Projects that create projects and some setbacks.

[Patrick Irish]

Been working on a slab coffee table for years now. Other projects, girlfriend to fiancé and building stuff for family have sidelined it.

Have you noticed that projects often create mini projects on their own? I was making a wide tenon and the router table wasn't gonna work. Cue light bulb and das blade....but they required making a dado insert. No problem, did burn about 2-3 hours including pattern routing and trip to Orchard for set screws.

Setbacks wise, first cut this morning to continue the dado on the tenon. Forgot I had the blade up for the shoulder height, not the cheek height and...cut the tenon right off. My first cut of the day at 8:30am. That was a $27 mistake as I have to start over in the stretcher piece now.

Benefit is this board isn't cupped from sitting a year and I'm more experienced in making the tenon.

[Matt Day]

I find I end up making project specific jigs which can eat up time. Machinery setup and adjustment can end up being a project too.

[John Piwaron]

Been working on a slab coffee table for years now. Other projects have sidelined it.

Have you noticed that projects often create mini projects on their own?

Yup. Things needed to make things. I've got a nice trammel to guide my router to cut ellipses now as a result of one project.

One may think of a router table in a similar light. A router table is a project in the way of making many other projects. Just an example.

[Jim Becker]

It's a normal thing, IMHO. Primary projects often require stuff to make them that are unique from previous primary projects...while I let builds take whatever time they require, if I were doing it for someone else, I'd have to figure in some slack time for those, um...accommodations...that invariably come up.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I find I end up making project specific jigs which can eat up time. Machinery setup and adjustment can end up being a project too.

B-I-N-G-O!!
When I first started out I figured the best way to do things was to build every jig and fixture I'd be using.
I also "saved money" by using cheaper equipment that could be brought up to being on an accuracy par with better equipment with some fiddling around - which was a constant task in itself.
My $59.00 10" Ryobi CMS was a good example. Dead on accurate - once I spent the time to adjust it - - - but - it went out of adjustment pretty quick....

I've since mellowed out - - as witnessed by me dropping $62.00 for a magnetic feather board a couple weeks ago!
Works like a champ too!

Back to the OP though, sometimes those side projects are necessary though & the special projects they spawn can't be store bought or eliminated.

Cue light bulb and das blade....but they required making a dado insert. No problem, did burn about 2-3 hours including pattern routing and trip to Orchard for set screws.

That's partially one - - but - - I actually bought an insert blank from Woodcraft and used that as a pattern to make a dozen or so inserts out of MDF.
That much I did learn here - - that when you have to make something like a ZCI, you might as well make a bunch of them while you're at it!

[david beck]

I took up woodworking a few years back or so and to my surprise i have spent a lot of time(perhaps half or more) making guides, fences, jigs like sleds, shooting boards, planing stops, my bench(not a jig but was sure a project to make another project since the previous one wasnt up to snuff), longer/shorter bench dogs, etc... wow I can only imagine how many things one of you that has done this a long time or as a pro has had to make. Then when i add in time someone already mentioned about tuning/setting up cheap eq it really gets extreme. I had to buy cheap power tools and hand tools so i have an enourmous time investment(i am disabled so i have it)just getting hand tools up to snuff. For ex i got a cheap ts and i am resetting it alllllll the time and the time to get my fence sq for every cut i move it for, no way a person who does this as a job could tolerate all that. But .. i love all of it. I think a big part of my love of wood and woodworking is all the challenges involved daily and how to figure a way to do it with what i have available. Thank god a lot of you that are skilled share on forums and such so folks like me can enjoy wood also.

[Frederick Skelly]

I do it too. Many times, I've gotten into a project and said "I wish I had that camfer plane (or whatever), right now". Then I take a detour to go learn how to build one! Can't help myself. (sigh)