Ever have a bad day in the shop?

[Frederick Skelly]

One problem or screw up after another? Nothing going well? I did today.

Was making a drawer for an end table.
1. Realized I couldnt make the drawer bottom 1/2" thick like Jim Krenov suggests - I made my dovetails too small and cutting the groove would greatly weaken the tail on each corner. Since I only cut 3 tails per side, that seemed like a bad idea.

2. So I got out my delta planer and took the bottom down to 1/4". Had a tough time - the planers feed mechanism seems to be slipping. If its damaged, Im screwed because of the delta parts "shortage".

3. Could not get my smoothing plane to take an even cut to save my life. It kept gouging on one edge or the other. I ended up making those 7/16" drawer sides 3/8" or slightly less. Sure didnt want them that thin.

4. While gluing up that drawer, tightened a clamp too much and broke the 1/8" of wood I left under the groove for the bottom. No clue how I did that.

5. Had a tough time with the glue up. Just would not go smoothly. Mustve exceeded the glues working time (or something) because after I removed the clamps, I realized one dovetail is loose - acts like there was no glue.

6. Then, I realized the additional effects of my planing problem in item #3: The very carefully fitted inset drawer slops around in its slides AND the half blind dovetails connecting the face to the sides are standing proud by 1/16" on each side of the drawer face. If I plane them flat, it will cause a far larger gap than I want around the drawer, and more slop as I slide it in and out of the table.

7. Got out my 6 month old Incra miter gauge to square the bottom up. Couldnt get it square. Huh? This is Incra. That shouldnt be a problem. Look at the head and realize that the thing is DAMAGED. I see bent teeth and it will not lock in at 0 to give me a 90* cut. I havent used it twice. Its never been dropped, etc. It was perfect when I used it last. Now, Im ready to puke, right? That thing cost $170. And I cant see how this could be Incras fault. So Ive apparently trashed a brand new tool. Did I mention Im ready to puke?

8. So, I set the drawer aside. Go in the house and have a cup of tea. Go back out -thought Id try to make a Veritas-style handle for my #5 hand plane, just to see how I like that (and to keep my mind off the damaged miter gauge). So I made a pattern, transferred it to the board. Started cutting it out on my bandsaw - TWAAAAANNNNGGG! Yup, the blade broke.

Took this a a clear indication that maybe God didnt want me to work in the shop today. Why I didnt snap to the chain of errors indicating it was time to halt much sooner, I dont know. Im probably lucky I was using mostly hand tools today. Might have cut off my arm.

Thanks for letting me vent guys.
Fred

[Matt Day]

Sounds like a rough one! We've all had days like that. I normally have a few little projects going on and if I have a screw up on one, I'll take a break from it and do something else. When I'm not in the shop I brainstorm about how to approach the problem.
Sorry to hear you just kept having issues, but at least you didn't get hurt!

[John TenEyck]

Thanks for posting that as I thought I was the only one who had those kinds of days. It's often hard to know when you should keep pressing forward, take a break, start over, or quit for the day. I'm usually too stubborn to admit defeat and keep plowing forward thinking I can fix whatever went wrong. Sometimes it works out OK but often not. The only thing I always listen to is that inner voice that tells me something I'm about to do isn't safe. When I get that feeling I stop, no matter what. So far, I still have all the body parts I entered this world with.

Not to worry, tomorrow is a new day. Here's hoping it's a good one for us both.

John

[James Nugnes]

When I saw how many numbered items there were in your post after reading the beginning I thought "Oh Boy....must have been a rough one for sure."

[Don Morris]

That sounds like an every day for me.

[Art Mann]

I have a suggestion regarding the planer feed slipping. If your planer has rubber feed rollers, get yourself a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and some paper towels and clean them. This will probably restore material feeding to new condition. Be careful not to cut yourself on the knives.

[eugene thomas]

If have day going like that time to leave shop for while......

[Allen (AJ) Breese]

Been there, sound like you are like me. You can't just walk away on a day like that thinking it has to turn around & you will fix it. I know it is easier said than done but there is a time to go do something else like drink a beer clean the shop, wash the car or if all else fails turn on a game & sit in the recliner like a lot of people do.

[Brian W Smith]

Please excuse this slightly esoteric response,but it is something to consider;

I don't play golf,but enjoy the courses(landscape architecture)enough to watch the "biggy's" with a cpl of my boys.We estimate that about 5% or so of the time,the pros will step away from their pre-shot ritual....pause....We all shoot competitive archery here,and have found the 5% "rule" to be very alive and well in our "individual" sport as well.It's a good thing because,you simply are not going to be able to approach every situation with "exactly" the right frame of mind.

How is working in our shop's any different.As a pro,I hopefully know when to,step back,reassess...continue.But it needs to be practiced.As posted above,go find something to clear the cobwebs.

[Larry Frank]

Yes,everyone has days like that and you need to just recognize them. I do not care what you are doing there are times things go wrong.

When things are going wrong, I will stop and do some cleaning and picking up my shop...It always needs it

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys! I got a good nights sleep, Ill eat a good breakfast, replace that bandsaw blade, finish that handle and go back to finishing that drawer. Tomorrow, I will call Incra and see if they can do a repair - probably not under warranty, but it needs done regardless. Thanks for reminding me that it happens to most everyone, and that "you gotta know when to fold up" as that old song says.

Art - thank you for the idea on those rollers. I'll try that for sure!

Best,
Fred

[Tom M King]

You must be young. I'm 64, and while days like that have gotten fewer and more far apart, these days the list never gets anywhere near that long. The guys know when I say to put the tools up and let's go home, that it's better just to go ahead and do it, and no questions are asked. I've never seen the case where things didn't go just fine starting fresh the next day.

[Jim Matthews]

You've uncovered one of the hidden pitfalls in woodworking,
making drawers. I'm in a similar position, and find
drawers to be far more complicated in practice, than in design.

I'm exploring the lock joint as an alternative to dovetailed drawers,
also made by hand. The way I look at it - it's the only part
of furniture I make that moves, and must move freely - year round.

Smaller things are more difficult to make than the large,
there's less margin for error.

I dunno about you, but I'll be standardizing drawers
to include 1/2" thick sides, and 1/4" bottom grooves,
always 1/2" up from the bottom.

Drawer slips will make this a fairly simple layout.

http://www.getwoodworking.com/news/article/top-drawer/841/

[Jeffrey Martel]

I think once I hit my 3rd thing going wrong in the shop, I shut off the lights and go upstairs for the rest of the day. No sense in continuing to mess things up.

[Rob Holcomb]

Funny how God allows us to have those days. We're seemingly unable to get anything to go right. Then when we at our wits end, ready to pull out whatever hair we have left, ready to scream and swear and make a big fuss, it dawns on us that God also gave us the ability to reach into the cabinet and grab the bottle of bourbon and all is well in the world again!

[Bill Ryall]

I no longer have days like that. Last time I did, I tried to push through it. Long story short, I now have one thumb shorter than the other.

Now, when things start going that way, I shut off the sharp spinny stuff, turn off the lights and call it a day.

[Jim Matthews]

Last time I did, I tried to push through it. Long story short, I now have one thumb shorter than the other.

That's horrible. Bet it still hurts when it's cold.

[James Nugnes]

Hopefully the OP has noticed how many of us have commented on the "length" of his list. Hopefully that is the one clear message he can take from this experience. Before the list gets that lonk, put the tools down, turn off the lights, go have a soft or hard beverage as is your pleasure......come back another day.

[Peter Quinn]

You are certainly not alone. I've had plenty of them. I do this for a living, sometimes the walk away option is not available to me, but the step back for 5 minutes always is, or simply changing tasks. I see you tried the changing tasks and the step away bit, not a 100% guarantee to put things back on track. The best advice I got early on is never compound a mistake with a mistake. If the drawer is truly hosed, and it's failure can't be remedied without compromising the integrity of your piece.....a trip to the lumber pile may be in order regardless of how many hours you have into the first one. Luckily wood is flammable......I can tell you I have burned hand cut dovetail parts before, fireplace has no attachment to them and is not sentimental. Or you pack out the runners and live with the larger reveals, or add a cock bead to take up the gaps though that may not suit a Kremov piece. Just remember to keep having fun either way! I make so many mistakes I've become the master at laughing at myself!

[Phil Hansen]

I now and again I have a bad day. Those bad days are nothing compared to customers and their computers. Prefer the bad shop day - far less stressful. Phil

[Phil Barrett]

I think once I hit my 3rd thing going wrong in the shop, I shut off the lights and go upstairs for the rest of the day. No sense in continuing to mess things up.

+10 on this. when the cards are running against you, don't double down...

[Lee Reep]

I no longer have days like that. Last time I did, I tried to push through it. Long story short, I now have one thumb shorter than the other.

Now, when things start going that way, I shut off the sharp spinny stuff, turn off the lights and call it a day.

Bill,

i can relate. Two years ago I was in my shop, and alone in the home. (Something told me it was not a good idea ...) I had a piece of wood hang up on my outfeed rollers, and reached to move it. It touched the blade and was kicked backwards, and it jerked my hand back thru the saw blade. Happened so fast I really did not feel it. Fortunately, it just took the tip of my thumb off, and most days I do not even think about it. But, it could have been an accident where I lost several fingers, or worse.

I treat that saw (nicknamed Sting) with a great deal of respect, and never work in my shop late or if I'm even slightly tired. I never thought it could happen to me (I've been a woodworker for almost 50 years).

[scott vroom]

Some days it just don't pay to get outta bed.

[Rod Sheridan]

Well Fred, the good part is that you didn't hurt yourself, everything else is just an annoyance.

We all have those days.

Regards, Rod.

[Frederick Skelly]

Well Fred, the good part is that you didn't hurt yourself, everything else is just an annoyance.

We all have those days.

Regards, Rod.

Thanks guys. A bit of follow up in case it might help someone else -

So I mentioned this list of goofs to a friend of mine who flies. He explained that in aviation, what happened to me is called an Error Chain. When people investigate airplane accidents, they sometimes find a chain of small goofs (mistakes, miscommunications, hurry ups, etc) all led the pilots down a path that eventually led to a disaster. What shook me is that he said the pilots are unaware of the cascading effect of these goofs. Aviation spends a lot of money trying to train people to recognize whats happening and - as he called it - break the error chain.

So for all you guys that politely said "Hey Fred, you should have halted work by error #3" - you were dog gone right. I get it. Especially after hearing how some of you were injured.

Thank you!
Fred

[Bob Cooper]

Last night i built a mirror image of what i intended. Then looked at it, laughed, put it down and went to bed.