Burned by the burned inch

[Bill Wyko]

I'm building my biggest, most difficult project to date. I was marking the last 8 stiles and talking to a customer on the phone at the same time. |I did the deed. I burned an inch and cut them all an inch long. Had my mortises in them and ready to glue up. I them did a dry assembly to find the 2 sides and the back to be an inch too tall. (4 stiles on the back). Fortunately I did a dry assembly. A habit we should all get into. I got lucky this time. How about you guys? Do you have a story of the burned inch that burns you?:eek::D

[ROY DICK]

If I ever did I wouldn't admit it. :D

Roy

[Paul Atkins]

I've had a lot an inch too short more than an inch too long. Then there was a cabinet that was 6 feet long not 60" long.

[Steve Clardy]

I've had a lot an inch too short more than an inch too long. Then there was a cabinet that was 6 feet long not 60" long.


I built a 60" vanity that was supposed to be 6' :o

Needless to say, there wasn't a way to stretch it out.

[Michael Conner]

If I cut too long, I don't even consider that a mistake as long as the glue-up hasn't taken place. It can be fixed even if it has sometimes. HOWEVER, a cut too short, now that is a boo boo. I might have done that once or ................

[george wilson]

ALWAYS do a mock glue up.

[David DeCristoforo]

OK...I got one. A friend asked me to build him a gun cabinet. I asked him how long his longest rifle was and he told me "42 inches". So I made the cabinet 48" tall inside. When it came time to lay out the rack, he brought some rifles to the shop and the first one we tried to place in the cabinet... clunk! Several inches longer than the cabinet was tall. To make a long story short, I remade the cabinet and my wife got a really nice china cabinet! OK, not quite the same but close. You got lucky. Most times the pieces are too short not too long.

[Jerome Hanby]

ALWAYS do a mock glue up.

I tried that. I berated the joinery. I ridiculed the stock. I did funny walks and made chicken sounds in front of the Titebond. Didn't really help the glue up, entertained the neighbors...

[Mike Cruz]

David, let me guess, it was a 42" barrel... not including the stock?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

LOL! Thanks Jerome!

[Brian Kincaid]

I tried that. I berated the joinery. I ridiculed the stock. I did funny walks and made chicken sounds in front of the Titebond. Didn't really help the glue up, entertained the neighbors...

I'll have to try this next time :D
-Brian

[Cody Colston]

If you can name a woodworking mistake, I've made it. :eek:

[Lee Schierer]

At least you didn't need to borrow my board stretcher.....:D

[Bill White]

I have NEVER made a mistake (today).
Bill

[David DeCristoforo]

"David, let me guess, it was a 42" barrel... not including the stock?"

Could be. I know little about guns. But the guy did not have even one that was under 42"BTW, your sig leads me to think that you might be a Monty Python fan...

[Don Bullock]

That's what they make molding for isn't it?:D:D:D

[Peter Quinn]

One of the lead guys I work under likes to say it isn't a mistake until it has spent the night in a dumpster. Unfortunately I am all too familiar with the location of the dumpster at work and the quickest route to get there. I got in the habit of burning an inch, then found it sometimes messing me up on long work, so I stopped and adjusted my shop tapes angle thingy to read accurately. But I kept subtracting that inch from my calculations, and that caused some problems.:(

Now I mostly work off of a story pole. A good story pole has done wonders for me. "If dis one don't look like dat one, then one must be wrong, and its probably dis one!" Nothing like an entire bed room and bathroom of full length floor to ceiling wainscot coming back one inch light in length at every corner to make you seek new methods. Not that I did that mind you. That's just for examples sake.:rolleyes:

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, yeah...:D

[Corey Wilcox]

I'm building my biggest, most difficult project to date. I was marking the last 8 stiles and talking to a customer on the phone at the same time. |I did the deed. I burned an inch and cut them all an inch long. Had my mortises in them and ready to glue up. I them did a dry assembly to find the 2 sides and the back to be an inch too tall. (4 stiles on the back). Fortunately I did a dry assembly. A habit we should all get into. I got lucky this time. How about you guys? Do you have a story of the burned inch that burns you?:eek::D

Every single time I burn an inch it burns me. I don't think I've ever gotten it right.

[Keith Christopher]

I recently wasn't paying attention when I was mortising some stiles and without realizing it I mortised the other side of a stile I just mortised. Giving me a perfect thru mortise. So I grabbed the other three and did the same and made it a thru tenon design. :)

for the inch burning, the ones I used to make more often were cutting too short. :rolleyes:

and yes I learned long ago to dry fit. saved my bacon more than once.

[bill mullin]

I use that method a lot when I need absolute accuracy, or for whatever reason I can't use the hook on the tape. But, whenever I've made a mistake, it always results in the cut being an inch too short, never too long.

Did you burn the inch on an example piece you were copying, then use the hook to measure your cut piece, or just inadvertently add 2" to your measurement?

I need to know soon, so I'll have something new to ponder while painting my house, like, will I cut off a finger next time I free-hand on the table saw.:eek:

[Greg Deakins]

cased openings for a hotel project. One inch too short on one side when it came time to level and install, then there was the next one, same mistake... Talk about embarrassing.