Fixing Mistakes or Starting Over?

It can be frustrating when you notice halfway through a project that you made a mistake. Instead of remaking the entire thing, sometimes an easier solution can be found. Even in the trash can.

 

Shannon has eaten a bit of humble pie by admitting to making a mistake on his frame and panel assembly.  He makes a great point when he recommends keeping leftover off cuts.

Here’s a few tips to help reduce the chances of making a measuring, marking or cutting mistake:

First and foremost is to have a plan.  This can be in your head but is much better when recorded on paper. From this plan you can then generate blueprints or construction drawings and from them you can generate a cut list.  It’s worth going through your cut list at least twice to ensure that you have accounted for the extra length or width needed for joinery.

A second tip is to number each of your pieces.  Give each piece a unique number or letter and write that letter on your drawings and cut list. Use a soft graphite pencil to mark each piece so that you won’t dent the wood.  Additionally, graphite can be wiped off easily with some paint thinner.

Lots of woodworker like to listen to the radio or podcasts while working.  This can be a great way to keep up motivation and just have a good time in the shop.  The one downside is that sometimes by singing along you may lose a bit of concentration while measuring and laying out your cut lines.  It’s a good idea to turn off the music just for a few minutes to allow complete concentration when measuring and marking.

Another simple way to minimize mistakes is to use whole numbers for your design.  It’s much easier to add up 2″ , 4″ and 5″  to get your total length or width of a component or opening rather that trying to do the math of 2  3/16″, 4  7/32″  and 5 5/8″ to arrive at a final dimension.