Mistakes Take Us to Places We Never Intended

I have the better part of 8 hours invested in this little project. I only have to plow the groove around the outside to free the lid and finish the shiplap shape. After 15 minutes I have just started the final face when an alarm bell starts clanging in my head. Something is wrong here. Suddenly I realize that my entire design won’t work. I have passed the point of no return and this project just became firewood.

What do you do when this happens?

(Besides curse a blue streak to the walls)

I take a deep breath and walk away. Call me optimistic but I always believe there is a way to salvage a project gone wrong. They key is flexibility in your concept which can actually be a lot harder than it sounds. As woodworkers we build things that are unique because we can. When we decide on a design it can be hard to compromise and alter it. However every time I have been forced to creatively fix an error, I’m happier with the outcome and the way it has changed my design than I was with the original concept.

I examine what I have and where I want to go and figure out a way to connect those two points. Woodworkers make stuff so why can’t I make a solution here. So guess what, this little box is the product of a major, firewood creating mistake. The Walnut rim was never planned but if I hadn’t said anything would you have known that? Exactly. Whatever doesn’t end up as tiny shavings on the floor only makes us better woodworkers.

How About You?

I can’t be the only one who makes mistakes, tell me about your creative fixes and how it changed your design Share your experience in the comments below.