garage drawer project - two hours and already screwing it up

[aisuru]

i've learned my lesson today; measure the wood you think you've got in the garage, and measure the wood you're going to buy before you design the drawer.

the design i posted here. the reality was not quite as picture-perfect as i'd hoped.

my first problem was that i went up to B&Q and bought a 7'10" length of pine... then had to fit it in a Ford Fiesta. now, i love my car dearly, i wouldn't change her for the world, but i really should have borrowed my faither's Mazda. i drove home like Miss Daisy, as any harsh braking would have sent the wood through the windscreen.

but i made it home

measured it up, and it wasn't even close to the dimensions i had used for my plan. hence, the plans were scribbled over and changed

some sawing, planing and routing later, i was left with these

it quickly became apparent that 1. B&Q don't cut their wood straight, and 2. that i don't cut wood straight either

just need to see how it goes tomorrow. might call these bits 'practice' and do another two tomorrow - still got a good 6' left anyway, so it's not like i'm short of wood.

i have to wonder if it's karma that's letting me down today, after my good fortune last night. on my way home from work, at the back of ten at night, i discovered a 6'8" length of 2x2" in the solicitor's car park. i don't know how it got there, but free wood is free wood!

 

[ByronBlack]

You have one major problem here in your design: Using B&Q Banana Pine, you're on a hiding to nothing using that, even if you plane it up straight you can guarentee the next morning it'll be at right angles.

I would suggest getting some decent wood. If you happy to use pine, then some good CLS from your local builders merchant would be a good choice, you'll pay about £1.20 a metre and is of a much higher quality than what you would get at B&Q..

 

[Rob_H]

That's why B&Q stands for Bent & Quirky - I only use it in an absolute emergency and for jobs where no real degree of accuracy is required.

 

[aisuru]

aye, finding that out :lol:

it was never meant to be a masterpiece by any means though - just something practical to keep the garage a bit tidier, and as a bonus get a bit more practice with the old joinery. shall see how it goes tomorrow.

 

[mailee]

Huh! there you all go knocking B&Q wood again. I'll have you know that I have made many perfectly good propellors with it in the past! :shock: Of course I didn't intend making them when I bought the wood! :evil: I only use Bent and Quirky (I do like that) :lol: now for the sheet goods as they are usually cheaper than the merchants. All of my other wood is from a trusted timber merchant. :wink:

 

[Kane]

Hey - I found a straight piece of wood in B&Q once - it was in the scrap bin! (really was) got it and several bits of mdf (wasn't in the scrap bin, it was piled neatly at the side of the panel saw - just like you'd expect a customer order to be!) for a fiver

 

[Alf]

You have one major problem here in your design: Using B&Q Banana Pine, you're on a hiding to nothing using that, even if you plane it up straight you can guarentee the next morning it'll be at right angles.

Right angles you can work with - it's the compound angles that bother me. Although having said which, buying Bent & Quirky (I like that too) wood well in advance and letting it dry out before re-machining it has proved not so bad, fwiw.

Cheers, Alf

 

[ByronBlack]

You have one major problem here in your design: Using B&Q Banana Pine, you're on a hiding to nothing using that, even if you plane it up straight you can guarentee the next morning it'll be at right angles.

Right angles you can work with - it's the compound angles that bother me. Although having said which, buying Bent & Quirky (I like that too) wood well in advance and letting it dry out before re-machining it has proved not so bad, fwiw.

Cheers, Alf

Ah - you've spotted one of my typo's, I meant to say 'it'll be at all angles' A right angle with Banana Pine would be something of a rarity

 

[aisuru]

today's efforts were not much better. spent more time taking the router apart and putting it back together after a jam than i did doing the woodwork. and then, i was rushing too much to make up for lost time and made mistakes.

quite disheartened now, to be honest

 

[ByronBlack]

stick with it mate, I've been (and i'm sure others have also) in the same situation many times. What I find helps is to have a tidy up in the garage/workshop, sit down with a cup of tea and think about the fundamentals of what it is that is going wrong, and then do the basic tasks slowly - you get more satisfaction by doing the smaller tasks, and this gives you confidence to tackle the project further.

If there is a specific problem you are having, by all means post on it here so that we can help.

 

[Alf]

stick with it mate, I've been (and i'm sure others have also) in the same situation many times.

Cripes, yes. See that "Hand Tool Goddess" nonsense under my name? The root of that can be traced directly to all the mistakes I made with power tools, especially the router, and the realisation that at least I make mistakes more slowly with hand tools so there's an off-chance I'll spot it before all is lost. :lol: As BB says, take stock and remind yourself this is why you're learning on projects for the workshop. If all else fails, remember we don't have mistakes - we have Design Opportunities. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Fecn]

quite disheartened now, to be honest

It's a bugger when it just keeps on going wrong... I'm able to cock-up simple tasks many times in a row. The first 5 attempts I had at doing the decorative top rails on my toybox project went wrong for one reason or another... but I got there with attempts 6 & 7 (or close enough)..

A couple of years ago, I learned how to paint walls/windows... it goes like this.... In your left hand, is a damp cloth... The damp cloth is the most important tool in the job. The damp cloth is the thing you will use most. The damp cloth is the primary tool in the job of painting...The damp cloth is the tool to get the paint off the places where it shouldn't be. When you're not using the damp cloth, or having a tea-break, or looking out the windows into the garden, you might possibly enjoy amusing yourself by spending a few moments with the funny paintbrush thingy in your right hand.... Oh look.. time for the cloth again. - (after a few rooms, I learned a bit more about how the bristles moved, but the damp cloth was still my primary tool) - I got a lot of compliments on my painting, even if it took me a while.

I try to take the same outlook with my woodworking - There is no such thing as scrap wood - You need an endless supply of wood for for testing out machine settings and jigs, and acting as backing boards to prevent tearout. Nothing under 3" long is wasted, and if you're lucky enough to use solid fuel heating, you can burn anything smaller for heat. You need spare/scrap in both soft and hard woods because you can still tear-out using a softwood backing board with hardwoods. - I find it helps me to think about how I'm most likely to cock-up whatever it is that I'm planning to do, and if possible, do that task first. (It takes me a few attempts to discover what I'm most likely to cock-up).

Please don't get disheartened... There's a whole lot of fun to be had.

 

[aisuru]

cheers everyone, feel a bit better after that

'testing machine settings' - now there's an idea! i tend to just batter in, and then it goes pear shaped. i think i need to make some jigs for cutting and routing - at least then, even if the cuts are all squinty, i should be able to get some regularity to the squintiness.

taking my time wouldn't hurt. planning a bit more wouldn't either.

my new plan is to write on the garage wall, in large letters 'MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE'. this is my new mantra... we'll see if it works tomorrow :wink:

 

[Alf]

A couple of years ago, I learned how to paint walls/windows... it goes like this.... In your left hand, is a damp cloth... The damp cloth is the most important tool in the job. The damp cloth is the thing you will use most. The damp cloth is the primary tool in the job of painting...The damp cloth is the tool to get the paint off the places where it shouldn't be. When you're not using the damp cloth, or having a tea-break, or looking out the windows into the garden, you might possibly enjoy amusing yourself by spending a few moments with the funny paintbrush thingy in your right hand.... Oh look.. time for the cloth again. - (after a few rooms, I learned a bit more about how the bristles moved, but the damp cloth was still my primary tool) - I got a lot of compliments on my painting, even if it took me a while.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[ByronBlack]

aisuru for what it's worth i've banished my router back to the seventh circle of hell from whence it came screaming. In all seriousness, for beginners like us using routers and other such machines, I think work holding and Jigging is probably the most important, I view the router as a 'dumb' machine and requires a specific jig, or base or other accessory to make it useful, so in light of that, I would go back and work out what you need to do with the router, and make the appropriate jig/base or guide; this will hopefully lessen the chances of 'squitiness' (great word by the way!)

 

[aisuru]

i decided to start using imperial today, and so far i think it's working out quite well for me. should be finished tomorrow, just need to cut another bit for the back and pin it together, fix the supports onto the underside of the shelf, and that's me.

 

[aisuru]

well, it's finished. it's not pretty, but it's finished. solid enough, keeps the pencils, mini-screwdrivers, notepad and so on out of the way.

i forgot to get pics today, i'll get one tomorrow when i'm starting my next project. it'll all end in tears. :roll:

 

[woody67]

Bent & Quirky! That gets my vote too :lol: What would Elmer Fudd think?

Borrwocks & Quap? :wink: