Sometimes ya gotta laugh.....

[Larry Norton]

Been there, done that, Norman! More than once! Actually, many times.

[David Fried]

Hmmm... most of my favorite mistakes have been well covered here!
I do tend to cut the wrong end of boards or mill the wrong side. Lots of pencil marks have helped but as soon as I relax and don't mark things 20 times - wham-o!

I also have a real tendency to turn tenons too small on the lathe. I try sneaking up on perfection - just a little more, just a little more, and then lose my head and go too far! Same story with the drum sander - but I'm getting better. I think.

The one that never fails is tossing out a small scrap early in a project because it's too small to ever be of any use only to really need a piece just that size later on!

My most recent blunder was measuring from the TS fence to the wrong side of the dado blade. Perfect cut on the wrong side of the line! Aaarrrggghhh!!!

Dave Fried

[Kelly C. Hanna]

My biggest one involved the Murphy desk shown on my website. I made one for a client who runs a law firm in the uptown Dallas area. I measured the front of the opening, then he asked me a question and I completely forgot to measure the back of the opening.

Yep, the cabinet was too wide by 1/4" due to the fine framing that preceeded me. Had to take it back to the shop and cut it down. Talk about embarrasing in front of a client.

[Byron Trantham]

A couple years ago we put in an Anderson storm door. I cut the stiles too short! With charge card in hand, I called Anderson to get new ones. To my surprise the guy said we guarantee installation and sent me new ones for free! They cam in and, you guessed it, I did it again! Charge card in hand I called back and the same guy answered and recognized my voice and said, "You did it again, didn't you?" Oh so embarrassed! Yea, he sent me two more stiles. When they came in, I had my wife to the measuring! She got it right the first time!

Recently my brother-in-law drilled a 35mm hole on the front of his door!

[Scott Parks]

I have a meager clamp supply by most woodworkers standards. I am currently gluing up the doors for my son's kitchen cabinets. I glue up 4 and run out of clamps.....wait for them to dry and do another 4. So this morning I am going to take last nights doors out of the clamps and do 4 more....

I know you're asking for blunders here, but... On a serious side, try pinning your tenons from the backside with 5/8" brads. By the time you get the fourth door done, you should be able to take the clamps off the first one, and continue. So on, and so forth.... That is if you're like me and spend at least 15-20 minutes per door...

[Steve Ash]

I know you're asking for blunders here, but... On a serious side, try pinning your tenons from the backside with 5/8" brads. By the time you get the fourth door done, you should be able to take the clamps off the first one, and continue. So on, and so forth.... That is if you're like me and spend at least 15-20 minutes per door...

But how could I convince my wife I need more clamps someone mentioned an ulterior motive...

Good ones guys, I've enjoyed reading them....shows we can all laugh at ourselves from time to time.

[John Lucas]

Years ago, I was making an armoire for my daughter and had one task left, to ad molding around the top. I carefully measured and went out a got a piece and came back and proceeded to cut the top piece short. So back to the lumber yard and I got another piece and came back and cut that one short. This time, the yard was about to close so I raced back and bought another piece...and can you believe it, short again. And no stores open...so I cut the piece in two and left the gap in the middle...about 1 1/2" wide, not something for wood putty. I found a piece of pine and carve a pineapple and fit that in. To this day, daughter gets compliments on the armoire and particularly the pineapple. Go figure. SO when I visit museums and see pineapples or acorns in the molding, I now know why.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I got it easy...since I work with wood for a living, all I have to do is say I need _____ and I go get it. Course I also gotta pay the bills, so I do have limits [dangit].

[John Bailey]

I was laminating the sterm and stern on my stripper (strip built kayak) a few weeks ago and was distracted halfway through the job. The stem went together great before intermission but I managed to glue all the strips together while not putting any glue between them and the hull. You can only laugh and add another day to the schedule.

Steve,

Did I miss the pictures of your kayak project. If you posted any, where are they. I'm always interested in kayaks.

John

[Lars Olsson]

Yesterday while making four drawers for a set of built in closet cabinets I cut all the parts, double checked the measurements and everything. Put on the slides and tried to make them fit, 1/16" too big. Time to take them apart and put them back together. At least they are only cheap quick melamine, screws, no glue!!