Mistakes, again

Last Friday I was working on a project in my cabinetmaking class at AB Tech in Asheville. I'd glued two 4' x 4' sheets of 3/4" medium density fiberboard (MDF) together to make a tabletop for a craft table for my wife. I trimmed it to 44 x 44 inches square, and then carefully cut 4 pieces of 3/4 inch red oak to size and mitered the ends to fit around the perimeter of the tabletop as a banding. I had decided to mount the oak pieces to the MDF using biscuits and glue.

Things were going well. I had cut the biscuit slots on two sides and marked the third piece of oak for slot cutting. At that point I left the work and went to another part of the shop to see what one of the other students was doing. When I came back, I looked at the piece of oak, and somehow got it oriented backwards. I didn't check the orientation, because I thought I knew what I was doing. I cut the biscuit slots, inserted biscuits and checked the fit of the oak band. Of course, it was backwards, so the miters wouldn't fit. I only had enough material for the four sides of the table top and so was now faced with a problem. I thought perhaps I could re-cut the slots on the reverse side of the oak strip. That worked, and I continued with the fourth side.

I glued up the three sides that had been cut properly, but just couldn't bring myself to glue on the fourth piece with slots on both sides of the strips. It looked funny with slots showing, so I quit for the evening. It was time to clean up anyway. I'll have to buy another piece of red oak and make a new strip at my next class.

Lesson learned: check things more than once.

Mistakes

This afternoon I worked on a project I've been building for quite a while, a mobile lumber rack. It's based on plans from a magazine and is built like a tank from 2x4's, 2x6's, and 3/4 inch plywood. I've needed something like it for a while to get lumber and wood scraps off the garage floor. I'm close to finishing it and am looking forward to being able to put it to use.

I worked on it yesterday and mistakenly cut a sheet of plywood that I was saving for a different part. Today I cut another sheet 3 inches too short because I measured the wrong dimension. Then, when I was finishing up for the day, I realized that I had skipped a step and fastened the deck down before I had bolted the uprights to the framework. I'll have to take up the deck tomorrow or whenever I next get to work on it, bolt the uprights, and then put the deck down again.

This all comes down to working too long and making mistakes when I get tired. I should know better, but it's often difficult to realize when I've reached that point until I actually do make a mistake. Thus far, my mistakes have not been serious. Mostly they're the kind nobody else would notice. I've been lucky, but it worries me that making mistakes could lead to accidents. It only takes a moment of inattention to cut off a finger, or worse.

Origins of Stut

According to the Free Dictionary , Stut: v. i. 1. To stutter.
Not according to my sisters and me. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but one day one of us referred to our dinner as "Stut." Mom went ballistic, which was not an often seen condition of our mother. We hastened to assure her that (whoever it was) meant that Stut meant "good food." (snicker, snicker, snicker). Mom wasn't convinced and banned the word. Of course, that elevated it in importance. I suspect Mom was also snickering to herself. Stut became a fixture in our FamilySpeak.