Now how stupid can you be.......

[Bill Huber]

I was gluing up a small face frame for my drum sander stand (more on that later) and I used dowels as normal.

Got it ready, did a test fit to make sure everything was right. I had 10 dowels on each side, put the glue in the holes and then the dowels, brushed the rest on the joint, put the parts on the one side and now to the other side. Put glue in all the holes pushed in the dowels, brushed the rest on the joint and put the side on.

Put it all in the parallel clamps and started to pull things together...... oh no one end is not coming together, did I not drill the holes deep enough, is there something in the dowel holes, did have have a long dowel in the box.....

So now I am in the panic mode, grabbed the dead blow and knocked things apart, not easy at this point. Got it apart and check the depth of the holes and they were just fine, maybe I had used a long dowel, I had pulled the old dowels out then and pitched them so I couldn't check the length.

Got 4 new dowel and in a panic still put things back together and WHAT the same thing, one end is not coming together. At this point I am not sure what to do and at that point I found that the parallel clamp screw was at it's limit, backed the screw out and slide the head against the frame am draw it right together....

Some days I wonder about myself, things came out just fine but there was a point I was about to just dump the frame and start over.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill,

Sorry to hear about your problem but I am glad it was reversible!

At our age...it's probably not going to get any better either!

[Bill Huber]

Bill,

Sorry to hear about your problem but I am glad it was reversible!

At our age...it's probably not going to get any better either!

I am sure it won't get any better......:mad:

[Bob Potter]

Bill
I got news for you I'm 74 and these things happen more and more. I had to laugh when you said you grabbed the dead blow hammer it knocked it apart. I have had to do that when something wasn't straight or not fitting right or maybe had it put together wrong and I talk to it and tell it you are coming apart.
Glue ups can be a very stressful time. Later I have to laugh at myself but at the time there not funny.

As woodworkers we want to do the best we can but mistakes happen because we are human.

Bob

[Bruce Wrenn]

Ever put a chipper backwards in a dado set? Makes a lot of noise and is very hard to feed. What the world needs is a "stupid light" that comes on BEFORE you do something stupid, rather than right after.

[Rick Potter]

Well, no chipper, but I know this fella real well who put the whole dado set in backwards once.

The Fantum

[Victor Robinson]

Ha, I sure know that feeling of panic. The dry fits are so much fun but the glue-ups are where disasters strike. I've done this same exact thing before, and I'm probably a bit younger than you guys. So it's not necessarily age...might be the sawdust...

[John A langley]

Bill. I've used mostly pipe clamps until recently. Just spent a ton of money on some Bessey parallel clamps. I love them, they are a tremendous improvement. I've done what you did a couple of times and I believe this is not because of old age, I've gotten in the habit of checking the threads before I use them. The design of the clamp. Hides the threads. Always enjoy your threads and please posts picture of your cabinet when it's done.

[Wade Lippman]

Its not stupid, its careless.
At least I hope it is careless; I don't think I am stupid.

[Dick Mahany]

Had to laugh as I've done this too without realizing the clamp had simply run out of travel. It was with a cathedral arch raised panel door that I had a lot of work into. That awful feeling of panic and not knowing why joints weren't closing was not a fun experience. Fortunately I realized the simple problem before the glue dried and all was fine.

[Bob Reda]

Doesn't even crack my top ten list of stupid things I did !!!

Bob

[Tom Ewell]

Odd it is, mistakes can pop-up most anytime but their discovery seems to only occur just after they do.

[glenn bradley]

Doesn't even crack my top ten list of stupid things I did !!!

Bob

Amen to that ;-) Glad you got it recovered Bill.

[Chris Fournier]

I have had some great moments in the shop where the whole world should have stopped and taken notice of how great I was.

And then I have had many more moments where I'm greatful that no one stopped to take notice...

Your stories are familiar and I'd proudly wear the shirt that says "I'm with Stupid".

[Ole Anderson]

The older I get, the bigger my dead blow hammer gets.

[ray hampton]

I been there [more than once] and done that WILL I DO IT AGAIN asap

[Greg Peterson]

Gee, you mean I have all these things to add to my own unique style, and it's only going to get worse. Thanks for sharing, I guess.

[Andrew Joiner]

I never make stupid mistakes. I've never even dioled a wrong phon number.

[Bill White]

My motto is:
"When everything else fails, everything else fails."
I was not happy when I coined that phrase.
Bill

[Lori Kleinberg]

Well Bill, I haven't done that exact thing but have had numerous similar instances. I am always so please when a dry run goes together as planned, then I am in a state of shock when the glue up goes all wrong.

[Leo Graywacz]

I was gluing up a small face frame for my drum sander stand (more on that later) and I used dowels as normal.

Got it ready, did a test fit to make sure everything was right. I had 10 dowels on each side, put the glue in the holes and then the dowels, brushed the rest on the joint, put the parts on the one side and now to the other side. Put glue in all the holes pushed in the dowels, brushed the rest on the joint and put the side on.

Put it all in the parallel clamps and started to pull things together...... oh no one end is not coming together, did I not drill the holes deep enough, is there something in the dowel holes, did have have a long dowel in the box.....

So now I am in the panic mode, grabbed the dead blow and knocked things apart, not easy at this point. Got it apart and check the depth of the holes and they were just fine, maybe I had used a long dowel, I had pulled the old dowels out then and pitched them so I couldn't check the length.

Got 4 new dowel and in a panic still put things back together and WHAT the same thing, one end is not coming together. At this point I am not sure what to do and at that point I found that the parallel clamp screw was at it's limit, backed the screw out and slide the head against the frame am draw it right together....

Some days I wonder about myself, things came out just fine but there was a point I was about to just dump the frame and start over.


Sorry to say this Bill, but I got a good laugh out of that one. Now that I have cursed myself, karma will do something to make you laugh at me.



Just wait......:eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill,

I always keep in mind that the only person who doesn't make mistakes is the person who isn't doing anything.......

[Brian Tymchak]

Oh yea, been there. That's a special feeling. :eek: That's when I learned to include a clamp rehearsal as part of the dry fit . It's saved me a couple times since.

[Bill Huber]

I guess the thing that gets me the most is that it took me 2 trys at it before I found the problem, 3 more seconds and I would have to start all over.

[Greg Peterson]

I guess the thing that gets me the most is that it took me 2 trys at it before I found the problem, 3 more seconds and I would have to start all over.

Hence my tagline.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

"how stupid can you be" Very it seems..... For two recent examples that bit me on my table saw while cutting some drawer stock last month.

Did not check that the blade was square to the table. Yeah, very slightly angled edges, luckily this was on a side that did not matter, but still...

Seems that the miter gauge on my Incra miter sled is a bit off, so when it says 0, it really means "almost zero". Did not check it before cutting the ends of my board stock. I figured it out when I set them on end next to each other and they kind of angled away in different directions... I thought, "hey, that is odd...". <sigh>.

I own some nice squares, I just need to take the time to use them!

[Jeff Duncan]

Yeah I can tell you it's not age that does it;) I made dumb mistakes twenty years ago and I make dumb mistakes today. My hope is just to not repeat the same ones over again:o

JeffD

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I guess the thing that gets me the most is that it took me 2 trys at it before I found the problem, 3 more seconds and I would have to start all over.

I put a new band saw blade in backwards (teeth up). I cut some wood. Why grrr is this new blade such a POS? Checked the blade and cut wood TWICE before I finally realized that the blade is indeed in there backwards. You are not alone in doing stupid things. Yes, a band saw blade backwards will cut wood. It does make a heck of a racket and cuts really slowly.

[Jim Neeley]

I'm not as think as you dumb I am! :-)

[ray hampton]

while driving on a dusty road I stop and ask a kid why he was pulling a chain behind him, his answer, can you push a chain ?

[Chris Padilla]

Wow...just like...wow! A lot of you sure are DUMB! :D

I know it is going to happen SOME TIME but I have yet to make a mistake in the shop. I'm sure it won't be fun if it happens but so far so good....

:D

[Jim Matthews]

That reminds me of a tech support job at a University during my formative years.

Union rules prevented us from coming in on our own time, over weekends.
We had a frustrated Persian Ph. D. that was adamant - an I-beam frame needed four holes drilled by Monday.

He decided to do the work himself - he had the tools, he had the know-how, he had seen it done.

We came in Monday morning to find him wild-eyed, standing over a red-hot hole nearly through the first joint.
"These cheap Taiwanese bits are worthless!" he cried.

One of his TAs brought him down from the scaffold and promised to finish the task.
My boss later noted that drill cut better in one direction than the other.

Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.

[George Gyulatyan]

At our age...
What's MY excuse? :confused:

[ray hampton]

What's MY excuse? :confused:

are you wet behind the ears ?

[Bill McNiel]

Bill,
Mahalo for sharing. This "stuff' happens to all of us but we tend to believe we are the only ones who could possibly do something inane. Your post brought humour into my day.

[Bill Wyko]

I've had situations with Domino's where I put too much glue in the hole and it hydraulics the hole & won't let the domino go in all the way. I've even had the glue break through the wood on the opposite side. I hate when that happens.

[Bill Wyko]

Alright Chris, what do you do for a living, a Bull Shipper? LOL



Wow...just like...wow! A lot of you sure are DUMB! :D

I know it is going to happen SOME TIME but I have yet to make a mistake in the shop. I'm sure it won't be fun if it happens but so far so good....

:D

[Chris Padilla]

Yep, I ship bulls all over this great land of ours. NEVER made a mistake. :D

[George Gyulatyan]

are you wet behind the ears ?Yes! Thank you!
I do have a dead blow hammer at the ready all the time.

[Jerry Thompson]

Bill, someday I will tell you how sharp one can get a LN chip breaker.:)

[ray hampton]

Yes! Thank you!
I do have a dead blow hammer at the ready all the time.

only one dbh, two will be better in case the one break

[Mark Blatter]

Made me think of the US Marine who was afloat on a gator freighter and couldn't get a good signal on his radio (this was a few years ago obviously). He thinks to himself, 'I will just drill a really small hole in the bulkhead since his bunk was right as the side of the ship. It takes a while but eventually he gets a hole all the way through. That is when he realized that he didn't think the idea all the way through....he was below the water line.

[ray hampton]

Made me think of the US Marine who was afloat on a gator freighter and couldn't get a good signal on his radio (this was a few years ago obviously). He thinks to himself, 'I will just drill a really small hole in the bulkhead since his bunk was right as the side of the ship. It takes a while but eventually he gets a hole all the way through. That is when he realized that he didn't think the idea all the way through....he was below the water line.

what do this mean ? that he got all wet

[Ron Lindner]

That makes me feel better as I am in the middle of a cabinet myself. Yesterday I took the 2 sides out of the clamps and found I had 2 right sides. A dead blow hammer is not going to help.

[Rick Alexander]

That makes me feel better as I am in the middle of a cabinet myself. Yesterday I took the 2 sides out of the clamps and found I had 2 right sides. A dead blow hammer is not going to help.

Don't be too sure about that. Go whack on the offending part for a while and see if that don't make you feel just a little better. I found I was one short rail of a face frame short and just ran over to the RAS and cut it right quick. Only thing was I cut the rail of another face frame in the process. Had to go through the whole process of getting just one more part done all the way from rough cut 1 inch lumber to a 2 inch x 3/4 inch x 34 inch piece.

[Gary Hodgin]

Well, no chipper, but I know this fella real well who put the whole dado set in backwards once.

The Fantum


I'm pretty sure I don't know you so there must be someone besides me that did that. A relative wanted a couple of dadoes cut and knew I had a set of cutters. He brought his stuff over and I rushed through the setup. Unfortunately, I got it backwards. Terrible noise and little bits of carbide flying around. Luckily, no injuries, only a destroyed set of dado cutters.

[Don Morris]

I always keep my dead blow hammer at hand when gluing. Experience tells me that.

[Dave Kirby]

I think that's why the Festool Domino joiner was invented. ;) Dowel joinery is just too finnicky.