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Thread: I'm sure I'm the only one who's ever done this

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Vancouver Canada
    Posts
    716
    My mistake is that I measure it and don't make up a story stick on the spot.
    Had to rebuild my show rack for my closet last night because I made it the correct size but couldn't get it to pass through the doorway that was 4" smaller.
    Doh!
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    2,162
    Ok so they say confession is good for the soul.. A carpenter I know well was building a set of stairs for a deck. We were using trex for the treads and deck . This requires risers every 12'' so for this set of stairs that was seven. First one cut,good copy it six more times,good. All of them wrong. Who says 30 years of experience is foolproof. Mike.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    San Benito, TX
    Posts
    65
    Those awful sneaky skinny doors are the worst. Once had to tear a door out in a finished house to get a table into a kitchen - needed that extra 1-1/2," whoops!!

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,247
    I once made a 4 foot eight inch wide bookcase to fit in an alcove.

    Problem was it needed to be 48 inches wide.....I'm going to chalk that one up to Imperial confusion .Welcome to the club.............Rod.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Just an inch, and too big? Fortunate, and a good save!

    I once cut a 4x6 PT post exactly 1' too short on a 2-story deck. Brain malfunction. Fortunately I could splice a short piece on the bottom and hide the joint in a railing. Fortunately the post was there for the look and railing, not essential for support. Fortunately it was my own deck and so I didn't feel like i was trying to deceive someone!

    JKJ

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    392
    When I first started working as a trim carpenter, I quickly realized that a lot of mistakes were due to "adding an inch" when you can't hook the end of a tape on a piece to be cut (like an inside miter on door casing). In other words, if the cut calls for 81" you start at 1" and mark at 82". If you forget to add the inch, your trim ends up being embarrassingly short. I switched to starting at 10" which is far enough off that I tend to remember to make the addition.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,252
    Blog Entries
    7
    I left a part 1/8” (.125”) too long in an assembly. Once I found the problem it took 6 hours to repair. Now when I realize something is wrong, I take it apart and trim it down rather than leave a little mark on it that I forget about.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Mis-measured or altered a number in my mind betwixt rule and paper!?! Never . . .

    When the shop-gods are smiling, I err on the side of too big.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  9. #24
    Story poles.......using 'em a lot more the closer I get to Medicare.......

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    This is a great "asking for a friend" topic... LOL
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,645
    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Engel View Post
    Story poles.......using 'em a lot more the closer I get to Medicare.......

    Yep, I really do need to use one - with every project. Measuring, writing down the measurement, transfering sketches to SketchUp, etc. presents too many opportunities for mistakes. I use one religiously when making a man door or a run of cabinets, but didn't think to use one on this project. Lesson learned.

    Now let's hope the same cabinet, that also has to fit under a window, isn't an inch too tall!

    John

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Putney, Vermont
    Posts
    1,042
    I made a nice 5 shelf wall cabinet for loml's tissue salts, in which she has about 100 plastic bottles of.
    It came out really nice. Now if the bottles fit onto the enclosed shelves it would have been nicer!
    Luckily it was just some pine and left over plywood.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Bellingham, Washington
    Posts
    1,149
    In many years as a carpenter I have done it many times. Typically it comes from looking at the wrong side of the number on the tape measure. Always ends up one inch off.
    Bracken's Pond Woodworks[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  14. #29
    This is a great thread.

    Sadly for me it’s a celebration when I complete a project without a mishap of some sort.

    I wish I was that good but I’m not and PT ashamed to admit it.

  15. #30
    That inch gets me too often!!!
    Carpe Lignum

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