Tom5151

Well you just knew it had to happen sooner or later...

Last night I had just completed the last of 16 mortises I was cutting in four table legs. Now mind you this was my first EVER furniture project. I was putting off starting because being the totally anal person i am, i didn't want to make a mistake....LOL......how naive......anyway I measured and re-measured for days, analyzed layout lines a thousand times, procrastinated making the first cut because I didn't want to ruin the wood, was intimidated by the fact that this was the first EVER time using a router of any kind. You get the idea.

So after much practice on scraps I finally started. Set up my jig and everything went suprisingly smooth. The plunge router I was using (Bosch) worked wonderfully. It wasn't the beast I thought it would be at all. Cut the mortises like butter. Then it happened. I finsihed the last one....the LAST ONE mind you....and i had a funny feeling......i set my plunge router down carefully and went back to inspect my work..............ugh.........I cut that last darn mortise on the WRONG EDGE of the leg.....it was supposed to be on the outer half just like the one above it but I cut it on the inside edge....I don't think the apron would quite line up that way huh?........

Oh well....live and learn...I hate making mistakes...LOL......but i make a lot of em.......oh well.....I am off to gluing up a new blank for the 4th leg and starting over from scratch............at least i know the router works great.....can't say as much about the operator however.......

LinkC

We've ALL been there! And will be again...

Don't think of it as "ruining" a leg; it's just a good start on a great salt and pepper set! Or doll furniture. Or a baseball bat. Or 27 matching coasters...

Tom5151

LOL.....exactly..........I have all kids of options now.......LOL

Terry Beeson

I know it hurts when I make a mistake like that. So I feel your pain... OFTEN... Don't fret it too much, dude. It just gives you an opportunity to say you've had more practice. Maybe hang it on the wall with a big sign saying "CHECK 4 TIMES BEFORE STARTING WORK!!!"

Of course, I still goof up...

__________________
I cut that board three times and it's STILL too short!!!...
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Tom5151

LOL....thanks Terry.....I just might do that.......when I realized what i did i had the helpless, sinking feeling.....like OH NO what did I just do?........LOL.......... I wasn't really mad i was just deflated.......all of that prep work to make the thing, down the tubes......LOL.......

I am going to use it practice profiling the edges on the router table i think....

raskgle

You know that it was the best one of the bunch but good practis for the next time. Carl.

Tom5151

Hey Carl,

Yes you're exactly right....it really was the best of the bunch because i had done the other three legs and was getting good at it....LOL

bradnailer

I've done the same kinda stuff. Fortunately, I've learned and only repeated the mistake two or three more times....

Kenbo

That, is what I call "designer firewood".

Been there, done that. Don't get upset or even frustrated, blame someone else and move on.

Ken

BHOFM

Yep, we have all been down that road.

Once made a new door for a medicine cabinet and
decided to do the rabbit for the mirror on the table
saw before I put the door together.

Had the nicest rabbit around the outside of the door
you have ever seen. On all four sides!

__________________
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Gus Dering

The best quarterback in the league throws a bone headed interception once in a while.

I was finishing up a cabinet install once. Needed the paycheck real bad that would come at the end of the day.
One last tall cabinet that needed a outlet cut in the left end that was against the wall. Cut that outlet right through the finished end on the right side.
Bone head! Paycheck will wait till I fix that mess.
Darrrn! Still hurts years later.

Geoguy

It was Ken's fault!!

Leo G

It is not a mistake, it is just your first leg to the next table.

__________________
Measure Twice Cut Once -- It's a lot easier to cut more off then it is to cut MORON.
TGIF just means two more working days until Monday http://lrgwood.com

justin2009

That wasn't a mistake! You were building the 1st leg for the SECOND table!

Leo G

I thought I heard that somewhere else

__________________
Measure Twice Cut Once -- It's a lot easier to cut more off then it is to cut MORON.
TGIF just means two more working days until Monday http://lrgwood.com

Tom5151

Hey guys,

LOL....thanks for the great comments and encouragement and goodheartedness. Being an absolute rookie you always think you can avoid major mess ups......LOL.......yeah right........I mean cutting something 1/32 short or being out by 2 thou..now that's not great but not awful.....one can recover from something like that perhaps......but cutting 3/8 wide mortise a half inch away from where it's supposed to go, now that's REAL BAD....

If this is going to be the first leg for my SECOND table...it's gonna be a real short table......LOL

Thanks again guys,

Regards,
Tom

Leo G

Well, you just have to learn from your mistakes. I don't know how you did this but if you had everything all penciled in to where each hole needed to go and everything was marked up then this shouldn't have happened. If you did this, maybe you should think about getting glasses or having your prescription renewed

__________________
Measure Twice Cut Once -- It's a lot easier to cut more off then it is to cut MORON.
TGIF just means two more working days until Monday http://lrgwood.com

Tom5151

Hey Leo....

Believe it or not I was wearing my glasses.....I guess I need new ones.....

No, what actually happened was that when I originally layed out this particular mortise I layed it out referencing the wrong edge. I realized what i did and layed it out again off the correct edge. HOWEVER, that's where the screw up clock started ticking. On EVERY OTHER mortise I penciled in the word "CUT" in the area where the wood was to be removed, trying to make it as dummy proof as possible for myself. BUT on this one however not only did I not write in the word CUT but I also failed to erase the original incorrect layout lines....all the planets were thus lined up for absolute and total failure......

Now you have the inside scoop on the anatomy of my failure....LOL

WDChew

I think I've seen Norm put a patch on 'old' wood to make it look like an antique.
Just use it and tell everyone it is original.

Kenbo

Almost wet my pants laughing when I saw this. I'll be your lightning rod of hate.
Too funny

Ken