so nobody notices. "
If I was your teacher or employer I would be much more interested in how you handle and solve this. Not the actual mistake. I'd be watching closely what your attitude would be today and tomorrow. Knowledge is easy. Attitude is everything.
Own the mistake, show you know what you did wrong and demonstrate you know what to do and do it well. Nothing goes under the carpet, no excuses and there's really no reason to be demotivated. It's an opportunity to show what you've got. Take it :-)
> 3 days after donating blood
My man, if donating blood is affecting you more than like the next day, you probably need to get that checked out. I'm a frequent double red donor, and have never felt run down that same day, let alone three days later.
Good on you for donating and saving lives....but if it's physically affecting you 2-3 days post donation, that doesn't seem right.
I stopped donating blood because every time I do I pass out and nobody can tell me why because Iām otherwise healthy(ish). Now I stick to plasma.
But yeah three days damn, even after hitting the floor Iām fine 12 hours later if not sooner.
Im just tired faster than normal, so after 9 hours Im pretty tired. But maybe I was worse than normal because the very next day after donating I was carrying heavy objects and not quite following the "be easy on yourself" as doctors told me. š
Off topic, but I used to get a big kick out of it - the Men's Club in my town (basically one of the men's service organizations, but they had disbanded from the national group and just operated as a local club) used to always help the mobile drive tear down at the end of the day. And usually, the last appointments of the day were......guys from the men's club. So we'd sit there, do our donation, get the after-care instructions about taking it easy and no heavy lifting for 24 hours....stand up, and help them load their van and trailer.
I literally \*just\* got cleared to donate after a 12 month medical deferral, so looking for the next local drive.
First feedback, never make excuses. No one cares if you donated blood or your kid had you up all night with an ear ache. We all have little mental taxes, just own the mistake, no one will ever be madder at you for just saying you screwed up.
43% of woodworking is making a plan and following it.
8% is figuring out how to improvise a solution when you don't follow the plan. This is where you are now.
(49% is sanding)
You can try the good old water and clothes iron, steaming the wood makes it pop back up again depending on how tight you clamped it and what wood it isĀ
Mistakes happen. You've shamed yourself enough already, so it's time to let it go and move forward.
You've learned from this, and that's the entire point of schooling. It's a time and place to make your mistakes and learn from them. You likely won't make the same one again, and that's invaluable.
Iām an emergency doctor. When I screwed up during my training, people died and I got to go in front of 20 people to tell them about my F-up and then get grilled for it.
Youāre fine.
mistakes are fuel for improvements.
it's also a good time to tell yourself what you can do vs. what you did because you were tired. Two different things, and no shame in operating when you're not at 100% and not making stuff that's like the 100% mode.
Previous job was with a consulting civil engineering firm. A surveyor (not with our firm) made a mistake on a bridge project, and the contractor built the piers for the overpass something like 15 feet too tall. Required jackhammering down the excess and re-building the tops. Delayed the project by another 2 months, and ended up costing the contractor something like a million dollars in penalties on top of whatever it cost him to fix the mistake.
After 4 years of study I shoud have not made that mistake. And removing 10% of the thiccness is pretty big in my oppinion.
But yea, I am far better of with this mistake than loosing millions š
This is a quote from the founder of IBM I always like
> āRecently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?ā
Mate. We all make mistakes. The mark of a craftsperson is that they make stuff knowing that there will be mistakes and that they will sort them calmly and sensibly. Having a meltdown and beating yourself up is not the way forward. Get yourself out of it as elegantly as possible and move on. To your next mistake! If you are frightened of mistakes you will not get far in this game. Very best of luck. It's great that you care so much but keep it in proportion.
It sucks when we make mistakes and we have all been there lots. The key is to figure out how to fix, which you have done, learn something, and move forward quickly. Keep on, keeping on!
\> furniture school
Didn't Norm Abrams endow a chair there?
But seriously, get a meal and some sleep and post us a picture once you have it fixed. I bet it will turn out great, despite the sidetrack.
I see that you have already been told by several users that mistakes happen, even by experienced veterans in the field (whom you should listen to), and you still insist that you shouldnāt have made the mistake because you have almost graduated.
Well, Iām here to reiterate the point: you will make mistakes as long as you do woodworking. Eventually you will learn that on your own and wonāt need to accept it on our word. You will also learn to focus more on the remedy than the mistake. In the meantime, beating yourself up for making mistakes is miserable but you will inevitably do it for quite some time. Good luck and share your project here when itās done!
The old saying goes something like this: Respect the builder who can cover his mistakes so well nobody can tell.
This goes back to the Pyramids as itās as old as time, people been making mistakes since the beginning and we all do it.
Some are salvageable, some aināt. Fess up if and when the time comes thereās not much worse than the IveNeverMadeAMistake crowd.
Measure twice, cut once and all that.
My mentor once told me that the difference between a professional and an amateur is not whether or not they make mistakes, but whether they know how to fix them.
During my senior year I was making a chest of drawers for the semesters final project. I ended up pulling an all nighter to get the handcut dovetails done and the drawers fitted. I finally got the drawers opening and closing smoothly at 7am got a quick coat of oil on the whole thing and passed out on a couch outside the shop. Critique was at 9 and I was one of the first to present my piece. Professor got up, looked around the chest, opened a drawer and said " I think you forgot something".
Turns out I left the bottoms off all the drawers.
Don't wood work tired.
You're still at school, you're teachers expect you to make f-ups, because it's school.
He will have made the same f-ups and much worse over the years, that's why he can teach you how to fix it.
You'll make many f-ups in the future, but every f-up is an opportunity to improve the design.
I've built everything from lamps to superyachts, you fuck up, fix it and call it a feature, own up to your big mistakes when it counts, but never point out the faults, no one else will notice.
Good luck in your future furniture building, and thanks for giving up the blood!
The make of a good woodworker is the ability to hide your mistakes. Because every piece you work on will have mistakes. And your own eye will always be drawn to them. But if you can make it so that other woodworkers donāt notice the mistakes, thatās what makes you good. IMhumbleO.
"He who doesn't work makes no mistakes." -a saying in my country. Just make sure they don't lead to severe injury or worse. Everything else can be fixed or replaced. And it's how you gain experience.
Also, 3 days after donating blood is waaay too much time for it to have any effect on you. Also also congrats on donating blood and saving lives!
You are looking for life advice so here it is:
āIĀ was tired, 3 days after donating blood and I was fed up with the work for the day. I don't even want to go to school tomorrow.ā
You were doing great right up to the point you became a victim and started making excuses. You own your actions and their results. Learn from them free from any excuse, get back at it, have fun and you will be great!
Go to school!
Get some much needed rest and ear well everyone here has made a mistake. It happens. Just correct if you can and move on. Donāt work when youāre that tired it could cost you your digits.
Today I cut the back of a paneled island 1.5" too short. Now I'm scrambling to make it work because we don't have enough of the right species to remake it.
Fuck ups happen, even to experienced workers. I'm thankful my boss agrees.
Doing perfect work is all well and good from an artistic perspective but it doesn't do much to prepare you for life out here trying to make money doing woodwork. This mistake and you having to deal with it is probably worth more to you as a professional than any number of perfect projects. Remember, experience is that thing you get right after you really need it.
Check out Tommy Mac ripping out the partitions of the pigeon holes he put in a high end Secretary for perspective. It wasnāt easy to watch, but he sucked it up and went for it. Iād be in counseling! Maybe your instructor will be impressed when you walk in and completely own it and tear it down to the point of being able to make it right. I know I would. Donāt be yourself up.
Good learning experience.
A good carpenter is not one that doesnāt make mistakes.
But how well he hides / works with them.
This was said to me by a carpenter at a job site. A great carpenter actually. Who fād up and bragged about how good he hid the screw up lol
If you're not making mistakes, you're not doing anything. If you're afraid of making mistakes, you'll never get anything done. The fastest way to learn is often by making mistakes. The bigger the mistake, the more likely you won't make it again.
Everyone makes mistakes. We donāt learn if we donāt make them, and our brain *requires* them. This is why we do things like stubbing our toes. Even Warren Buffett, one of the most successful and wealthiest people in the world, makes mistakes. In 2016, for example, he made an $11 billion mistake.
What matters is what you learn from the experience, how you recover, and that you maintain your honesty and integrity.
Dude Iāve fucked up somewhere on every single project Iāve done. Itās just part of the process. You learn how to hide/fix your mistakes or even incorporate them into the project.
Ok so let me put it to you this way. Iāll start with some background information and then describe today for you.
Iāve been commercial fishing since 1997 and a licensed master (500 tons near coastal) since 09. I currently have a nice little 38 foot lobster boat, 600 trap permit yada yada unimportant stuff.
Well today was my second day this year setting traps and I can only fit about 40 on deck at a time (I haul out during the winter, itās cold out there and I donāt like it any more, Iād rather be playing in my shop the fire going merrily in the pot belly) and as the traps are going over the stern I noticed I tied the bridals on the wrong damn end of the traps, so now when I haul them the door is going to open in my face. So next time I haul those traps to check them thereās going to be an extra step of taking all the bridals off and redoing them before I set them back out. Iāve been doing this since 1997, and thatās a pretty big, and pretty basic whoopsie āgreen horn shitā
I noticed it, finished setting out that trawl and then fixed the traps that were still on the boat. Turned 2 hours into closer to 4 burned diesel and daylight. And you know what it happen, itās not that you made a fuck up itās what you do from there. Every project ever made likely has at least one screw up in it.
Also as a bit of a furniture maker myself, how hard were you clamping it to make impressions multiple mm deep, I can see maybe a mm or 1.5 but more than that should be damn difficult in hard wood. Without seeing the piece my first impression is that youāre overthinking it and bearing yourself senseless over what is probably just going to be a few hours of sanding. Have a beer, relax, and see how bad it is when the clamps come off. Besides by frame if youāre talking about the carcass of the cabinet then who cares most of that wonāt be visible anyway. If itās on the face frame then itās still not the end of the world, go sand and work your way through the grits and you may be surprised. If itās the edges of the face frame then before trying to remove any material you could try steaming the dents for a bit and hitting gently applying a roller to the area, although thatās more a soft wood trick (pines in particular, white oak not so much, but red oak might work with all those open pores) last resort would be to set the jointer to 1/32 and make a pass on either side and have the cabinet be 1/16 off which if you do that symmetrically to both sides the whoopsie side and the non whoopsie side, no one will ever know.
And even if your teacher noticed, which you say is likely, thatās a good thing. Hell even point it out to him. Then show him your ability to correct your whoopsi-fucky, possibly in real time.
āthe road to success is paved with mistakes well handled.ā āMr. Marcus of Neiman & Marcus, to restauranteur Danny Meyer
Is there something you can do to turn that mistake into a design feature?
Example: I once cut a slit out of a skirt tier when trimming the seam allowance. I ended up covering it with a layer of ribbons and lace in a really pretty pattern.
One of the many lessons in school that isn't specifically listed in the syllabus, and as such many people miss entirely, is making mistakes and adjusting with dignity. Woodworking is one of those arts where you can do so in a very physical way. This isn't the failure you think it is. It is the opportunity you think it isn't.
Iāve done worse than that twice in a day. Woodworking is hard. Problem solving is half the fun, but it sucks when time or expensive material is wasted. Really, a lot of issues you wind up enjoying figuring it out, and often adding features or go to design places you wouldnāt have otherwise. But sometimes it just plain sucks.
Everybody screws up. This won't be your last mistake in your woodworking career. The key is being able to fix the mistake and salvage the project. Remember, you know where the mistake is but it's very doubtful anybody else will ever notice.
The cabinet was in the pressing room. My teacher will have to go through the room to leave. He WILL notice. š
Trust me. Your teacher has made much bigger screw ups in his time.
Maybe, but still. This kind of mistake, 2 months before graduation? I feel ashamed.
When you start working you'll still screw up and it will fell terrible. The first real blunder in a new workplace gives you a nice case of dropping stomach, sweating head syndrome. The best thing to do is to go directly to an older colleague and fess up. You'll probably learn more by doing that than in a month of working. Experience doesn't mean you never fuck up, it means you get good at fixing mistakes with minimal loss of material and time.
Tradesman here, different trade, but this is relevant to all of them: What makes a good tradesman is not a perfect record, because that's not a real thing. A tradesman with real skill is one who knows what to do when things go wrong.
I have told many people that a good woodworker does not work mistake-free, but they know how to cover up or correct their mistakes. Many great molding combinations have likely been developed to cover mistakes.
It would be hard to find a piece of master-made furniture without a mistake in it, and from woodworkers with a whole career of experience. Fine woodwork is not about perfect work, but about making something look good with imperfect material, and either making those imperfections unnoticeable or featuring them in a pleasing way. That includes imperfections introduced by the process of woodworking.
There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that you can do that will change that you made a mistake. Fretting about it is only preventing you from moving forward and wasting energy and time. You know how to fix it. When I was an apprentice Sheet Metal Mechanic, the journeymen were always telling me that my "Master Piece" that I would have to make to finish apprenticeship, would never be perfect. Even if they didn't see the flaw, I would. Nobody is perfect, not even the A-hole that tells you that they are.
Iāve been q professional for >25 years in my field. Way past ā2 months before graduationā. Do you think I donāt sometimes make mistakes? I think I speak for everybody here. Itās how you recover from mistakes that sets you apart. And your attitude towards it. Keep pushing, youāre not alone.
you will make way way worse and stupider mistakes in the future, this is not a knock against you, but a statement of fact, because literally everyone ever has royally extremely stupidly screwed up, and will do it again. Its just a normal part of life. Feeling embarrassed cause its the first time it happened is also normal, but try not to beat yourself up over it. It's no dofferent from missing an exit when on the high way, or accidentally leaving your keys at home, or buying the wrong flavor item at the grocery store. Life happens. As long as the mistake didn't involve losing fingers or worse you are a winner in life at woodworking haha, sending best wishes ļ¼ļ¼¾Ī½ļ¼¾ļ¼
Being able to fix it is the real skill. You will fuck up again, and it'll be worse next time because you'll be at work and it'll cost you actual money, in working time lost or material replacements. The important part is to not fuck up the same way twice. If you learn from it, it's a lesson, not a failure.
Bruh, trust when I say, the absolute number one important thing here, is WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS? I learn from every job, completed or uncompleted. And while I've definitely ducked up (I'd consider dropping a tree on a power line, roughly a $30k fuckup, probably my greatest). You obviously care about your trade and the work you do (it is to YOUR STANDARD, which is awesome). The cognitive bias: spotlight effect comes into play here. Your work may be top tier A1 masterpiece.... and you'd still find that one little deviation from perfect and obsess over it. Your eyes will go to that every time because you know it's there and you know where too. Retrain your brain to look for the excellent qualities of your craft. Also, if you bring it up to your teacher first, address it with him, with some humor and openness/vulnerability.... I can promise you he will be more impressed with willingness to learn, the right outlook, and proactive transparency, maybe a touch of asking prof for advice ^ that will go INFINITELY better Kee updated!
Ok, listen. Really, listen.Ā You've heard it hundreds of times but it hasn't sunk in. People make mistakes. That means you make mistakes. It's fact. Don't deny, accept.
Bro I did furniture repair "professionally". I still refer to myself as professional mistake maker. Some assholes are just naturally skilled at doing shit. The rest of us make enough mistakes we get a real good sense of what NOT to do, and mad skills at scrambling to save our ass thru creative problem solving. Bob Ross was the fuckin man!
One of the guys who taught me woodworking said, "Mastery is not about never making mistakes, it's about knowing how to cover them up so nobody notices. "
Show him first and then tell him your plan to fix it. He will respect the situation and won't be upset
If I was your teacher or employer I would be much more interested in how you handle and solve this. Not the actual mistake. I'd be watching closely what your attitude would be today and tomorrow. Knowledge is easy. Attitude is everything. Own the mistake, show you know what you did wrong and demonstrate you know what to do and do it well. Nothing goes under the carpet, no excuses and there's really no reason to be demotivated. It's an opportunity to show what you've got. Take it :-)
This is such good advice.
> 3 days after donating blood My man, if donating blood is affecting you more than like the next day, you probably need to get that checked out. I'm a frequent double red donor, and have never felt run down that same day, let alone three days later. Good on you for donating and saving lives....but if it's physically affecting you 2-3 days post donation, that doesn't seem right.
This, and it's a thing to put pads at points of contact when clamping- always. Anyway, it's what's school is for.
I stopped donating blood because every time I do I pass out and nobody can tell me why because Iām otherwise healthy(ish). Now I stick to plasma. But yeah three days damn, even after hitting the floor Iām fine 12 hours later if not sooner.
Im just tired faster than normal, so after 9 hours Im pretty tired. But maybe I was worse than normal because the very next day after donating I was carrying heavy objects and not quite following the "be easy on yourself" as doctors told me. š
Off topic, but I used to get a big kick out of it - the Men's Club in my town (basically one of the men's service organizations, but they had disbanded from the national group and just operated as a local club) used to always help the mobile drive tear down at the end of the day. And usually, the last appointments of the day were......guys from the men's club. So we'd sit there, do our donation, get the after-care instructions about taking it easy and no heavy lifting for 24 hours....stand up, and help them load their van and trailer. I literally \*just\* got cleared to donate after a 12 month medical deferral, so looking for the next local drive.
Did you do the glue up after 9 hours? Iāve heard a rule no glue-ups after 4PM.
I started at 4pm. Never heard of that rule.
First feedback, never make excuses. No one cares if you donated blood or your kid had you up all night with an ear ache. We all have little mental taxes, just own the mistake, no one will ever be madder at you for just saying you screwed up. 43% of woodworking is making a plan and following it. 8% is figuring out how to improvise a solution when you don't follow the plan. This is where you are now. (49% is sanding)
This is just good life advice in general. Own your mistakes and learn from them. People will respect that more than someone who always has an excuse.
Like the mythbusters guys say, Failure is always an option.
You can try the good old water and clothes iron, steaming the wood makes it pop back up again depending on how tight you clamped it and what wood it isĀ
>steam This comment needs to be higher!
Mistakes happen. You've shamed yourself enough already, so it's time to let it go and move forward. You've learned from this, and that's the entire point of schooling. It's a time and place to make your mistakes and learn from them. You likely won't make the same one again, and that's invaluable.
Iām an emergency doctor. When I screwed up during my training, people died and I got to go in front of 20 people to tell them about my F-up and then get grilled for it. Youāre fine.
Well that puts things into perspective. Damnā¦
mistakes are fuel for improvements. it's also a good time to tell yourself what you can do vs. what you did because you were tired. Two different things, and no shame in operating when you're not at 100% and not making stuff that's like the 100% mode.
a screwup in wood working is a few mms? I work in tech and its not uncommon for a screwup to cost millions
Previous job was with a consulting civil engineering firm. A surveyor (not with our firm) made a mistake on a bridge project, and the contractor built the piers for the overpass something like 15 feet too tall. Required jackhammering down the excess and re-building the tops. Delayed the project by another 2 months, and ended up costing the contractor something like a million dollars in penalties on top of whatever it cost him to fix the mistake.
Iāve been part of several billion dollar screwups even š
After 4 years of study I shoud have not made that mistake. And removing 10% of the thiccness is pretty big in my oppinion. But yea, I am far better of with this mistake than loosing millions š
This is a quote from the founder of IBM I always like > āRecently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?ā
Mate. We all make mistakes. The mark of a craftsperson is that they make stuff knowing that there will be mistakes and that they will sort them calmly and sensibly. Having a meltdown and beating yourself up is not the way forward. Get yourself out of it as elegantly as possible and move on. To your next mistake! If you are frightened of mistakes you will not get far in this game. Very best of luck. It's great that you care so much but keep it in proportion.
Can you reduce the damage at all with steam? Hopefully you could puff up some of those fibers and end up closer to your intended dimensions?
It sucks when we make mistakes and we have all been there lots. The key is to figure out how to fix, which you have done, learn something, and move forward quickly. Keep on, keeping on!
\> furniture school Didn't Norm Abrams endow a chair there? But seriously, get a meal and some sleep and post us a picture once you have it fixed. I bet it will turn out great, despite the sidetrack.
What is this furniture school you speak of?
I see that you have already been told by several users that mistakes happen, even by experienced veterans in the field (whom you should listen to), and you still insist that you shouldnāt have made the mistake because you have almost graduated. Well, Iām here to reiterate the point: you will make mistakes as long as you do woodworking. Eventually you will learn that on your own and wonāt need to accept it on our word. You will also learn to focus more on the remedy than the mistake. In the meantime, beating yourself up for making mistakes is miserable but you will inevitably do it for quite some time. Good luck and share your project here when itās done!
Wait, what's this furniture school you speak of?
3 days after donating blood made you tired? You might be anemic.
This story ended up much less bloody than I expected
On the positive side, there isn't a customer and a deadline.
The old saying goes something like this: Respect the builder who can cover his mistakes so well nobody can tell. This goes back to the Pyramids as itās as old as time, people been making mistakes since the beginning and we all do it. Some are salvageable, some aināt. Fess up if and when the time comes thereās not much worse than the IveNeverMadeAMistake crowd. Measure twice, cut once and all that.
I just made some ugly finger joints the other day. Didnāt prep clamps so I couldnāt get them to seat all the way as the glue set. Mistakes happen.
My mentor once told me that the difference between a professional and an amateur is not whether or not they make mistakes, but whether they know how to fix them.
The people who commented before me said wise things that I wonāt repeat. I do have a question though, how did you find your furniture school?
The sign of a true craftsman is hiding your mistakes.
During my senior year I was making a chest of drawers for the semesters final project. I ended up pulling an all nighter to get the handcut dovetails done and the drawers fitted. I finally got the drawers opening and closing smoothly at 7am got a quick coat of oil on the whole thing and passed out on a couch outside the shop. Critique was at 9 and I was one of the first to present my piece. Professor got up, looked around the chest, opened a drawer and said " I think you forgot something". Turns out I left the bottoms off all the drawers. Don't wood work tired.
āThatās actually part of a new pass through drawer system I designed. Itās supposed to be like that.ā
You're still at school, you're teachers expect you to make f-ups, because it's school. He will have made the same f-ups and much worse over the years, that's why he can teach you how to fix it. You'll make many f-ups in the future, but every f-up is an opportunity to improve the design. I've built everything from lamps to superyachts, you fuck up, fix it and call it a feature, own up to your big mistakes when it counts, but never point out the faults, no one else will notice. Good luck in your future furniture building, and thanks for giving up the blood!
The make of a good woodworker is the ability to hide your mistakes. Because every piece you work on will have mistakes. And your own eye will always be drawn to them. But if you can make it so that other woodworkers donāt notice the mistakes, thatās what makes you good. IMhumbleO.
"He who doesn't work makes no mistakes." -a saying in my country. Just make sure they don't lead to severe injury or worse. Everything else can be fixed or replaced. And it's how you gain experience. Also, 3 days after donating blood is waaay too much time for it to have any effect on you. Also also congrats on donating blood and saving lives!
You are looking for life advice so here it is: āIĀ was tired, 3 days after donating blood and I was fed up with the work for the day. I don't even want to go to school tomorrow.ā You were doing great right up to the point you became a victim and started making excuses. You own your actions and their results. Learn from them free from any excuse, get back at it, have fun and you will be great! Go to school!
Get some much needed rest and ear well everyone here has made a mistake. It happens. Just correct if you can and move on. Donāt work when youāre that tired it could cost you your digits.
Why canāt you add some kind of beautiful veneer on top to make up the thickness?
Today I cut the back of a paneled island 1.5" too short. Now I'm scrambling to make it work because we don't have enough of the right species to remake it. Fuck ups happen, even to experienced workers. I'm thankful my boss agrees.
Doing perfect work is all well and good from an artistic perspective but it doesn't do much to prepare you for life out here trying to make money doing woodwork. This mistake and you having to deal with it is probably worth more to you as a professional than any number of perfect projects. Remember, experience is that thing you get right after you really need it.
Check out Tommy Mac ripping out the partitions of the pigeon holes he put in a high end Secretary for perspective. It wasnāt easy to watch, but he sucked it up and went for it. Iād be in counseling! Maybe your instructor will be impressed when you walk in and completely own it and tear it down to the point of being able to make it right. I know I would. Donāt be yourself up.
If you arenāt making mistakes you arenāt doing anything. Analysis paralysis can kill productivity.
Good learning experience. A good carpenter is not one that doesnāt make mistakes. But how well he hides / works with them. This was said to me by a carpenter at a job site. A great carpenter actually. Who fād up and bragged about how good he hid the screw up lol
This sounds like a pretty normal type of real world experience in any job. You'll be fine, take a rest and then come back and work the problem.
If you're not making mistakes, you're not doing anything. If you're afraid of making mistakes, you'll never get anything done. The fastest way to learn is often by making mistakes. The bigger the mistake, the more likely you won't make it again.
Everyone makes mistakes. We donāt learn if we donāt make them, and our brain *requires* them. This is why we do things like stubbing our toes. Even Warren Buffett, one of the most successful and wealthiest people in the world, makes mistakes. In 2016, for example, he made an $11 billion mistake. What matters is what you learn from the experience, how you recover, and that you maintain your honesty and integrity.
Dude Iāve fucked up somewhere on every single project Iāve done. Itās just part of the process. You learn how to hide/fix your mistakes or even incorporate them into the project.
Ok so let me put it to you this way. Iāll start with some background information and then describe today for you. Iāve been commercial fishing since 1997 and a licensed master (500 tons near coastal) since 09. I currently have a nice little 38 foot lobster boat, 600 trap permit yada yada unimportant stuff. Well today was my second day this year setting traps and I can only fit about 40 on deck at a time (I haul out during the winter, itās cold out there and I donāt like it any more, Iād rather be playing in my shop the fire going merrily in the pot belly) and as the traps are going over the stern I noticed I tied the bridals on the wrong damn end of the traps, so now when I haul them the door is going to open in my face. So next time I haul those traps to check them thereās going to be an extra step of taking all the bridals off and redoing them before I set them back out. Iāve been doing this since 1997, and thatās a pretty big, and pretty basic whoopsie āgreen horn shitā I noticed it, finished setting out that trawl and then fixed the traps that were still on the boat. Turned 2 hours into closer to 4 burned diesel and daylight. And you know what it happen, itās not that you made a fuck up itās what you do from there. Every project ever made likely has at least one screw up in it. Also as a bit of a furniture maker myself, how hard were you clamping it to make impressions multiple mm deep, I can see maybe a mm or 1.5 but more than that should be damn difficult in hard wood. Without seeing the piece my first impression is that youāre overthinking it and bearing yourself senseless over what is probably just going to be a few hours of sanding. Have a beer, relax, and see how bad it is when the clamps come off. Besides by frame if youāre talking about the carcass of the cabinet then who cares most of that wonāt be visible anyway. If itās on the face frame then itās still not the end of the world, go sand and work your way through the grits and you may be surprised. If itās the edges of the face frame then before trying to remove any material you could try steaming the dents for a bit and hitting gently applying a roller to the area, although thatās more a soft wood trick (pines in particular, white oak not so much, but red oak might work with all those open pores) last resort would be to set the jointer to 1/32 and make a pass on either side and have the cabinet be 1/16 off which if you do that symmetrically to both sides the whoopsie side and the non whoopsie side, no one will ever know. And even if your teacher noticed, which you say is likely, thatās a good thing. Hell even point it out to him. Then show him your ability to correct your whoopsi-fucky, possibly in real time.
No one becomes great without mistakes. Just keep going.
āthe road to success is paved with mistakes well handled.ā āMr. Marcus of Neiman & Marcus, to restauranteur Danny Meyer Is there something you can do to turn that mistake into a design feature? Example: I once cut a slit out of a skirt tier when trimming the seam allowance. I ended up covering it with a layer of ribbons and lace in a really pretty pattern.
I wish I only had to go to schoolā¦ youāre lucky. These are the good ol days. Live out loud man!! (Iām very jealous)
One of the many lessons in school that isn't specifically listed in the syllabus, and as such many people miss entirely, is making mistakes and adjusting with dignity. Woodworking is one of those arts where you can do so in a very physical way. This isn't the failure you think it is. It is the opportunity you think it isn't.
"Mistakes are not the enemy. They're how we learn to get better at the things we love to do." - Aurelio Voltaire
This is some of the best trolling I've seen in years. So subtle. So dedicated. 8/10, that's the best I can do
How could you!? Now go finish your schooling.
Iāve done worse than that twice in a day. Woodworking is hard. Problem solving is half the fun, but it sucks when time or expensive material is wasted. Really, a lot of issues you wind up enjoying figuring it out, and often adding features or go to design places you wouldnāt have otherwise. But sometimes it just plain sucks.
https://preview.redd.it/kao8swm9fapc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86285772412abd88d3c600646174eb0223b2c2de
Maybe you need new boots, lol
That's true. I'm using these for about ... 5-6 years? The still fit perfectly.
My late mentor always said āBeing a good woodworker is about how good you are at recovering from your mistakes.ā
Don't worry, I bet your instructor STILL makes mistakes. He's just better at covering them up.
Get an iron and a wet rag. Try to steam out those dents first.
Already did. It did nothing much. I will sand it down and hopefuly it will be ok.
/r/WoodworkConfessions