Today's Dumb Move

[Andy Casiello]

My wife bought me a DeWalt 735 planer as a birthday present. Yesterday I built a stand for it and got it set up in the shop with dust collection, power, etc. I spent the rest of the night spit polishing the shop doing cleanup after my last project - a dovetail jointed guitar speaker cabinet made out of red oak. I really cleaned - down to taking the drawer protection mats out of the drawers in my SnapOn toolbox to clean them, etc.

Today I go down to try out the planer for the first time. I power up the DC, set the planer height adjustments, power it on, admire the setup and feed a piece of 1" cedar into the planer. The planer grabs the board and does it's thing - and it sounds like heaven! The planer is setup between the TS and the jointer. I finally have my own milling setup! :D

That smug satisfaction lasted about 850 milliseconds. That's when I heard a "pop" and saw a huge funnel of sawdust and chips spraying across the shop! :eek: Of course the board I picked for the test was about 6 feet long. I didn't want to shut off the planer mid-cut because I feared jamming the board in there. :(

I had forgotten to open the blast gate on the DC for the planer dust collection route. The fan assisted dust port on the DeWalt is very powerful and blew the hose right off the planer (it was just attached with a quick-release connector). DOH! :mad:

Even though I was only shaving about 1/16" off the board, the planer created a very impressive pile of chips and dust from that board. It looked like an ad for a Troy-Built chipper/shredder. I just got finished cleaning up the shop again for the 2nd time in 24 hours.

That's okay. Any time in the shop is fun, but there are certainly more productive ways to spend my time.

Anyone else have similar stories of bone-headedness? I'm feeling the need for reassurance that I'm not the only one who does these occasional dumb things.. :o

[Charles Lent]

I wanted to try out my new DW735 as soon as I got it in the shop. I hadn't yet received the dust collection kit for it, but since it came with that reverse funnel type thing to put on when you weren't collecting the chips, I put it on, set the 735 on the workbench, started it up and shoved a 4 ft piece of 2X8 into it. The chips hit the wall 12 feet away and went all over the shop (my old Delta never did that). Like you I was shocked and wanted to turn the planer off, but didn't want to do so with a board still in the planer.

That was about a year ago and I think I'm still finding pockets of planer chips around the shop from that day. Now my 735 is mounted on a Delta planer/miter saw stand (a collapsable hand truck type) and it goes outside the shop whenever I want to plane any boards. I got the dust collection kit for it and use it to keep the chips in a garbage can instead of spread all over my neighbors yard.

Charley

[Matt Ocel]

Mine was when I first got my PM jointer.

I had a piece of black walnut sitting around.
About a year before I wanted to show a friend how hard it was by trying to put a nail in it. I hammered in a nail until it bent over, it wouldn't pull out so I broke it off and put the piece of walnut back on the shelf.

What do you think was the first piece of wood I ran through my new PM was?

[Steve Clardy]

Mine was when I first got my PM jointer.

I had a piece of black walnut sitting around.
About a year before I wanted to show a friend how hard it was by trying to put a nail in it. I hammered in a nail until it bent over, it wouldn't pull out so I broke it off and put the piece of walnut back on the shelf.

What do you think was the first piece of wood I ran through my new PM was?



Oops!:eek:

[alex grams]

I forgot to attach the bottom cap on the filter in my shop vac securely one time. Went inside to use it, fired it up and made a HUGE cloud of dust.

All of the stuff in the vac went right up into where the cap was supposed to be and blew ALL OVER the room I was working in.

Yeah... that was a mess...

[David DeCristoforo]

"...a huge funnel of sawdust and chips spraying across the shop!"

What? That's it? That's the best you got? Some sawdust? Scheech! I can be dumber than that without even trying.....
:p

[Gary Lange]

Andy, If Woodworking shops were meant to be clean and pretty then God wouldn't have invented sawdust. We learn for ours and others little mistakes and we will laugh at them later in life.

[Robert Strebler]

My new Grizzly G0513x2 arrived recently and over the first week or so I spent some time fine tuning it and playing with it. A couple of days after it's initial setup, I adjusted the fence a bit and fired it up, but forgot to re-tension the blade.

Later, I got a new DC and set it up. I wanted to test the DC so I figured I'd run a couple of quick cuts through and fired up the bandsaw without re-tensioning the blade again. :rolleyes:

I felt like such a moron that I now have a magnet with a big X on a hang tag over the start button to remind me when the blade is not tensioned.

[Matt Ocel]

Robert -
When I "de-tension", I always leave the cover open to remind me. Its worked for me so far.

[Brent Smith]

Try this one on for size. I work out of my garage shop, usually with the door open when weather permits. So, a few years back I'm in the shop getting ready to crosscut some Cherry for a dresser I'm building. My rip blade in the saw making a blade change necessary. I grab my new 80 tooth crosscut blade and get ready to make the change. just about then a couple of the neighborhood beauties come jogging to a stop in front of the shop. Now, my mind is trapped between to things, checking what I'm doing and trying not to ogle a couple of ladies in shorts and tank tops....you guess which one took up most of my concentration. Anyway I get the blade on, plug the saw back in and set up my stop on the miter gauge. Ready to go...the ladies are still there. Turn the saw on and start my first piece into the cut. HEY, what's going on!!!! It's taking a lot more pressure than it should and it's screeching...and now it's starting to smoke............you got it, I put the blade on backwards :eek: :o. The two ladies look over, look at each other and quickly move away from this guy whose polluting the neighborhood with noise and smoke. Moral of the story.....keep the garage door closed on hot days when young nubile joggers may be passing by ;).

[Rick Fisher]

Biggest mess ever for me was forgetting to re-install the bottom bag of the DC right away. Going out the next morning and firing up the Planer and turning on the DC with the wireless remote.

The DC is hidden away behind a large tool.

I had my back to the DC so the change in Air quality was what caused me to stop production.

[Matt Ocel]

Brent -
If they were blondes, they probably thought - well you can fill in the blanks.

[Steve Clardy]

Well my story's pretty fresh. About 2 this afternoon I get the splitter on the tractor behind the shop, then pick a place to park it close to the firewood chunks I've just sawed up.

Tractor parked, shut it off. Decided I had better block the wheel beings its ever so slightly down hill. Leave tractor out of gear so I can just reach over and start it when I need the splitter operational. Released foot brake and it stayed still.
I head to the rear of shop, procure a couple of blocks and......:eek::eek:

30 foot away was my tractor fixing to roll through an electric fence. :eek:

Behind the fence sits my pristine 94 f-150 with a trailer load of hay.

I take off running, see the electric fence slow the tractor to a stop.
Wheeeeh.....wipe forehead.....then snap goes the fence. Tractor continues on downhill through the fence, missing my truck by inches :eek::eek:

Something said, Clardy ya better get yer butt in gear before your tractor smacks into the trees below or veers off into the dump hole.

So off I go again chasing the tractor and manage to climb aboard and turn it to the left to miss everything.

Wheeeeew :o:o:o

[Dave Rose]

Well my story's pretty fresh. About 2 this afternoon I get the splitter on the tractor behind the shop, then pick a place to park it close to the firewood chunks I've just sawed up.

Tractor parked, shut it off. Decided I had better block the wheel beings its ever so slightly down hill. Leave tractor out of gear so I can just reach over and start it when I need the splitter operational. Released foot brake and it stayed still.
I head to the rear of shop, procure a couple of blocks and......:eek::eek:

30 foot away was my tractor fixing to roll through an electric fence. :eek:

Behind the fence sits my pristine 94 f-150 with a trailer load of hay.

I take off running, see the electric fence slow the tractor to a stop.
Wheeeeh.....wipe forehead.....then snap goes the fence. Tractor continues on downhill through the fence, missing my truck by inches :eek::eek:

Something said, Clardy ya better get yer butt in gear before your tractor smacks into the trees below or veers off into the dump hole.

So off I go again chasing the tractor and manage to climb aboard and turn it to the left to miss everything.

Wheeeeew :o:o:o

That will get the Epinephrine flowing.

[Matt Hutchinson]

So I had my first show this weekend for my turning. I had been working my butt off, but a week ago there was a ton left to be done. I needed to finish the bottoms of all the bowls, so I made a donut chuck. For those who don't know what that is, it's a large round jig designed to hold a bowl while turning the bottom/foot. See attached pic.

During its construction I temporarily screwed the clamping plate to the support plate, that way I could turn them true, as well as drill holes for the carriage bolts. In a moment of sheer genuis I decided that after turning them true, while the machine was still on, I would take some 80 grit paper to clean up the split out from the drilling.

Well, I managed to forget I had screwed the plates together and that the said screws were protruding from the back 3/8 of an inch. Needless to say, at 1300 rpms I quickly remembered they were there. And my fingers are still healing from that not-so-friendly reminder.

Hutch

[Michael Weber]

I don't own the 735 but a smaller Dewalt lunchbox planer. AFAIK there is no problem stopping one in mid cut. You just raise the cutters to remove the board. A picture of a 735 looks like it would work the same.

[David DeCristoforo]

OK, I'm gonna tell you all about something really dumb. I had 26 one foot radius mahogany crown moulding sections to make. I decided that the best way to make them would be to turn them four at a time. So I built 28" faceplate and mounted the first four segments. The only problem was that there was no tool rest that could handle this so I got a saw horse and screwed a plywood rest to the side of it at the necessary height. I had the sawhorse attached to the lathe OK so i was not worried about it wandering off. So I had a bowl gouge I was using to rough out the crown profile and it caught. The downward force caused the four screws holding my plywood tool rest to shear. My hand was wrapped around the shaft of the gouge which was slammed down onto the top of the sawhorse with my fingers in between. I had to turn the rest of the crown sections with four very swollen, black and blue fingers. I did not do any turning for a long time after that....

[Richard M. Wolfe]

One thing not to do with a random orbit sander. Grab it, turn it on and start sanding. Wonder why it's not sanding well at all - shut it off, turn it over and.....go to the hardware store for a new base pad - to which you will hopefully remember to attach sandpaper the next time.

There is no problem with stopping a planer in mid cut. I do it all the time as I am planing stuff that was cut on our Woodmizer. Sometimes boards warp a bit, shrink unevenly when drying or a dull band will travel a bit; all three things can make for a good bit of unevenness in the wood and jamming as the cutterhead hits an extra thick section. Just shut it off, crank the table down and start over. It's just a pain getting back to the original starting point.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I spent the rest of the night spit polishing the shop doing cleanup [...] I really cleaned - down to taking the drawer protection mats out of the drawers in my SnapOn toolbox to clean them, etc.


HA HA HA I am lucky if I take a steel yard rake to the shop floor once every few months - just to get the big chunks.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

One day I agreed to cut the lockset mortises in a couple of doors for a friend. At the time, I didnt have many tools, so I wanted to use a neanderthal type approach, a brace and an expansion bit. Layed out the mortises for the bolt on the first door, and bored it, then it dawned on me that I should have done the knob hole first, so that the bit would pull itself through the door. After a bit of cussing, and fiddling, I got it. Probably took an hour.

Started on the second door, and did the same danged thing....

[James White]

I had a "change in air quality" myself recently. I was using my 25" Woodmaster planer when all of a sudden I could no longer see or breath. Well the band clamp holding the dust bag on my 3hp dust collector let go and man.That dust collector is powerful! My entire basement was covered in dust and chips in a matter of seconds. I can't wait until I can get a cyclone.

James

[Douglas Brummett]

David, that is priceless. Glad I didn't have coffee in my mouth or I would be cleaning my monitor. Definitely going to put that in my sig for a while

[Peter Quinn]

First time I ran my 735 planer through the DC I was in heaven. Chips blown out under pressure and collected by my DC! What could be better. No more garbage can with the bag over it.

Second time I ran my 735 planer through the DC I had neglected to turn the DC on, the hose filled up, it blew off the machine while I was standing on the out feed side retrieving the boards. I have no idea how far the chips blew, I was too busy reaching for the off switch and coughing up wood chips to remember to check!:D

Mental note to self. Always turn DC on before activating the planer.

[Todd Bin]

"...a huge funnel of sawdust and chips spraying across the shop!"

What? That's it? That's the best you got? Some sawdust? Scheech! I can be dumber than that without even trying.....
:p

C'mon. You can't lay down a taunt like that and not give the craziest thing you ever did (That you laughed at).

[Jim Becker]

Ah, yes...this things we do...or don't do. I "impacted" my cyclone filter four times this weekend while planing down some old, old construction pine that was originally used for the shelving on the loft in our great room by the previous owner. I'm recycling the wood to make some nightstands for my daughters' rooms. Well, this material makes some really, really fluffy and sticky shavings, filling the 55 gallon bin in mere minutes and bypassing into the filter before you can say, "spit". Four times. You'd think I'd be able to tell time after the first occurrence, or at least the second. Good thing it was pine and not bubinga, or I'd be in the hospital looking like one big rash! LOL

[rob durfos]

18 months ago I knew I needed a machine to make my newly minted boards flat. So I hooked up with the local experienced sales guy who sold me a 22 inch planer and a little delta bag up-bag down collector as a package. The very first board I ran through jammed both bags, the hose and the machine in a few seconds.After powerdown, the first thing I did was pull the hose off the collector and stuck my hand up the intake pipe to free some chips. The machine was still rotating--

[Andy Casiello]

HA HA HA I am lucky if I take a steel yard rake to the shop floor once every few months - just to get the big chunks.

I was going to mention that my shop is a 24' x 32' stand alone that I share with two "classic cars" (read: old european sports cars with limited lineage and even less hope for the future). Having now revealed that of course I know that my dedication to my wood craft will now be challenged by David DeCristoforo. :D

I will defend myself by saying the shop is now in the expanded "third" space in the garage that used to have one of the classics in it. My wife's car occupied a spot, and her car now lives in the driveway. I used the idea of her keeping her car clean and dry as one of the reasons for building the garage in the first place. She's actually been very cool about it, however. As long as I occasionally create something in the shop that's useful to the house, then I'm okay. I've just been tasked to build her a cabinet of some type for the bathroom..

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Started on the second door, and did the same danged thing....

Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice - just turn everything off and grab a beer. :)

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

You know what they say - measure once, clean up twice. or something like that...

[David DeCristoforo]

"...my shop...share with two "classic cars"...my dedication...will now be challenged by David DeCristoforo..."

That is going to depend on just exactly how "classic" these two "old european sports cars" are and how much of the shop is occupied by tools needed for working on them. If the space is being used to simply warehouse the cars, well then yeah... one would have to question....

[Andy Casiello]

"...my shop...share with two "classic cars"...my dedication...will now be challenged by David DeCristoforo..."

That is going to depend on just exactly how "classic" these two "old european sports cars" are and how much of the shop is occupied by tools needed for working on them. If the space is being used to simply warehouse the cars, well then yeah... one would have to question....

Okay. A 1980 Porsche 911, and a 1974 Triumph TR-6. The 911 runs and drives, but needs regular attention. The TR-6 is a basketcase project - ground up restoration in the works. The garage was originally "for them", until I stumbled into woodworking. I built a tube based guitar amp, and then wanted to build my own cabinet for it, led to dovetail joints and building a speaker cab to match, which led to more projects...

[David DeCristoforo]

"...1980 Porsche 911, and a 1974 Triumph TR-6..."

Naaa. Not worth the shop space. Now if the Porsche was a '55 550 Spyder and the Triumph was a TR3..... maybe...

[Bruce Page]

Well my story's pretty fresh. About 2 this afternoon I get the splitter on the tractor behind the shop, then pick a place to park it close to the firewood chunks I've just sawed up.

Tractor parked, shut it off. Decided I had better block the wheel beings its ever so slightly down hill. Leave tractor out of gear so I can just reach over and start it when I need the splitter operational. Released foot brake and it stayed still.
I head to the rear of shop, procure a couple of blocks and......:eek::eek:

30 foot away was my tractor fixing to roll through an electric fence. :eek:

Behind the fence sits my pristine 94 f-150 with a trailer load of hay.

I take off running, see the electric fence slow the tractor to a stop.
Wheeeeh.....wipe forehead.....then snap goes the fence. Tractor continues on downhill through the fence, missing my truck by inches :eek::eek:

Something said, Clardy ya better get yer butt in gear before your tractor smacks into the trees below or veers off into the dump hole.

So off I go again chasing the tractor and manage to climb aboard and turn it to the left to miss everything.

Wheeeeew :o:o:o
I'd pay good money to see the video of that!

[Steve Clardy]

I'd pay good money to see the video of that!

Wish I had one Bruce. But I don't think I'd release it if I did. :o:D:D

[Thomas love]

Dumb is, Spending hours on Tormek sharpening 18 planer blades for my 5hp, pm180. They were pefect and was I proud.

Upon resetting the knives, I moved to the opposite, side of the machine on the last of the three knives, which reverses the righty tighty theory. Oddly no matter which way you turn the jib bar bolts they always they always feel tight.

Well it is all back together and man am I stoked, hours and hours bent over reaching in with dial indicator jig I bought at ww show 6 months earlier, not to forget the sharpening process. So The moment of truth, run a board through . As I hit the magnetic starter switch and that familar hum begins as the motor builds speed, the righty tighty thing flashes in my head. That big castIron shroud above the cuutterhead works great. As the blade and jib bar spun free the managed to hit the other two blades befor the blade gently fell out of the machine to the floor in front of my feet, With the jib bar jambed up in the machine. That was my dumb move.

[Wade Lippman]

I rushed to empty my cyclone before the trash came yesterday. Never got around to putting it back together.
This morning I fired my drum sander up.
Talk about a mess.

[Mike Spanbauer]

Oh man... that must have been messy Wade.

Dumbest shop move...

I've several, but I've not heard of any sharpening ones yet.

New Tormek wet sharpener... all my chisels and plane blades in need of attention. Get all setup, rocking away. Wow, these are sharp... about the 3rd or 4th plane blade, I notice a little red on the edge of the blade.

Well, little did I notice that I had my finger tips a little too close to the edge of the tooling when I was pressing down and as a result I abraded a LOT of skin off.

It happens so subtlely and with a minor numbing action that you don't feel it while it is occurring. Man, did it sting once the water stopped running over it though. Took a couple weeks to heal those 2 fingers.

mike

[Wade Lippman]

You were probably concentrating too hard to notice. Several times I have been really scrambling on my sailboat, and then seen blood on the deck. I have to look around to see what I tore up.

[Dan Gill]

You can clean a shop? :eek:

[Jim Becker]

You can clean a shop?

Um, Dan...that's a dirty little secret we never like to talk about... ;) :o :p :) :D