Sometimes it's good to make a mistake...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

because you get a chance to figure out a fix and do some things you have been meaning to do but haven't.

I am in the process of building a 40" w x 8'h x 20" deep cabinet for my shop. I am using 3/4" A-C plywood for the top, bottom and sides and shelves.I cut the sides and top and bottom. Next I cut dados in the sides for metal shelving standards for the metal clips for adjustable shelves. Then I rabbeted the sides and top and bottom for the 1/2" plywood back. Next the dado in sides for the one stationary shelf. Quickly I measured for the back, cut it to size and then dado up the middle for a 5th metal standard for the adjustable shelf clips.

Now I began the assembly and I screwed up! I had measured for the width of the back assuming I would assemble the sides and tops one way and of course, I chose to glue and screw it the other and now the back is too narrow by 3/4".

The blue smoke you saw coming from the general direction of north Idaho Saturday night was probably originating from my shop!

So...I call the oldest son...can I borrow your pickup Sunday? Thanks Son! Sunday I drive by the one local lumberyard I think might be open on Sunday. 3 cars in the parking lot..lights on in the building. I got the kid's truck and of course that lumberyard was closed. I refuse to buy lumber from HD. Period.

So I return the truck and come home stewing. A wasted Sunday afternoon.

Then I get to thinking...I could rabbet one edge of the miscut back ...rabbet another piece of 1/2" plywood and cut it to fit the gap. The overlapping rabbets would probably be unnoticed and it's just a shop cabinet. It doesn't need to be perfect.

Long story shortened, I used my bandsaw and made a tool I have thought of many times and never found the time or had a bandsaw to do it with before. I made a featherboard to use on my t/s fence. A scrap piece of 1x6 cut to a 25º angle...then a saw cut every 3/16" .

I used it to hold the 8' lengths of 1/2" plywood to the table top while I put rabbets in the mating edges with my dado blade. What a thing of beauty. I should have made one long ago!

The overlapping rabbets closed the gap quite well. Not a bad recovery!

The closer my shop gets to being finished.....the quicker and better I'm able to accomplish things....the more satisfied I am.

Sometimes making a mistake can result in a satisfying ending!

[Dennis Hook]

The best advice I ever received was from an older gentleman that was teaching me the cabinetmaking trade, I have been lucky in having quite a few very talented men train and share their experience with me, he said that the best cabinetmaker is not the man that never makes a mistake, but the one who can fix the ones he does. I have held onto that to this day and try to remind myself in those frustrating moments.

Good job on finding a clever solution and fix for your problem.

[Mike Cruz]

Great solution. Hadn't thought of that, though I have made the same mistake...

[Gary Muto]

The best advice I ever received was from an older gentleman that was teaching me the cabinetmaking trade, I have been lucky in having quite a few very talented men train and share their experience with me, he said that the best cabinetmaker is not the man that never makes a mistake, but the one who can fix the ones he does. I have held onto that to this day and try to remind myself in those frustrating moments.

Good job on finding a clever solution and fix for your problem.

Very true in most professions, I think. My dad is a great example for me regarding resourcefulness. He's always faster at a short cut or a recovery than I'll ever be, but I'm getting better.

[Bill Huber]

Well I can say I never make mistakes in the shop.... now I do make some design changes in the middle of a project but not mistakes.

I know some people that do make mistakes and a lot of the time the mistake will change a project for the better.




Now why do I have some much scrap around ??????

[Jim Becker]

We all learn good lessons from inadvertent "mistakes" and fixing them creatively as you point out quite nicely.

[Wayne A Hall]

The sign of a good craftsman is how well he can cover his "mistakes".

[kenneth kayser]

It is natural to try to correct a mistake immediately. Resist the impulse and think about it for a day or so. If something chips, try to find the chip and glue it back, much better and easier than filling. I once had some errant 23 ga pins. I tried to pull them through. Made a terrible mess. Next day discovered that they break off easily when bent repeatedly and break off below the surface leaving no more hole than where they were driven.

[Callan Campbell]

At least that's what my turning teacher kept calling all our lathe "work" when it wasn't coming out the way we intended. I won't go into the "flying" bowls part of the class when we shifted from spindle work to bowl turning. Seriously though, congrats on figuring out a different route to where you need to go with the shop cabinet.

[Alan Schaffter]

Great save!!

It is amazing what we learn and how we improve our woodworking and problem solving skills by making and correcting mistakes. Your shop is also a great place to learn and mistakes made while working on a shop don't come with the pressure of things made for your house or a client.

Guys wondered why I spent (am still spending ) so much time working "on" my shop instead of "in" it and why my shop cabinets are better than some of their kitchen cabinets- it is because I don't do this for a living, the wood was nearly free, but mostly because I took the time and opportunity to challenge myself, learn new techniques, and make something at level above my previous projects.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Are those shop cabinets or museum show cases?

Wow! Gorgeous cabinets! Well done Sir!

[Harold Burrell]

Great save!!

It is amazing what we learn and how we improve our woodworking and problem solving skills by making and correcting mistakes. Your shop is also a great place to learn and mistakes made while working on a shop don't come with the pressure of things made for your house or a client.

Guys wondered why I spent (am still spending ) so much time working "on" my shop instead of "in" it and why my shop cabinets are better than some of their kitchen cabinets- it is because I don't do this for a living, the wood was nearly free, but mostly because I took the time and opportunity to challenge myself, learn new techniques, and make something at level above my previous projects.

"Dear Lord, Please forgive me for all of the mean things that I thought about in regards to this good fellow, just because his shop is WAY nicer than mine. Amen."