# Doing Dumb things



## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

I was cutting some repetitive pieces on my TS. Had the fence set up dead on for the length I wanted. Put a short fence on and started cutting. You know the rest of the story, the pieces were too short. And by an amazing coincidence they were short the exact thickness of the short fence. I really hate doing dumb things.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

That's still better than not using the fence and have one of the pieces jamb up and get thrown at you.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Been there, done that. 
I have a short fence planed to exactly 1 inch thickness with holes in the edge to accept Rockler's fence clamps. I drew a numeral 1 and arrows on the edge of the fence with a magic marker to help me remember to add one inch to the saw scale. It works . . . most of the time.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

I use 1-2-3 blocks for my short fence and that usually reminds me to measure accordingly.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

billyjim said:


> I was cutting some repetitive pieces on my TS. Had the fence set up dead on for the length I wanted. Put a short fence on and started cutting. You know the rest of the story, the pieces were too short. And by an amazing coincidence they were short the exact thickness of the short fence. I really hate doing dumb things.


and you believe this sets you apart from the rest of us how???...


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## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

Looks like I am in good company.


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## MT Born (Oct 29, 2014)

Thanks for sharing that Bill. I feel better about the multitude of errors I have made!


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Bill, 
You must be really organised, you already have parts cut for your next project to their exact length and you haven't even drawn the plans yet. Is it a smaller version of what you are working on right now?


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## jd99 (Jun 17, 2009)

Shop guy said:


> I use 1-2-3 blocks for my short fence and that usually reminds me to measure accordingly.


I do the same thing.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

A lot of us have never worked in a machine shop, so haven't the foggiest of what a 123 block is. I didn't, until a couple months ago, when a couple, including variations, were part of a garage sale score.

What I now know: A 123 block is a piece of iron cut one inch thick, two inches wide and three inches long. Because they are used in setting up precision cuts for milling and such, they are dimensioned to fine tolerances in their measurements, including the squareness of the sides to each other.




Shop guy said:


> I use 1-2-3 blocks for my short fence and that usually reminds me to measure accordingly.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Kelly, Grizzly, Rockler and others sell the 1,2,3 blocks. They are very handy and when used with other setup blocks even handier.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

*I agree*



Stick486 said:


> and you believe this sets you apart from the rest of us how???...


Took the words right out of my mouth. What would woodworking be if we never made mistakes, some of which can be or are dangerious, just goes with the territory in my opinion. Some people should not be woodworker, run chain saw, or firearms, any of which can be dangerious unless common sense is used and even then "stuff happens" unfortunately. Most of the mistakes we make, fortunately, are ones that can hurt us but, at least in my case, are the ones that I make that caused the workpiece to not work as anticpated, and such mistakes are just very good teaching lesssons.

Jerry


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## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

MEBCWD said:


> Bill,
> You must be really organised, you already have parts cut for your next project to their exact length and you haven't even drawn the plans yet. Is it a smaller version of what you are working on right now?


Mike I got a big laugh out of that. I have re-sized more projects than I care to mention.
Bill


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Billyjim,

I feel your pain, all the damage done to my brain over my youth and adult life has taken its toll. I overlooked a number of the fundamentals when building storm window frames recently, (like earlier today) even though I diligently checked off segments as they were completed I never cut all pieces to final length. Can you guess what happened? 

But wait there's more, it gets worse! Even though I cut multiple pieces, (all 5/4 sugar pine), from the same boards, some were not the same thickness across, let alone individual boards, some were 1 1/8 others 1 3/16 can you guess what happens when one does not plane all boards to the same thickness and then marks all for mortise and tenon? I am able to use what I butchered, some joints will require a slip of paper or 2 to snug up and tons of sanding. What should have taken me a couple to 4 hours for 3 frames will turn out more like 8


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

dumb was telling her that she was too wide to fall in when the seat was up...


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## TomE (Dec 17, 2010)

Other than the one inch off thing, one of my biggest goofs happened on the cad.

Measure at the job, design on the cad, prepare cut list based on cad drawings, cut, assemble, start to install, scratch head, backtrack to discover a fat fingered dimension on the cad. (note to self, double check notes to self and write legibly)

Needless to say, if one inch off happens during the initial measuring, things can get really.......


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## oldrusty (Mar 31, 2011)

My dumbest "to date" was the old trick of feeding a piece of wood between the bit and the fence. Fortunately my car was out, but I do have a chip out of the block garage wall as a reminder. Oldrusty


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Count me among the "oops" generation. Worst was early on trying to cut a curved piece of ply that kicked back straight into my stomach and left abraisions and bruises that remained for 3 months. Most of my mistakes occur because I get tired and impatient and try to do one more thing. But not all mistakes are my fault. I swear my saws are off because so often I measure and cut and the blade cuts the piece a fraction too short. I think it is some sort of woodshop gnome. 0


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Could be Murphy.

Herb


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

If you haven't had an oops it means all you do is read about what the rest of us screw up.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

We watched patiently as a new hire, signed on as an experienced carpenter, announced he was the new lead and took over the task of laying out and cutting a set of rafters. Simple enough except he used each new piece as the model for the next. After he'd cut the 3rd one we called him on it and he packed up his tools and quit. We left it to the senior guy to explain it to the BOSS MAN. That was the last new hire to talk his way on to the site.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

For years (meaning decades) I used a Lufkin rule for all my short cuts...measure, cut, measure, cut...I've always used the same rule to measure then to cut...then one day last year, for whatever the reason, one of my cuts came up short by 1/8" (cost me $35 for an oak tread)...turned out that the 1st section of my Lufkin was off by 1/8"...never knew it because *I always used the same rule to measure as to cut*. This particular time I was distracted and picked up the Stanley tape to do the cut after measuring with the rule...

Good habits are a good thing...don't let distraction break them...

(I eventually replaced it with a Klein [electrical supply] and a Westward [Grainger]...turns out getting a good folding rule with a slide isn't that easy anymore)


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## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Here's one I just got that looks like a real safe way to rout small pieces.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

old coasty said:


> Here's one I just got that looks like a real safe way to rout small pieces.


That was painful just to look at.


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## Tommy Law (May 29, 2016)

Nickp said:


> For years (meaning decades) I used a Lufkin rule for all my short cuts...measure, cut, measure, cut...I've always used the same rule to measure then to cut...then one day last year, for whatever the reason, one of my cuts came up short by 1/8" (cost me $35 for an oak tread)...turned out that the 1st section of my Lufkin was off by 1/8"...never knew it because *I always used the same rule to measure as to cut*. This particular time I was distracted and picked up the Stanley tape to do the cut after measuring with the rule...
> 
> Good habits are a good thing...don't let distraction break them...
> 
> (I eventually replaced it with a Klein [electrical supply] and a Westward [Grainger]...turns out getting a good folding rule with a slide isn't that easy anymore)


I too tried to use a good ole lufkin stick rule to measure layout cut everything. Not noticing that my apprentice apparently stepped on the end and removed an inch or so I grabbed it layed out next hole to drill to find it was not going to line up with the previous 6 I drilled.


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## Tommy Law (May 29, 2016)

old coasty said:


> Here's one I just got that looks like a real safe way to rout small pieces.


I can only hear the looney tunes theme running in my head as I can picture this guy


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