Tony Wilkins Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Tried my hand at blogging again (link in sig) and here's what I wrote: It’s been a while since I’ve been out to my workbench (more on that in a different entry). I went out to dust off my tools and straighten up in preparation for what i hope would be an imminent return to working at it. What I discovered was a few projects in various states of completion. It’s then that I self-diagnosed a serious complex – with no respects to the DSM I call it ‘if I finish it will be wrong’ syndrome. I figure it must be a corollary condition to perfectionism. I peer over the stacked and leaned bits of a shaker table. All the pieces aside from the drawer are at least roughed dimensioned. The top is glued up, flattened, and basically ready to be put in place. Aye and there’s the rub. It’s not perfect. It’s a little smaller than I intended – due to that perfectionism thing. Every time I look at it I see imperfection so there it sits. The there’s the Dutch chest. The sides and bottom are ready to be dovetailed. I cut the dovetails on the first side – my first dovetails ever. But – yes you guessed it – they weren’t perfect. I cut them fine – so I believe – but when I went to chisel out the waste I was a bit aggressive. So it was set aside as I pondered whether to cut them off and try again. What exactly is the record for the shortest dutch chest anyway? So there you have it – my neuroses laid bare. I know the cure – just do it. If you see completed projects here in the future you’ll know that I conquered them. If you see me advertising firewood here (or the worlds shortest Dutch chest) then you’ll know I still have work to do on it. So what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Very true. I had a similar illness, and one day I just went to the shop and made something. It was actually an episode of Woodwright that set me straight. Watch the Enfield cupboard episode. In there he said the guys making the stuff didn't work by plans all the time. Instead they worked with the material on hand. They'd grab some wide stock and that's the sides, tongue and groove them and you have a back. You get the idea... I learned that it was ok to just kinda go for it. It's my project, if it's a little shorter or longer who cares! I'll take the things I learned to the next project. Before too long you really get an idea of what details are important and which ones can be set aside until they arise. It's really ok. Breathe, and cut some wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Mel got it right..... Follow Nike's advise...."Just do it" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzdadoc Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I've had/have this same dilemma and throught the advise just went for it. Glad I did! The project turned out great and loved by my wife. I didn't tell her what was wrong that's a huge step for me. Learned a ton and now have four more to make as Christmas gifts si I guess I did something right. It wasn't exactly like the plan and that's ok! I've learned a ton and have so much joy and happiness while in the shop it spills over into the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I have a bad case of that syndrome. And it's basically the reason I work at a snail's pace. If I perform every task with great care and attention, mistakes are rarely made. As soon as I try to rush through something, sloppy happens. Fortunately I'm in a position where I'm usually not under any kind of deadline (aside from my current build...self-imposed deadline) so I can take as much time as is required to do things as well as I can do them. If I make a major mistake, there's a great chance that project will never be completed. I just have no interest in moving forward once a piece has been tainted with stupidity. So my advice...slow down and don't screw up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifesaver2000 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I guess my affliction is just the opposite. The idea of not completing a project and letting it just sit while I do something else would drive me nuts! Don't forget that the old meaning of the word "perfect" was actually just "complete," not "flawless." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wdwerker Posted December 9, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 The pride of completion should help overcome the minor flaws. Filler and sandpaper might help the appearance a bit. We're woodworkers not machinists ! The natural variations in the material and minor flaws are part of what adds the hand made appeal. Too perfect can look like it was factory made. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I agree to an extent. Gaps in joinery add nothing but ugly, IMO. A carefully hand-planed surface with faceted edges...that's a human touch I can embrace. Wood filler doesn't really have a place in my work, personally. If something needs to be filled, it's a mistake that should have been prevented. Burn pile. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 "if I finish it will be wrong syndrome" Meh, who cares. Just keep making stuff, you'll gain experience and move on. The more you make the better you get, let go, move on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Freddie Posted December 10, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 I agree to an extent. Gaps in joinery add nothing but ugly, IMO. A carefully hand-planed surface with faceted edges...that's a human touch I can embrace. Wood filler doesn't really have a place in my work, personally. If something needs to be filled, it's a mistake that should have been prevented. Burn pile. LOL This is my train of thought with this topic. If it's not paint grade, I don't appreciate gaps in joints, I don't like to see blade marks or sanding scratches in finished pieces or uneven curves. To me, this doesn't add a handmade charm, it lacks attention to detail. It doesn't take much longer to correct the following examples I just stated, just patience really. People always tell me, " oh come on, nobody's ever going to see that." My thoughts on this are, as soon as it leaves the shop or I leave a job site, the new owner is going to have the opportunity to look at that finished product everyday for a very long time. Eventually, them or a friend or family member will pick up on something that you could have easily prevented. So, no matter what I'm working on, whether it be something very fancy with joinery to something like a set of painted radiator covers, I will give them exactly what they wanted without any visible mistakes or oopsies. I'd rather spend an extra day even though I'm losing money than send something out that I'm not happy with. Spend the extra time. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 It kind of depends on expectations, too... the first hand cut dovetails I did was for a little cherry tote for baby supplies with everything done with hand tools except the resaw. One corner is not so great and the others are passable, the groove for the bottom went a little crooked when the fence on my combination plane slipped, but my wife really likes it and I'm not sure any woodworker but me has seen it. So as far as any spectators needs to know, that's how an all hand tool build looks! They don't need to know that Paul can make one that looks as precise as a router jig produced one. If I showed it to a woodworker I wouldn't be ashamed, either, it was my first go at such a thing. Now if I were to be selling it, I'd need to take on a work ethic more like Freddie. For me or as a gift, it is ok for it to look like I made it while relaxing with a beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Fixing a mistake is a daily part of the job. Sometimes something does get tossed into the scrap bin, but as you gain experience, this occurs less, and less. If you screw up a part, make another. Expecting perfection is not realistic even for those of us who have been doing it for decades. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanRode Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 This. "if I finish it will be wrong syndrome" Meh, who cares. Just keep making stuff, you'll gain experience and move on. The more you make the better you get, let go, move on. I've yet to make a perfect project but I'm happy with the things I have made. I enjoy the making, the learning and the skill building. The finished project is just the product of that journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 "If you finish, you will learn." That's what your mentality should be, wrong or right you will be a better woodworker than you were before. Each dovetail will be better than the last, and every project will better than the previous one. The glass is half full buddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I guess as far as craftsmanship is concerned I probably fall pretty much in the middle, maybe a little too much to the good enough side of it. I don't want my handmade goods looking like they were batched out by Ikea but I don't want them to look like I didn't care about the outcome either. I think it's a matter of retaining a proper perspective. If you're making gifts or items for yourself and you're cutting the first or second batch of dovetails you've ever cut, you've got to have expectations that are realistic and (I dislike the word) appropriate. My bigger flaw when it comes to making progress on the various projects I've got in varied stages of completion is a severe case of "get off my ass syndrome." I've got a full time job and woodworking is my hobby. It's way too easy to plunk down when I get home and think about getting to it later or the next day. It's way too easy to let myself get distracted on the weekend and by the time I'm ready to do something constructive I've pissed away the whole day. I'd love to trade a small amount of your syndrome for mine. Maybe between the two of us we'd get something done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasher Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 This thread made me feel less ashamed of my unfinished projects and more inspired to "just do it" Ha!! I guess they say, "anything worth doing is worth doing again". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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