# Why I don't post......



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

In response to Harry and Glenmore during a conversation we were having last week.

I am posting some shots to show why I am too embarrassed to display my 'handiwork".

This was supposed to be a very simple task - make a holder to replace a broken paper toweling holder.

Shot one is the first attempt.. Then I decided the dados were too long...


second attempt . made a template from a key rack made the piece and decided to cut the mortises by hand....

Third attempt - used 3/4" (19mm) pine and used my new Gifkins Dovetail jig to cut dovetails. Used one coat of Feast Watson sealer with a dash of oak stain,

Anyway, its on the wall and there it will stay..


Isn't it fun to just mess about in the shed.....

James


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Don't under-sell yourself James, you tried different approaches and ended up with a good outcome. I sense that you enjoyed yourself and learned a lot to boot. The one I made for my shed used a far simpler and less elegant approach, using a dowel and two reticulation pipe end caps! I know that if you had a larger shed, the sky would be the limit.


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## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

I don't know James, it looks pretty good to me. 

We ALL second guess ourselves and think of ways we could have done something different, and in our opinions, better. In short, we are our own worst critics.... 

Brian


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Looks ok to me James. Just think of all that you learned doing this project. If your household is like mine, the one you finished will last longer than the others.


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## mailee (Nov 11, 2005)

Looks fine to me too James and you got there in the end. We all learn by our mistakes mate. I should be perfect by the amount of mistakes I have made in the past. Keep at it and you will make less and less mistakes. It is also good to post mistakes as it helps others who like you think they are the only ones who get it wrong.....your not believe me.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

I will 2nd. that, looks fine to me 

Think of all the fun you had making it,that's the best part " You Made It" and that's all counts.. 

=========


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

James,

I have been staring at your project for hours and still can't find anything wrong with it 

Seriously... nice job and useful project.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

James, the biggest mistake would be in not trying at all. 
Not making mistakes simply means you aren't doing anything.


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## jjciesla (Oct 20, 2007)

James,
We all have scrap/cut-off bins that hold parts that didn't work out. If we had a Show & Tell segment for the not so good things we did it would fill up the server. I'm sitting here now because 10 minutes ago I made a final cut on a part and screwed it up. (2 hours worth of work) Frustrated, yes, but in a few minutes I go back and start over. Your towel holder looks fine!


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## cbsjoez1935 (Mar 14, 2007)

Hey James,

If it does what you intended it to do, gave you some insight, gave you experience AND IF THE BOSS LIKES IT, the project is perfect.

Joe Z.


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## Maurice (Sep 24, 2004)

HEY JW2170!
Your post is great, pics good and we all can learn from other's mistakes.
In fact, you just sent a photo shoot. More, more!


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

James, we each see mistakes we make. 99 percent of the gazers only see perfection. i have made things that im proud of ( which had mistakes ) and things im not proud of that had mistakes. i have never bult anything that i didnt think i could have done better. your project looks great to me. i would rather have somethng i made than something "so called perfect" from a box store. Keep up the good work. i need your support when i display a picture that i think is loaded with mistakes. this is a hobby and we each get better as we do more and we help each other. i am a newbie to this and love what i have accomplished. it aint great, but its my work , lol!


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys.

Every time I go the 'shed', I know I will at least get some enjoyment out of the exercise.

Might try some 'case work' this weekend.....



James


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## dkneifel (Sep 23, 2008)

seems a lot of folks on here fell the same way as I do. I put off posting my first box for awhile, mostly because I can see the "defects" and wen I look at the box they are magnified by my own eye. 

After I finish anything I always look back and think I could have done better here or there.....the thing is tho, that I gained experience that I did not have prior to performing the task is the first place. Therefor I now know more , due to the learning process of performing the task. It stands to reason that I can look back at anything in my life and think that I could have done better......I have come to understand that I do the best I can at the time I do the task. The next time I perform the same task I hope I put to use the knowledge that I gained from the first go around.....

Thanks for sharing you accomplishment with me.


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## Glenmore (Sep 10, 2004)

Even in screw up it is still usable. Hell half my projects that I screwed up I have used them for something else. That is how I get half my projects done for my shop.  Like the shelf I built for my daughter a couple of months back I still have the top shelf in my carport just waiting to use it for something else. The rest of the shelf made it upstairs was going to take a pic of that but luckily I didn't have in my hand to throw it.  That is how aggravated I was with that one.


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## karateed (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi All,

The beauty of this hobby is that we can take our time with a project, enjoy everything it has to offer us if we wish and then display it, or not as we wish. One of the best things is that a person gains experience along the way, knows what mistakes he/she made so they can be corrected in the next project and generally make a better whatsits the next time.

I have at times been a bit frustrated with a project but am learning that I can just sit back, let the info gather in my head to sort out whatever problem and then get it done as my slow mind figures it out....btw.....my mind is starting to get faster when it comes to woodworking just because of projects....it's an interesting phenomenum.

Anyway, like all the rest of you....my posts have myriads of problems in the projects but mostly they are things I can see and others can't.....I think some errors give a project "character".

Certainly as humans aren't perfect so are their works not going to be....but we progress towards that perfection so that's pretty cool.

Great looking towel holder you have there dk....

Ed......


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## FRB DESIGN (Jul 13, 2008)

*Hi James,
My philosophy is "Mistakes will show you the way" and with the passion and enjoyment you get out of woodworking you cant go wrong.



Regards,
Frank.*


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

The nice thing about wood is almost anything can be repaired. 

Heck my projects usually consist of a series of mistakes one after another that I work around until the project is completed.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

James, my first efforts at woodworking put me off for quite a few years. I felt I would never be able to cut a straight line or drill a straight hole, I couldn't even pound a nail in with out bending it. Over the years I have learned how to avoid my prior mistakes. I do not expect nails to go through knots anymore, and I know that a hand held saber saw is not the best tool to cut a 2x4" with. You took 3 tries and came up with a good solution. By sharing the details you have helped others. Not a single thing to be ashamed of.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

You fellas encourage me! Seems I an either making small ones out of big ones or just plain sawdust! Is it OK to post things here like refinished furniture or the like? I have done more refinishing because that is kinda how I got into making things and I've done little of that, but I sure enjoy finishing something. The sanding doesn't bothered me as it once did, therapeutic I guess.


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