What tasks intimidate you

[James Pallas]

I read lots of questions about tasks in woodworking. Recently one about mortise or tenon first. What is your biggest fear. Not the arts sort type things like carving but just general tasks. Is it curves, angles, sawing to the line, planing to the line, marking out, etc? For instance, If you cut five mortises and five tenons to fit and the dog ate your mortised piece would you put it all aside or just make a new mortise piece?
Jim

[Richard Jones]

Filing a square to tolerance.

[Julie Moriarty]

Angled half-blind dovetails on 8/4 lumber. I may never do that again.

[James Pallas]

Filing a square to tolerance.

Ha-ha, what file, what length, was it hand forged, was it unobtainium steel, do you wear the proper cloths and shoes, what brand of eye protection, did you use left or right hand, did you build a proper bench, did you properly dispose of the filings?

[James Pallas]

Angled half-blind dovetails on 8/4 lumber. I may never do that again.
i remember that. Derek was doing his angled ones about the same time, lots of them.
Jim

[Matthew Hartlin]

Long rips. The longer rips with a 4-7 point saw. I can never seem to find square or plum and feel that I waste a lot of time, and wood truing up with my jointer/jack planes. Joinery sawing seems fine.

Like most of the hand tool lessons(and life too) it always seems to come back to patience and focus.

[Simon MacGowen]

Power tool - Three-way miter joint (four of them. I was dumb enough to do it twice...with a 50% success rate:mad:)

Hand tool - Fox wedging (also four of them, a one-shot deal that I decided not to try my luck again)

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

My trick is to set the tolerance level to 0.01" or, if I failed the first time, 0.02" per inch...:D

Simon

[Dave Anderson NH]

The ultimate......disagreeing with my wife.

The worst for me is multiple joint glueups.

[James Pallas]

Long rips. The longer rips with a 4-7 point saw. I can never seem to find square or plum and feel that I waste a lot of time, and wood truing up with my jointer/jack planes. Joinery sawing seems fine.

Like most of the hand tool lessons(and life too) it always seems to come back to patience and focus.

i believe that is one of those things that you get really good at when done often. For myself I do as you do, jointer usually.
i saw off the line, try very hard to stay plumb. When you get to the point where you can rip a 6’ glue line with a handsaw please share with me.
Jim

[Chuck Nickerson]

For me it's shaping two or more (hopefully) matching curves.

[James Pallas]

The ultimate......disagreeing with my wife.

The worst for me is multiple joint glueups.
i did that twice, not too bright I. First time was a lecture, second time I’d like to forget but can’t.
it is strange how well a glue up can be done without glue. I believe that glue does some chemical thing to your brain, like washing, that makes you forget even your name.
Jim

[Prashun Patel]

Making that first chop at the base of the pins or tails on dovetails. I always push back that confounded line. Also paring the base lines flat. Too much tearout.

Planing maple.

Sanding bowls.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Don’t know if my tolerances are different than yours, but I have not found ripping to be an issue. A proper saw bench made the biggest difference for me. Having the board at the right height helps a lot in getting hand, arm, eye, etc. aligned and that keeps you reasonably straight and square. If you have not built a saw bench, it is worth doing in my opinion.


Long rips. The longer rips with a 4-7 point saw. I can never seem to find square or plum and feel that I waste a lot of time, and wood truing up with my jointer/jack planes. Joinery sawing seems fine.

Like most of the hand tool lessons(and life too) it always seems to come back to patience and focus.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I read lots of questions about tasks in woodworking. Recently one about mortise or tenon first. What is your biggest fear. Not the arts sort type things like carving but just general tasks. Is it curves, angles, sawing to the line, planing to the line, marking out, etc? For instance, If you cut five mortises and five tenons to fit and the dog ate your mortised piece would you put it all aside or just make a new mortise piece?
Jim

For me, resawing and mitered joints.

[brian zawatsky]

I've never made a chair before, and a close friend gave me one of his set of 4 dining chairs and asked me to make him 2 more to match it. The legs, back, and stretchers are all decorative spindles with a ton of beads and ogees, so it is a daunting task indeed. And I'm a novice turner at best. Gulp.

I'm really looking forward to getting some time to start the project though. I enjoy a new challenge!

[Prashun Patel]

get a skew chisel, Brian. It's a revelation. It's scary to learn to use, but when you get the touch (I'll tell you when I get it consistently) it is probably the best feeling I've ever had on the lathe.

[Jessica de Boer]

Teaching my husband wood working. I love him to death but it's better for the entire world if he never holds a chisel again :P

[Tom Bender]

A big job that teaches me nothing is not likely to get started in my shop.

[David Dalzell]

When I was at woodworking school the students were told that a glue up automatically lowers your IQ by 20 points. Well I don't have a problem with that because my wife is ALWAYS in the shop with me when I start a glue up. She keeps me on track. However I do have a continuous problem with cross or rip sawing a board (no problem with joinery sawing). I can saw to a line but my cut is almost never perpendicular. Leans to the left, leans to the right, whatever, but almost never perpendicular. I blame it on coriolis forces.

[James Pallas]

Teaching my husband wood working. I love him to death but it's better for the entire world if he never holds a chisel again :P
Your husband is not in the minority there are many of us out here.:)
Jim

[brian zawatsky]

get a skew chisel, Brian. It's a revelation. It's scary to learn to use, but when you get the touch (I'll tell you when I get it consistently) it is probably the best feeling I've ever had on the lathe.

Thanks Prashun, I'll keep working at it. I have a 1" skew that came with an old (1950's?) set of Crafstman chisels I picked up on CL years ago. I've practiced with it but can't quite seem to get the hang of it. One second I'm peeling off the fluffiest of shavings and leaving behind a surface to die for, the next second I've cut an 1/8" deep spiral gouge from one end of the spindle to the other and nearly pooped myself from the shock LOL! I don't scare too easily but man, that skew brings a pucker factor all its own.

I just ordered a set of beading tools and a diamond tool from Dway. With those and a few spindle gouges I should be good to go. If I have to master the skew before i make these dining chairs, my buddy will grow old waiting for them. :D

[Jim Koepke]

One thing that intimidates me is cutting big lap joints on 2X lumber:

398121

None of my back saws was doing much on the rip cutting. Used a D-8 at 6ppi.

The crosscut was done with a 28" backsaw with ~10ppi.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Brushing on finishes. I hate it. Runs. Bubbles. Brush strokes.
I switched to shellac and at least there are no bubbles or brush strokes, plus a run is easy to repair.
But I still dread it.

[brian zawatsky]

Brushing on finishes. I hate it. Runs. Bubbles. Brush strokes.
I switched to shellac and at least there are no bubbles or brush strokes, plus a run is easy to repair.
But I still dread it.

I'm with you on this one, Fred. I never brush finish on anymore, I'll either make a wiping varnish out of it or spray it. Too hard to get the surface I want when brushing.

[Bill McDermott]

Selecting, paying for, laying out parts and making the initial, rough cuts are all nervous moments.

The actual work of building furniture is fun - even repairing mistakes.
But getting the right material and not making irreversible mistakes in roughing out parts is intimidating.
I really enjoy making those rough cuts with the big hand saws, but a goof at this stage could mean another trip to the lumber store - which may not yield a good match, etc..

Still, the importance of this question is about the pleasure that we get when we overcome the intimidation.

Hand me some chalk and my 5.5" TPI ripper. Bombs away. :)

[James Pallas]

Brushing on finishes. I hate it. Runs. Bubbles. Brush strokes.
I switched to shellac and at least there are no bubbles or brush strokes, plus a run is easy to repair.
But I still dread it.
i very happy with the finish I get brushing. I am often asked if I sprayed the finish. It is a learned process. I'm sure others do things differently. Here are my suggestion.
1 use good brushes fitted to the material. I like Purdy nylons for water based and my old Liebco Best China's for oil.
2 temperature of the surface and the product is important
3 learn your product and how to thin it if needed
4 stir it until your tired of doing it, with a paddle not a powered mixer or shaker. If you have it shaken at the store give it a day to settle down.
5 fill the brush. Dip it at least half way. Do not slap it on the side of the container or drag it across the edge. Push the brush against the side of your container and give it a gentle flex.
6 put a good wet even coat and keep a wet edge.
7 have enough light where you can look across the surface. It should look like one piece.
8 work horizontal if you can. If you can't try to keep the coat even. Runs start wher there is a break in the coat.
9 if your using fast drying product dry air and a breeze is your enemy. It will dry the top surface to fast and leave brush marks.
10 I don't like foam brushes I think they cause air bubbles. I don't care much for wiping anything but stain work. Long gentle strokes eithe the tip of a good brush.
I hope this helps some.
Jim

[Jessica de Boer]

Brushing on finishes. I hate it. Runs. Bubbles. Brush strokes.

Use a bit of thinner or mineral spirits to dilute the varnish, this makes it flow better. The quality of the brush and the room temperature are also important.

[Tony Zaffuto]

As a hobbyist, what intimidates me more than anything? A deadline!

[Frederick Skelly]

Jim, Jessica,
Thank you for the tips! I'll try them soon.
Fred

[Jim Koepke]

Jim, Jessica,
Thank you for the tips! I'll try them soon.
Fred

+1 on the thanks for sharing your knowledge.

jtk

[steven c newman]

None...willing to try just about any woodworking task...at least once....some I like..never know until I try....

[Bill Carey]

2nd on the glue up. My iq seems to zero out no matter how many times I practice and lay it out. It's FUBAR as soon as the glue starts to flow.

[Patrick Walsh]

Copy shaping on a shaper. Not sure why but it does. Well I do know why but still think my intimidation is not good. I think often fear clouds ones mind just enough to make them dangerous. I used to ice and rock climb “some serious @#$*” think a 1000’ of dead vertical to overhanging ice out the elements often inthe teens. Every single decision counts for something. Even high on a ladder or roof on a construction site demands a simular amount of confidence. As soon as fear sets in the IQ drops to zero and real focus is gone and your in big trouble that compounds fast. I’d say the same can happen with just about anything with different degrees of consequence.

Any joinery beyond M&T and dovetails. And yes glue ups although I am getting much much better. I have learnt you just need to break them down into the smallest pieces you can and maintain a pace that you can do quality work at and not worry about the whole thing going to the birds. Once you rush your doomed to make a mess.

By the way I think this thread has great potential and could be a best of thread. Honesty is always interesting imop. Gotta be a million other things that intimidate me. I will list the as they they come to mind as I know so many things give me pause.

[Derek Cohen]

Everything is intimidating when I begin a project ... finding the appropriate wood, putting together a reasonable design, determining the joinery that will work best, and then the ability to execute it. It always feels bigger than Ben Hur.

I am reminded of those Magic Eye books - where, if you stare enough at the page, the image will become 3-D. Everything begins to fall into place.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[James Pallas]

I want a new kind of glue. You would put it on, put all the joints together, level the project up on your bench, get all the clamps on. Then just touch each joint with a device that instantly sets the glue and "BAM" your done.just like that chicken baker commercial guy. You just watch it's coming soon.
Jim

[James Pallas]

Everything is intimidating when I begin a project ... finding the appropriate wood, putting together a reasonable design, determining the joinery that will work best, and then the ability to execute it. It always feels bigger than Ben Hur.

I am reminded of those Magic Eye books - where, if you stare enough at the page, the image will become 3-D. Everything begins to fall into place.

Regards from Perth

Derek

You must work on a shorter time frame than me. I usually get 2 years to think about it.:)
Jim

[William Fretwell]

Measuring, marking and layout. Can measure and mark the layout precisely; in the wrong place, up not down, back not front. Have to walk away and come back with fresh eyes before I chisel or cut. This method has saved me much grief.

[Derek Cohen]

You must work on a shorter time frame than me. I usually get 2 years to think about it.:)
Jim

:)

Nah .. I just obsess more than you! My patients think that my furrowed brow is an indication that I am working on what they tell me. Little do they know I practicing joinery! :o

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Measuring, marking and layout. Can measure and mark the layout precisely; in the wrong place, up not down, back not front. Have to walk away and come back with fresh eyes before I chisel or cut. This method has saved me much grief.

William, I can relate to that. I love blue tape for this reason.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

Measuring, marking and layout. Can measure and mark the layout precisely; in the wrong place, up not down, back not front. Have to walk away and come back with fresh eyes before I chisel or cut. This method has saved me much grief.

A lot of my best solutions come up after walking away before making a mistake.

jtk

[steven c newman]

When "fiddling around with a bunch of parts, trying to get them ready for a glue up.....mark everything as to what goes where....
398433
Apron....marked on the inside as to "in", "top" (T), "Bottom"(B) and the tenons are marked as to "Front" or Back....just need the dummy to READ the marks while he is assembling things...

I am...not a carver, don't do inlay, nor veneer....not much of a chair-maker....never tried to be a Cooper..nor a Carriage Builder....I have built homes, schools, and factories..for a living.

[James Pallas]

Measuring, marking and layout. Can measure and mark the layout precisely; in the wrong place, up not down, back not front. Have to walk away and come back with fresh eyes before I chisel or cut. This method has saved me much grief.
William I do the same things. I have figured out when purchasing materials to add two factors. 10% for waste and another 20% for what I screw up. I may have to increase the later in the near future. I always think I can remember. I can’t even remember to mark the pieces anymore but I think I can just can’t understand the marks.:)
Jim

[James Pallas]

I like to use triangles and story (poles) sticks to define the parts. I find it much easier to pick up the stick to check than getting out a measuring device. I also like devices that are set and left there, marking gauges, dividers, combo squares. I often get a sick feeling when I go to the ruler, tape or the like.
Jim

[Al Launier]

Complicated, time consuming glue-ups & finishing.

[Matthew Hartlin]

William, I can relate to that. I love blue tape for this reason.

Regards from Perth

Derek

After struggling with the same issue and seeing Derek and Mike Pekovich's use of blue tape, I am also a convert. I bought some nice 3M stuff and it has really helped me avoid problems. Following one common numbering/marking formula has helped as well, cabinet makers triangles and roman numerals.

Edit: Story sticks and patterns too, in cheap pine or thin ply. Huge help for laying out tapers, mortises, lengths etc. Worth the extra time to make.

[Steven Harrison]

I wasn't intimidated when I started flattening this 8/4 walnut, but I'm having a hell of a time getting it flat. This is the smallest of three I have to do and the largest piece of lumber I've ever attempted. My Lie-Nielsen #8 for scale on my poor little bench. 398442

[William Fretwell]

Blue tape on the list!

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Tough to flatten long lumber to close tolerances on a short bench. Have not tried it with 8/4 but with 5/4 you get A fair amount of flexing.

[Steven Harrison]

Tough to flatten long lumber to close tolerances on a short bench. Have not tried it with 8/4 but with 5/4 you get A fair amount of flexing.

And don't get me started on holding it

[Al Launier]

I wonder if you are getting some deflection on the end overhanging the bench. Would it be better to have the slab overhang equally to stiffen things up & reduce any deflection?

[Jim Koepke]

And don't get me started on holding it

There are many ways to hold oversized work. If a piece is too long to hold with a vise and dogs, it can likely be held using cams, stops or wedges.


I wonder if you are getting some deflection on the end overhanging the bench. Would it be better to have the slab overhang equally to stiffen things up & reduce any deflection?

There are a few ways of planing a piece longer than your bench. An easy way is to work the ends separately on the bench while the unsupported part hangs off the end(s).

Another is to build a saw horse or saw bench to match the height of your bench.

It is a challenge. It is a good reason to have your bench close to being as long as the longest lumber you plan to use.

jtk

[Kory Cassel]

Figuring BF from a plan.

I don't want as much scrap as I always end up with anymore. It used to be comforting to have that massive pile of offcuts, but now I need more space and the left overs are in the way. I'm beginning to see it as 200 pounds of very costly hoarder nip.:)

[Steven Harrison]

I wonder if you are getting some deflection on the end overhanging the bench. Would it be better to have the slab overhang equally to stiffen things up & reduce any deflection?

I was moving the board around to keep the bench under it as much as I could, but when I was trying to take full length passes I was holding it at the end so there wouldn't be any clamps in my way. You can kind of see my setup. Maybe it is deflecting a little bit. It's going to be an island countertop and the old one isn't even close to flat in any direction, so anything will be an improvement.


There are many ways to hold oversized work. If a piece is too long to hold with a vise and dogs, it can likely be held using cams, stops or wedges.



There are a few ways of planing a piece longer than your bench. An easy way is to work the ends separately on the bench while the unsupported part hangs off the end(s).

Another is to build a saw horse or saw bench to match the height of your bench.

It is a challenge. It is a good reason to have your bench close to being as long as the longest lumber you plan to use.

jtk


I was managing to hold it with some clamps at the end, but it was less than reliable and they'd pop off every once in awhile. The bench was never designed to do anything this large. It was a hand me down that I gladly took for free. It's been a great bench to start and learn, but I've designed a new one that I can hopefully build next year. This walnut is wider than the entire benchtop and covers most of my tool tray on the back so there isn't a whole lot to work with as far as anywhere I can put wedges. I've thought of some new ways to hold it using the end vise, and I'll see if I can figure something out with my sawhorses. Thanks for the idea. This is for our kitchen island so no pressure, right? :D

[James Pallas]

I would make a leg prop to put in the corner at the wall slide the bench back to the length of the piece. Put a spacer at the wall so you can plane the whole sea surface without the plane hitting. Solves two things length and bench racking. Found myself having to do that with saw horses and a leg(prop) many times. Save the prop you will use it again.
Jim

[William Fretwell]

I would install it on the island and then plane it.

[Michael Costa]

Where to begin...

Shop clean up
Miters
Finishing
Something popping off my lathe while I'm putting the last pass on the bottom
The bill at the wood store
I don't even know what squaring up to tolerance is. Guess I'm safe there.
And on and on and on anon.

[Dom Campbell]

Establishing correct bevel angles on new mortise chisels, by hand. Every time I get closer to buying a tormek...

[James Pallas]

Figuring BF from a plan.

I don't want as much scrap as I always end up with anymore. It used to be comforting to have that massive pile of offcuts, but now I need more space and the left overs are in the way. I'm beginning to see it as 200 pounds of very costly hoarder nip.:)

That is always a tough one. You buy just the right amount and end up down to the last piece and it doesn’t look good. Now the decision becomes, “Where will I hide it”. or another trip to the supplier. I always envy those that have huge lumber supplies and just go to the shed to get another board.
Jim

[Steven Lee, NC]

cutting really thick stuff on the tablesaw where the blade is almost raised to the max gives me the same feeling as watching someone get kicked in the nads.

oops, didnt realize this was in neanderthal haven... handsaw resharpening, when I pick one up to use I sigh knowing I'll have to resharpen it, lol

[James Pallas]

I started this thread so here is what intimidates me. My wife likes red oak. Every time I hear "You know what I think you should make for us" I want to run and hide. Here comes the red oak and all that goes with it, splinters, grain you could hide a semi in, and endless sharpening, and the smell. Why she doesn't like walnut, cherry, "It's too bland". :mad:
Jim

[Clark Magnuson]

398806My friend turned a Walnut tree in his backyard into a dining room table, but making a sawmill with a 50cc chainsaw.
I like small projects, like chisel handles.

[Don Dorn]

Teaching my husband wood working. I love him to death but it's better for the entire world if he never holds a chisel again :P

That would be an entertaining video - thanks for the smile. Anyway, for me, it's chopping mortises accurately.

[Dan Baginski]

I’m getting ready to cut 10 dados in an entertainment center I’m building. They’re all over the place and obviously there’s no room for error. Especially when a piece of ash plywood costs $120 a sheet and I bought 2. I cut 2 the other day and spent about 2 hours measuring, remeasuring, and setting everything up to make a cut that took 30 seconds lol.

[Jay Larson]

Related to glue ups.

Making that first glue up of a carcass or project. Especially if it is something I came up with without all the drawing angles. Because as soon as it is glued up and dried, I think that "you know, if you would have mortised or this piece of hardware first, it would be much easier." Or forgetting that a piece should have been cut first...

[Kyle Foster]

Chairs. Not the aspect of making the pieces, but getting all the angles right.