Mistakes in the wood shop

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Over the years I have learnt to do 3D parametrics for any job that has a little more complexity than being simple. Or where a lot fractions have to be calculated, added or divided. That has eliminated 99.9% of making mistakes in the shop.

I have kind of accepted that my brain is not the best, there are some deficiencies when doing numbers, concentrating and focusing. My tutor who was my dad was a master at doing things right all the time and every time. He was pretty tough in me when I got it wrong.

So, I accepted that 3D part drawings are my way for compromise, as I am not always the sharpest knife in the drawer and I continue to be very critical about the mistakes I make.

This past week was an interesting experience. I did a massive media center for a seasoned architect to drawings he produced including every possible detail. He is a smart professional, sold his business and retired. He was my helper and assistant with the entire project. We worked from his drawings to the parts and the assembly.

And what did I learn? After getting a few wrong dimensions from him and cutting wrong, I had to check every detail he gave me and make sure he interprets his own drawings correctly, otherwise we would have produced a whole big pile of scrap pieces. I realized this week, we have to accept that we are human.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Wait - Others are human too? Yup - absolutely.
We all make mistakes, and good on you that you have determined a suitable method to work out the details in a way that avoids too many mistakes doing mental calculations.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Speak for yourself Henry, I have never made a mistake ........... except when I do (daily) :D ......... Yes I deal with Architects alot, and they rarely have clear designs and much foggier dimensions to boot.
I always have to check every little detail on my projects, which in the current project means for me to review all 672 pages of the design plans.......... total BS, but if I do not I will hate my life more than just doing it now.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
As a semi-professional woodworker, ( I only do this part time on the side) I have come to the realization that I needed to establish my own "standards" in the shop. What do I mean by this?. Well, that can be a bit hard to define but rather than allowing customers to dictate every little thing like door overlays, frameless cabinets etc... I tell them, I build them this way, and take it or leave it. Most take it , because ultimately, they dont know the difference or really care. But many will have a photo of a style to work from. I found myself completely designing everything from scratch every job, which is extremely inefficient and can be wrought with errors, no matter how its concepted or designed. Because as we build , we may see a different way to do something that never gets back to the drawing board.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Metric any easier?
Total faceframe width is 39 1/2"; with two stiles, each 2 3/8" what does the length of my rail need to be?

I would think so, and while I have no difficulty with metric, so much of standard materials and my thinking on these is 'non-metric'; a 4x8 sheet will forever be a 4x8 sheet, except when it comes slightly oversized as 49x97"
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Metric any easier?
Total faceframe width is 39 1/2"; with two stiles, each 2 3/8" what does the length of my rail need to be?
This is what im talking about.... easy to establish a standard stile/rail deduction constant. Or even put them in excel, if you MUST vary something. But it enables easier setup as well. Metric? Could do it but ....nahhhhh not how I think in the shop.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
.... easy to establish a standard stile/rail deduction constant.
....nahhhhh not how I think in the shop.
Standard? What is that?
I have clients asking for Shaker doors, but some want 2.25" width frames and some want 3.5" width frames.
Is bottom rail wider than the top rail? Sometimes...
 

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
ever cut perfect tenons on 4 3/4" boards only to find out they are actually 4 1/2" boards, has to be my wife's fault, what? she has never been in my shop
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Metric any easier?
Total faceframe width is 39 1/2"; with two stiles, each 2 3/8" what does the length of my rail need to be?

I would think so, and while I have no difficulty with metric, so much of standard materials and my thinking on these is 'non-metric'; a 4x8 sheet will forever be a 4x8 sheet, except when it comes slightly oversized as 49x97"
I grew up with the metric system, no inches over there. In Engineering it sure makes things simple compared to doing calculations in imperial.

In the PE exam here in NC I encountered both systems, sometimes even in the same question. That makes it even more of a hassle. Favorite question is at what temperature does Fahrenheit and Celsius share the same number? I had to do a fast algebra calculation, wasting time, where I am sure the average American Engineer would have known the answer right away.

When in Rome do as the Romans do, so I seldom use metric in the shop though. Using a micrometer or a digital/veneering caliper I still stick with metric.
 

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