I'm frustrated.
I took on a dining room table project that I designed myself, inspired by an existing piece. I took my time measuring every little thing, I took my time setting things up. And yet I still have sloppy work to show for it. I have gaps that I have no idea how they should even exist. Stuff never lines up.
I'm tired of doing subpar work. I know I can achieve better, but it's yet to appear in my work. Something goes airy every single time. They say the mark of a good craftsman is to not make mistakes, but to hide them. My mistakes are nearly always too big to hide.
For example, this table. I designed it so that the base would be a square, 24". I cut the two pieces of plywood, marked off the actual dimensions of the legs, and came back out 1/2" to account for it sitting in a dado. The dado stack was measured at, or just above a 1/2". When I put it together, I have gaps of up to a half inch.
It's not that I'm making mistakes, I can live with that. I would like to get through a single project happy with what I've done. I've yet to say that. I'm frustrated enough to start to think if I want to continue. I'm not satisfied with subpar efforts. I don't know if my shop size is really holding me back as well, along with a few of my tools.
I know you've been in spots like this. What have you done to get past them?
I took on a dining room table project that I designed myself, inspired by an existing piece. I took my time measuring every little thing, I took my time setting things up. And yet I still have sloppy work to show for it. I have gaps that I have no idea how they should even exist. Stuff never lines up.
I'm tired of doing subpar work. I know I can achieve better, but it's yet to appear in my work. Something goes airy every single time. They say the mark of a good craftsman is to not make mistakes, but to hide them. My mistakes are nearly always too big to hide.
For example, this table. I designed it so that the base would be a square, 24". I cut the two pieces of plywood, marked off the actual dimensions of the legs, and came back out 1/2" to account for it sitting in a dado. The dado stack was measured at, or just above a 1/2". When I put it together, I have gaps of up to a half inch.
It's not that I'm making mistakes, I can live with that. I would like to get through a single project happy with what I've done. I've yet to say that. I'm frustrated enough to start to think if I want to continue. I'm not satisfied with subpar efforts. I don't know if my shop size is really holding me back as well, along with a few of my tools.
I know you've been in spots like this. What have you done to get past them?
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