My inability to be perfect is a subject better left to another discussion board or another session on the couch; nevertheless, in the course of building a set of L-shaped, free-standing shelf units for my sister (the long part of the L is approx. 113″, while the short side is 55″), I was yet again confronted by my shortcomings.
That is, despite being (what I think is) incredibly meticulous — using jigs to cut repetitive pieces, such that each is precisely the same size, that kind of thing — the longer of the two units wasn’t “perfect.” Some of that I intend to blame on my two-year-old niece, who “helped me” take one measurement for a piece of face trim, a measurement which I decided not to double-check and which, needless to say, was out by a fraction; the rest I will blame on the woodworking gods, but I digress.
The long and the short of it is that the bigger of the two pieces was out approximately 1/8th-of-an-inch — the back side measured 113″ while the front came in at 113 1/8th”; having berated Grace for her inability to hold a tape flush to the end, as I TOLD her to do at least 13 times (kids these days!), I realized that despite all my best efforts, here I was, again provided with incontrovertible evidence that I … am not … perfect. Fortunately, in this instance, the discrepancy isn’t catastrophic — there are no doors, for example.
As I embark on a life of trying to convince people that I am both a good carpenter (where being out an 1/8th” is to laugh at) and a good cabinet maker (argh!), I find myself curious: what constitutes an acceptable level of imperfection in a piece — yes, we all have different standards, I guess I’m simply desperate to know what those of you who likely have greater experience than I can handle …
Thanks much.
Stephen Thomas
Replies
Steve Thomas? Like, from "This Old House"? :)
Sorry, it was there. Re: standard of perfection, my attitude is this - if the project is for sale (e.g. cabinets built for x $$), then your standard is what makes the client happy and will get you more business - in other words, everything square, flush, plumb, sanded smooth, and finished with no drips or runs.
If the project is for family (as you described), and is not intended to be an heirloom through the generations, then the standard would be "will this collapse and kill my loved ones? NO."
If, however, the project is for you, for your home, for your sanity, then you have to get somewhere between the two extremes. Something that you can take pride in, but not so much of a time investment that it destroys your relationship.
Kyt: most assuredly NOT that Steve Thomas -- I'd happily take his paycheck, but damn, that dude bugs me. Now, for your answers, each of which I understand and even agree with, but ... so, are you saying that every cabinet or whatever you make for a client is perfect?
And, of course, that's always been my battle: discovering the happy medium that satisfies others and me...
stephen (NOT steve) thomas
my answer is it depends!
I'm building a timberframe.. I started with a goal of perfection. furniture quality joints and no filling!
over a year and a half later I accept errors as part of the process. I try to keep things tight and level and true.. yet wood won't let me do that.. I can spend eight hours truing up a timber to perfection and yet by the next day find an easy 1/4 inch varition. ( the worst case was when I would work on timbers in the heated shop and haul them outside and find them off by an inch and 3/4 's) In the end I found it was quicker and easier on my sanity to get it close and then plane/sand the joint smooth and level..
If I wind up with a gap I see if there is a way to correct it.. If not I will accept a cover-up. otherwise the house could never get done.. It's easy to remove a little to make the gap larger all the way around (as if that was you intention all along) or conversely figure out how to start over and close everything up a bit..
Stephen, This is a good topic! Thanks for raising this question!
There seems to be a vast discrepancy in tolerance limits across the wood working trades. And I have also wondered what error limits are allowable or what quality is tolerable. I have seen rich people pay thousands for an old ugly european antique cabinet with doors that can't open. Yet, recently I found a signed Bob Stocksdale walnut plate at a junk store for 50 cents. Further, the local hospital remodel has truckloads of new cabinets made only of stapled together (no glue) single sided melamine particle board.
However, I worked on a framing crew once where we were required to hand plane out of plumb studs so the finished wall would be true. But on another framing job the GC said to skip installation of hurricane clips, window weatherstripping and even interior wallboard primer!@ Then again, I have seen woodwork of the highest quality in art galleries, made of the most expensive exotic woods alongside 'art' made entirely out of nasty old elk antlers.
sawick
Edited 4/5/2003 3:56:04 AM ET by sawick
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Who is going to see it and notice your level of attention to detail. Lots of things that I've done bother me (and only me) every time I pass by because, after the fact, I would have done it a little different. Nobody else notices however. Perfection can become an obsession. Often it's better to take a look back and learn from a previous project and apply it to the next, rather than dwell on the past.
Jon
Stephen,
Excellent question, although difficult to answer.
In Scholastic/Aristotelean Philosophy, something is perfect if it lacks nothing that it should possess by its very nature. A tree, for example, is said to be perfect if it has all those qualities which a tree should possess. (Even this is somewhat subjective, since opinions will differ as to what a tree should possess even among those considered knowledgeable about trees.) Although this definition is imperfect, it is still useful.
What then is a perfect piece of furniture? Simply piece of furniture that has all those attributes which it should have. One could, I suppose, classify these attributes under the headings of form and function.
Form: is the piece - both in its entirety and in its details - aesthetically pleasing?
Function: will the piece do what it is intended to do?
Apply these, for example, to several chairs.
Chair A is comfortable, pleasing in its shape, and is beautifully finished. Its joinery, however, is not strong enough to withstand the great pressures which a chair must endure, and will certainly fail under normal use.
Chair B is very much like chair A, except that while it's joinery is sufficient to withstand the rigors of normal use, it simply isn't comfortable to sit on for more than a few minutes.
Chair C is comfortable, well constructed, but its finish is cloudy and even rough in several places and these flaws are clearly visible.
Chair D is well constructed, comfortable, pleasing in shape, and well finished. However, it has one short coming: it is 1/4" out of square.
Now clearly, chairs A, B and C are imperfect, since each is lacking in some critical element of its nature; something they should have is simply not there: to be strong, to be comfortable, to be pleasing to the eye.
What about chair D? In one sense it could be called imperfect, but is this supposed imperfection really an imperfection at all? Does being 1/4" out of square affect the beauty, comfort, finish, strength or functionality of this chair? Clearly not. This being so, our "unsquare chair" (sorry about that, but I just couldn't resist) can rightly be called perfect. It possesses all a chair should possess both in form and in function.
As I said, this is still somewhat subjective, since opinions will vary as to how strong should a chair be, what is beautiful or comfortable, etc. but it ain't a bad way to think about it either.
Jeff
Edited 4/5/2003 1:23:50 PM ET by Jeff K
Damn, man...as a failed undergrad whose woeful disregard of college has only recently come back to bite him in the ####, i love the whole philosophical interpretation of perfection. indeed, i could even get lost in it for a time...of course, as i had originally feared, it (and the other answers graciously provided in this forum) only confirms what i think i already knew...that is, i need to come to grips with my own inabilities, learn from them as i can and move forward...
of course, that isn't to say i won't end up in a padded room at some point, my inability/unwillingness to come to terms with my shortcomings being the death of me, but hey, there you are....
finally, is there really no real answer? what of the dudes whose work is featured on the cover of fine woodworking? is that bookcase not out in the slightest????
I recently was chided for having the temerity to place a page on my website about my experience of finally learning one way to lay out hand-cut dovetails. Seems like my results weren't "perfect" enough for the critic. And as a beginner I have to accept that criticism, though that wasn't the point of my page, either. I've found that the inability to yet produce perfect dts like (I assume are produced) by Tage Frid or Ian Kirby or whoever doesn't bother me in the least. To this point I've been able to produce tight enough joints for my eyes, and no one will mistake them for a router-cut job.
On a larger philosophical level, though, I think that perfection in woodworking is like perfection in parenting. You can't (or shouldn't?) force living things into molds of your own design, and if you do, you may be, on the contrary, end up being dissatisfied with the results. Reminds me of the Zen story of the temple gardener in Kyoto who was teaching a new apprentice; he assigned the youngster the job of cleaning up the pathway, and the youngster, anxious to succeed, swept up every fallen leaf and trace of cut grass. After he was done, the master came back and nodded, then very deliberately picked up a few reddish leaves from the pile and scattered them back on the path. Implied point is: without that touch of "imperfection," the garden would have been cold and unfeeling.
". . .and only the stump or fishy part of him remained."
Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
Edited 4/5/2003 8:09:55 PM ET by Norm in Fujino
I'd say about an eighth...
ah, grasshopper - - look within -
having berated Grace
here is your mistake, not 1/8" - -
as bagwand bubba-woodchuck says "don't sweat the small stuff" ---
I know exactly what your talking about. measure twice, cut once, and if you do 8 of them your still likely to get at least 1 thats just that bit shorter or longer than the others. I believe that good woodworking is about perfection.... and for those other times when we're brought crashing back to earth, learning to fix, cover-up or live with our mistakes (or even make a feature out of it, if possible).
At the end of the day, can you live with it?
Ben. :)
All,
Your making this concept of perfection way too complicated. It is simply that level of output/quality where you stop swearing and cursing....
Stephen,
My father and god father would always tell me "Don't worry about the mistake. Worry about how to fix it so it doesn't happen again. The mistake is past."
Several other things I've heard in my life;
A good carpenter knows how to repair the error so no one knows it wasn't planned that way.
It's a feature not a mistake.
Have Dan look at it. See if he notices it. (My girlfriend)...Yes, dear...
Now everyone looks the same so it's perfect.
BTW. I never make a mistake. Hey! It's my fantasy life. Don't mess with it.
Len :-)
After just installing crown mouldings in my bathroom yesterday. And paining it today without seams or cracks, I'd say its perfect and is pleasing to the eye. Now if the paintable caulk cracks well then I'm screw......
Actually I like Jeff K's definition, I'm going with that.
Dave
I worked for a fellow once and one of the guys on the crew cut a 2x4 1/8” to short. He couldn’t cut anything for the next 2 months. . . No kidding. . . .
Construction Forums Online!
You all have raised a good point. But being in Japan, I kind of see things Norm's way.
I can't recall the number of cabinets I've made "perfect" in the shop, only to be totally deflated later by the lack of square and plumb at the installation site. Butting a square box against an out of plumb wall soon makes one understand the relativity of perfection. Left as it is, the perfect box loses its perfection due to its inability to blend into its surroundings. Perfection is in perception.
Scott
Edited 4/7/2003 5:24:59 AM ET by the rev
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