Thread: Im starting out. Top 10 mistakes?

1. Do NOT expect to accomplish any meaningful work when there are distractions around.
2. Did someone say cake?
3. Buy yourself a good first aid kit ASAP. Seriously. The finger it saves could be yours.
4. I'm sure someone mentioned cake!
5.

We apologise for the inconvenience, but this message has been interrupted due to unexpected Quest for Cake

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

3. Buy yourself a good first aid kit ASAP. Seriously. The finger it saves could be yours.

By the time fingers are separating from hands, you are WAY past first aid! More like third aid I would say!

A mistake is a thing you got wrong more than once. Doing a silly and learning from it is how you learn.
I guy posted in here about how you should use a router and complained there was no instruction manual.
Well everyone thats used a router has made oodles of mistakes, but in time gets it right'
So only one not to do from me, and that is dont get distracted when using machinery. Seldom is there ever injuries when you watch what you do, and when tired dont push to finish, its better finished another day.

If there is one thing I would suggest it would be: Never underestimate the value of time and thought. If you invest plenty of these two things into something you are doing, what you can achieve is virtually unlimited. Thought costs nothing, and your time is not so valuable that you must sacrifice something else to do something quicker. One thing we are taught in the aviation trade is that everything is a sacrifice; you do not get something for nothing. The same rings true here; you may take less time by rushing, but end up making a simple mistake leading to work you are not happy with or worse still, compromise your safety. Natural speed is something that develops over time, it can not be directly taught or learned. This applies to everything: Hand skills, processes, machinery use and personal safety.

As an addition on to that: Cups of tea, coupled with a good cake (or biscuits, danishes, custard tarts, miniature sausage rolls etc.) make excellent fuel for thought. The tea focuses the mind, and the desserts give the blood sugar a kick and get you going again.

You will make mistakes, lots of them. Do not simply look at them as mistakes, they are a process that has not given the desired result. You should evaluate what has happened; what has caused this particular result and think about what you must do in the future to end up with the result you desire. There are no mistakes, only experiences to learn from.

Good luck in your travels down a very deep personal story that is a love for woodcraft. Read what you can on here and never be afraid to ask for help. Do remember though, developing your skills becomes notably harder with each finger that is lost

Cheerio, Tom.

Two things I can suggest,

1. Never be afraid to ask for help or advice.

2. Join a wood working club or see if you have a local mens shed, great for advice and really nice social atmosphere

Almost made one this morning. I realized that it was probably the mistakes I have seen made the most of all of them. Most people made this one multiple times and don't seem to learn from it:

For accurate measuring when you can't hook your tape on the end of something or butt it against something you start with holding the tapemeasure at 100mm... Something to do with calculations causes bits of timber to often end up being 100mm short or long? I worked with one apprentice who was often 1meter out with measurements because of this (thats working on boats though)
.
And remember that it is always someone else their mistake, never yours.

I have been making simple woodworking projects for some 50+ years.
Combined, these various sets of sage observations really are words to live (and stay alive) by. I can only echo the statement that quality tools are built to last BUT only if they are looked after properly. You know it's ready to go any time you need it.

Hindsight tells me that I have had some form of trouble or other in making very accurate measurements, both lengths and angles. Buy good measuring and marking tools. You can't get far if you screw that up.

These winters, I like to do wood carving, all day, every day. I need to have and use top quality carving tools to enjoy what I'm doing. However, there's a lot of diddly sharpening and honing to be done to keep things going as I want. That's about the last hour of each day. I take my time, look at my wood carving progress, think about tomorrow's efforts.
Yes, I do own and use crappy skew chisels with pitted edges, no less. Yes, they were cheap. No comparison at all with a 1S/25 from Pfeil.

Originally Posted by jimbur

I'd go for measure three times and make sure you're measuring from the same end each time. Then cut.

I did this last night, and then cut the wrong side of the line. Silly me. So add to the list:

* cross-hatch waste side of line so you do not do what I did.

* don't saw when you are tired.

Most expensive is not always the best, nor is best always the most useful.
Cheers,
Jim

How true. We use "cheap" as acronym for "low quality" and low quality is never inexpensive.

My greatest mistake, repeatedly, has been to purchase crap tools - chisels that lose their edge on butter, screw drivers that twist, bits that drill oval/wavy holes, 89° set square, etc. The list is long, and lengthening....

Cheers

Graeme

A bit late in the thread but if you are using timber bought dressed all round, don't believe it's square until you have checked. The old method of marking a flat face and an adjacent edge square to it can save a lot of trouble later.
Cheers,
Jim

Hmmm... adjacent edges... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay5fXclJxSU&feature=player_embedded"]adjacent edges[/ame].

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Hmmm... adjacent edges... adjacent edges.

Oops could have phrased it more accurately.
Cheers,
Jim

Yep, make sure your thang's flat.

Who is that... that... that... Cro Magnon (I can't say Neanderthal, because seemingly that refers to a hand tool-using woodworker these days)? Why would you employ him to promote your machinery? He wouldn't be out of place in Borat's home village.

On the occasions he breaks into English he refers to adjacent surfaces as being parallel. Judging by the missing bits of fingers, I presume he's tried making his left hand 'parallel' at some time too. Very strange stuff.

Originally Posted by Durdge39

If there is one thing I would suggest it would be: Never underestimate the value of time and thought. If you invest plenty of these two things into something you are doing, what you can achieve is virtually unlimited. Thought costs nothing, and your time is not so valuable that you must sacrifice something else to do something quicker. One thing we are taught in the aviation trade is that everything is a sacrifice; you do not get something for nothing. The same rings true here; you may take less time by rushing, but end up making a simple mistake leading to work you are not happy with or worse still, compromise your safety. Natural speed is something that develops over time, it can not be directly taught or learned. This applies to everything: Hand skills, processes, machinery use and personal safety.

As an addition on to that: Cups of tea, coupled with a good cake (or biscuits, danishes, custard tarts, miniature sausage rolls etc.) make excellent fuel for thought. The tea focuses the mind, and the desserts give the blood sugar a kick and get you going again.

You will make mistakes, lots of them. Do not simply look at them as mistakes, they are a process that has not given the desired result. You should evaluate what has happened; what has caused this particular result and think about what you must do in the future to end up with the result you desire. There are no mistakes, only experiences to learn from.

Good luck in your travels down a very deep personal story that is a love for woodcraft. Read what you can on here and never be afraid to ask for help. Do remember though, developing your skills becomes notably harder with each finger that is lost

Cheerio, Tom.

I agree.
The one lesson I have learnt the hard way is that I create bigger problems by trying to fix a small one in a hurry.
Whenever something does work out the way I thought it would, I put everything down and go inside and have a cuppa. I think about what happened and it is amazing how it could have been avoided with a bit more contemplation (this is when the cake helps a lot).

I derive a greater amount of pleasure from taking my time and thinking about a problem and solving it, then trying to rush to get to the end of the project. The hobby is suppose to challange you.

Tom (Another one)