Please Tell Me I'm Not The Only One.

flyjaysun

First off I'm not a know it all, too cocky and been wrong may a times. That being said I just started doing finish work not to long a go for a guy who does stairs . So today I was drilling holes for ballisters in a 6ft oak hand rail. I drilled to deep and went thru, not proud of it but need to vent about my stupid mistake. Please be gentel my pride is hurt. Have a good day

AoxomoxoA

Dude for handrails the depth of the hole you are gonna drill is gonna be the same on every incline. A piece of tape on the bit helps to show you how far you have drilled. That said.... my condolences, I hate screwing up more than anything

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TBFGhost

I was doing the final install of a custom built cherry reception desk...was shooting something on the backside of it where the receptionist sits and was not paying attention and shot twenty 1" mirco pins through the face of the unit....

I was able to pull them all out with out any damage to the surrounding wood fibers so a little touch-up crayon made it invisable...

NormW

Your allowed once to make a stupid mistake. Its when you make the same stupid mistake repeatedly, that you have to wonder.

I'm assuming you where using paddle bits, I know people forget about the lead part. Grind the lead part off one of your bits, and use that to finish the holes, after you start them with an unmodified bit.

I doubt your the first one to do that, be glad it wasn't a longer curved section. 6' oak isn't the end of the world, just your pride.

FowlOne

If we didnt make mistakes(no matter how painful) we wouldnt learn. When I was coming up through the trade, a carpenter once told me, all carpenters make mistakes, the good ones know how to fix them.

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Chris G

The best thing to do at this point is to hand them a wicked catalogue of painted handrail pictures and see if they bite.

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jeffatsquan

How quickly can you replace the piece.

I have seen this dealt with 2 different ways

1 guy says oh I guess I owe you a new piece you can take it out of my pay and hopes you don't.

The 2nd guy says I am really sorry and I will call the supplier and get one here as soon as possible on me.

Guy # 1 will probably make a bigger mistake before the end of the week

Guy# 2 will probably never make that mistake again

JustaFramer

How far through did you go? There are a few fix options that could be viable. Maybe it is time you learned how to do burn-in repair.

griz

You haven't done anything that hasn't been done before.
But, at least you owned up to the mistake instead of trying to blame it on someone else. Now, if you have learned from the error your ahead of the game. Put it behind you and go back to work.

genecarp

NO, not the only one, reminds me of the day i was installing some Formica countertops in a new kitchen, reached into my pouch, pulled out a screw, came in from from underneath, happy as clam, just about finished with this kitchen, final check, all that stuff----Up through the surface comes my screw. Fortunately is was just a 2' wing next to the stove, but i felt like a ----, GMOD

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pinwheel

Thankfully, I've advanced to this saying, but it's taken decades to get here. "Why oh why, am I a good enough carpenter to fix my mistakes, but not good enough to not make them in the first place?"

WNYcarpenter

It happens....I know exactly how you're feeling....gotta ask though...did you blow through one hole or all of them?

I posted a related thread a couple months ago asking how folks deal with the moments leading up to a 'do or die cut'....after making similar mistakes and wanting to crawl into a hole, I tense up a little

I like to mock up/test my procedure before I go for it. Often times I catch a missed step and potential catastrophy.

Don't let it bother you too bad.

When I first started, The carpenter I was working for would tell me after I F'ed up..."If that's the last time you do that, You'll be fine..."

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PA woodbutcher

A carpenter that doesn't make mistakes is normally a carpenter that doesn't get much done. Fowlone is right...the good ones can fix them.

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flyjaysun

well it was about the 11th hole on the rail and I think my brain went out to lunch. I can tell you I din't find any oil

Tom Struble

i remember i brought a brand new boat and i hung the bracket for the fire extinguisher,ran the 3 screws...perfect... sat down in the captains chair with a beer and was dreamin of the high seas until my wife asked... ''what are these screws on the outside here for''

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Tom

chris klee

i was helping a freind put a formica c-top in his kitchen. it had one of those long mitered corners, so i put it together with the bolt things hand tight. it needed to be aligned a little bit better, so i put a shim down and tapped the high end down. one more hit should do it, tap. perfect. moved the shim to see the big ol crack i put in it. i felt like such an a$$. luckly he didnt seem to upset and just used the seam caulk to touch it up. it suprises me how most people dont seem to make a big deal out of that kind of thing, you are usually way worse on your self that anyone else.

WarnerConstInc.

I screwed up like 5 times today. I think, maybe more. It was just a roof, who cares?

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jlhaslip

I drilled the holes for handles in 38 doors of a custom kitchen all wrong. My mistake for "assuming" the hole spacing.
The install only cost me $800.

Tom R

One time years ago I was applying for a carpenter job and the guy asked what makes me think I'm any good.

I told him I already made every mistake.

Twice.

I got the job.

flyjaysun

well it great to know we all up. and can joke about it,after the fact. thanks