Unthinking mistakes..

[ian maybury]

:confused: So last night i cut down some melamine coated board to make shelves for a basic workshop cabinet. The final cut was to remove about 1/2 in from one end. Having router cut the indents for the support pins i proceeded to unthinkingly shorten the wrong end of the first one - which meant the indents no longer lined up. Not too big a deal since it was possible to glue on an end cap - the glue line didn't matter.

So stupid though! Much less funny on an item with a lot more time invested in it that couldn't be reworked.

Not really expecting an answer beyond just pay more attention (especially when getting tired) - but how do you guys avoid that sort of screw up?

[Robert Engel]

If you ever find out, let the rest of us know. :)

[Jason Beam]

Not really expecting an answer beyond just pay more attention (especially when getting tired) - but how do you guys avoid that sort of screw up?

Brutal self-honesty is my best weapon against such mistakes. "You're stupid when you're tired." or "You suck when you rush things." and then be brutally honest about whether i'm tired or rushing. It takes constant self-assessment, though, and doesn't always work.

That whole "Measure twice, cut once" mantra lacks a pretty vital detail: Make sure you're measuring the RIGHT thing twice, and make sure you're cutting in the right place!

[Roy Harding]

I try to always do the same things the same way. For instance, if I'm stacking parts that'll all be cut the same size, I ALWAYS put the side which will ride the fence either to the TOP (as you look down on the stack) of the stack, or on the LEFT side of the stack - depending upon whether it's a rip or crosscut. This way, if I get interrupted, or resume the job the next day, I know which side is which. There are myriad other examples, but it all comes down to always doing the same routine operation the same way.

Some may think I'm being overly fussy - but it's really a habit from being in the Army for 25 years. In the Army we called such actions "drills" or TTPs (Technical/Tactical Techniques and Procedures - I'm Canadian, there may be different terms in the US Army), and they were ALWAYS done the same way every time - this meant that you didn't have to think routine actions through every time - you just "did it" without thinking.

That said - I think we've ALL done similar things, and yes - it can be pretty frustrating if it's not an easy fix.

[Yonak Hawkins]

"You suck when you rush things."

Jason, I guess you didn't get the memo. You can't say, "You suck" anymore.

[ian maybury]

Think the routine/drill thing makes a lot of sense. There's a zone i sometimes get into when i'm tired or rushing a little - which seems to somehow kill the awareness that it's time to stop. (usually in fact when trying to get something finished 'tonight')

:p Probably a good time to leave a finger behind on the saw table too...

[Andrew Hughes]

Two differant kinda of mistakes I make woodworking one is a slip of the hand and the other is a slip of the mind.I don't worry too much about being perfect.Since I can usually fix my slips.Sometime it even leads to new ideas and detail. I am extra carefull when cross cutting wide boards.That can be a fatal error,to a build.$$$$

[ian maybury]

I tend to agree Andrew on the separation between a brain f** and a slip of the hand.

So far at least i don't seem to take risks/stay very conscious of risk to self. The issues arise more on procedural stuff like you mention...

[Bill Ryall]

Brutal self-honesty is my best weapon against such mistakes. "You're stupid when you're tired."

^^^ This.

I trimmed the tip off a thumb on my table saw a couple years ago working tired trying to get a job out the door. The hour I was trying to save myself for the next day ended up costing 6 weeks. I now know I'm stupid when tired and have learned when to walk away.

[Prashun Patel]

If I'm not being lazy, then I avoid mistakes by making extra parts and practicing on them first.

Although I have managed to screw even that up on occasion.

When all else fails, make the cabinet smaller!

[Jeffrey Martel]

When all else fails, make the cabinet smaller!

Ran into that issue on the current set of nightstands I'm building. The stop block got bumped on my crosscut sled so one nightstand is going to be about 1/8" larger in length and width than the other.

[Doug Garson]

Maybe not applicable to your example since it was a one off cut mistake but if I'm making multiple pieces with multiple operations I use painters tape to mark the top next to the edge that will ride along the fence or be visible when clamped in a jig If I don't see the tape as I line up to start the cut it's a trigger to tell me something's wrong. Having said that I've lost track of the number of times I've cut mitres the wrong way.

[Roy Harding]

... I've lost track of the number of times I've cut mitres the wrong way.

Amen, brother!!

[John A langley]

use the pyramid system it will tell you real quickly what the inside and the outside, also what the top and bottom if you number inside your pyramid it will tell you which cabinet it is

[Rick Potter]

If it has angles, or mirrored parts, I can count on needing extra pieces.

Young guys rule, us old guys drool.

[John Donofrio]

If it has angles, or mirrored parts, I can count on needing extra pieces.

This made me laugh as I too live in this camp.

[ian maybury]

I'm not familiar with the pyramid system John - but marking generally isn't enough to stop me doing something daft. The other night's boob came down to simply not looking at the work already completed which made it 100% clear which end needed trimming. I'm sure age is a factor too in my own case.

More seriously, it's amost a catch 22 problem. There's times when if I put too much effort into focusing hard on something (e.g. on getting stuff finished) it sucks my attention into such a narrow window that i develop some sort of daft tunnel vision. Which then prevents my remaining or more likely becoming aware of other stuff that matters.

Must say i think that one very important discipline is to think through every job before starting it - to consciously work out the steps. Then to follow them. It's when we run on auto pilot that the trouble can start...

[Jim Dwight]

I cut a piece of subfloor exactly 1 inch too short, exactly what I wrote down. It was day 4 of a tiring project (tearing out an old chimney) and I didn't double check the measurement. Fortunately, the wasted piece works pretty well for a temporary replacement of the 3/4 oak flooring I need to put down. Also fortunately I had plenty of the plywood.

[William C Rogers]

I almost did it twice on one item. About a year ago I gave my brother-in-law a crush grind pepper mill. Either I didn't drill it deep enough or didn't get it seated deep enough. I didn't realize it at the time. He liked the grinder, but always commented it would not sit level. The grind mechanism protruded beyond the base. So I had him bring it to me and told him I would make an "extension ring". I still had about a 3" X 3" piece of the exotic wood left. So in the lathe to make a 1/4" extension. Well I got down to my last shot before I finally got the fit just right. I kept making them too big! Now he wants me to make him a matching salt grinder.

[Larry Frank]

When someone figures out how to avoid the brain mistakes, they will be the richest person in the world.

I know the type of things that typically trip me up and try to check them twice....normally I am just twice wrong.

[Phil Mueller]

Regarding the comment on miters, I think I ended up with a 2x3 frame once meant to be 8x10😯

[Chris Padilla]

Mistakes made you REALLY good at woodworking because then you really FOCUS to fix that mistake all the while you are berating yourself for the mind lapse.

Sometimes I just rush a bit or think, "Yeah, that is how it goes" and I make the cut...then I find out I was wrong. Ugh. Being tired and rushing are the usual suspect but sometimes I am very clear and careful and I still have the faux pas that drives me bonkers.

I think it is just being human. :)

The other thing I think is important is to figure out WHY and HOW you made the mistake. What was it about how you proceeded that caused the problem? In that, you learn and remember better until the next mistake and so the process continues being human...it is never ending! LOL

[Jesse Busenitz]

Just pulled the stupidest mistake ever..... was building a 16' dinning table with slides, went to cut the main pedestal in half, and was focusing on my jig setup on the table saw that I failed to realize that the pedestal was on the wrong 1/8 side:mad: ended up gluing a kerf thick piece back in the slot and doing a lot of shaping/sanding. I just wanted to bang my head against the wall

[brian noel]

When I first started out I would lay awake at night and worry about what I was building the next day. I was playing with expensive woods and didn't have the budget to screw up. I would build the project over and over in my head and make the mistakes there so I could try to avoid them in the real project. I read an article by a guy named Mark Love( http://marklovefurniture.com/risk.pdf )and it helped me a bit I think. You are never going to avoid making mistakes in this job, but how you cope(no pun intended) with them will say a lot. I will also say that some of my greatest adaptations and little inventive processes have come from goof ups. Nice thread. Thanks,

[Roy Harding]

... You are never going to avoid making mistakes in this job, but how you cope(no pun intended) with them will say a lot. ...

I was taught (albeit in a context that had nothing to do with woodworking) that even competent people make mistakes; the TRULY competent know how to recover from them.

[Lee Schierer]

Maybe not applicable to your example since it was a one off cut mistake but if I'm making multiple pieces with multiple operations I use painters tape to mark the top next to the edge that will ride along the fence or be visible when clamped in a jig If I don't see the tape as I line up to start the cut it's a trigger to tell me something's wrong. Having said that I've lost track of the number of times I've cut mitres the wrong way.

Chalk works nicely to mark wood to identify the end to be cut, location of the part, side to ride against the table or fence etc.

I find that when I make a mistake that really makes me upset, the best thing to do is turn off the equipment, walk out of the shop and turn off the lights. Continuing to work when upset or frustrated is a sure path to getting hurt.

[ian maybury]

:) More than a little consoled to hear that i'm at elast not the only one!

I've pulled the kerf on the wrong side one plenty of times Jesse.

I guess it probably makes sense to always mill up enough stock to have the ability to at least make most parts a second time if needed Brian. Trouble is the question is just how far do you take it? It's like there's even a murphy type law in there - the more critical the situation, the more likely it is that tunnel vision will set in and you will goof.

The bit that can be hard to get past is that it's often the case that the obviously difficult tasks we think through carefully go just fine. It's the unthinking stuff that nails us.

Maths errors can be particularly sneaky. I've been known to add a column of numbers several times and make the same mistake (on something i know perfectly well) each time. It's necessary to slow right down and step away for a few minutes at times in order to access a fresh mind i think. Come back tomorrow though, and then the other problem of not remembering the process by which you got from A to B can kick in - but it at least forces a fresh reworking of the logic…..

[Doug Garson]

I find that when I make a mistake that really makes me upset, the best thing to do is turn off the equipment, walk out of the shop and turn off the lights. Continuing to work when upset or frustrated is a sure path to getting hurt.
I agree, I also have found that if I go and do something else for a while the fix will suddenly come to me. On the other hand if I try to keep working while I'm upset I'm more likely to overlook a good fix and try something that makes it worse.

[Martin Wasner]

Mistakes happen. Sometimes they are nothing, sometimes you just destroyed a whole bunch of material. Either way, it's not the end of the world. Generally mistakes can be shelved and hacked up into another part.

[Peter Kelly]

When all else fails, make the cabinet smaller!This is my new mantra.