Love It or Hate It? You Can't Ignore It

WOODWORKING PLANS / PROJECT COURSES

About this video:
This was the worst woodworking mistake I have ever made. This was a custom build for a client using walnut slabs and white oak. It was a challenging project, but it was all coming together perfectly. And then...when the build was almost complete, disaster struck. I didn't give up on the project though. I hope you'll enjoy watching it all come together, fall apart and I hope you like the finished result.
#epoxyresin #LiveEdgeTable #woodworking

REFERENCED VIDEOS

MATERIALS & TOOLS

COMMISSION A PIECE OF CUSTOM FURNITURE

FOLLOW

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:18 Picking the Right Tool
4:22 You Get What You Give
7:01 The Design
8:52 THICK Wood is Harder to Work With
10:57 Cutting Joints
12:50 Be Careful What You Show People
14:48 Be Careful Around Your Tools…especially routers
16:09 Did the Mold Release Work?
20:04 Finalizing the Leg Shape
22:30 Hardest Part of This Project (simplifying the difficult)
30:03 The Part Where I Mess Up

[Foureyes.Furniture]

Thank you for watching! Hope you enjoy...If you want to check out our woodworking plans or the Brass Chunky mechanical pencil...links are below:

[erictaylor]

As a welder/fabricator I once made a bad mistake that wasted two days of labor and a bunch of metal specially ordered for something to do with the shop, meaning it was not being made to sell.
I felt bad about it and my boss said something like "If you never make a mistake you are not making anything worthwhile."
This happened on a Friday and I had a date that night. I took her to PF Chang's and enjoyed the company and the food.
My fortune cookie that I got with the check was word for word exactly what my boss had said only a few hours before.
When I showed my fortune to my boss, he smiled and said, "Yea, I like PF Chang's too."

[ZeroneAngel]

I just bought a new bit and realised i bought an upcut bit. Figured it wouldn't make a difference.
Your mistake might just have saved me a similar mistake. Thank you. And thanks Dolores.

[SamTheBattleshipp]

To be honest, I actually love how it looks with the "popsicle stick" inserts. They don't demand your attention, but they are there saying, "Hey look at this cool table we are in. This table it nice isn't it? We love living here, and hope you love this table too." (If that makes sense) basically, they compliment the look and don't steal the spotlight. I think you took that accident and used it to make a beautiful piece. 👍 Thanks Delores.

[jadeshay]

I genuinely like the patched table more than the unpatched. I really like the interplay between the natural contours of the slab that's been filled in with epoxy and the straight inlays. It feels almost like bridges over water, which I personally love. Thanks Fourlores!

[bmobert]

My father was a traditional wooden boat builder for all of my childhood.
He would say the better the woodworker, the better they are at making their mistakes look intentional.
I'd say you did well in that respect.

[mr_mcgrew]

If I had $15k to spend on a table, I'd buy it. I love your honesty, and the craftsmanship you put into recovering this build is astounding. Life is full of mistakes and hardships. This table displays that fact in a most beautiful way.

[strengthsleuth]

Every time I watch a Foureyes video I’m so impressed by the craftsmanship of course, but the storytelling and lessons both in a physical sense and a philosophical sense keep me gripped all the way through! This might be my favorite video I’ve watched on this channel!

[Wyo_Dog]

This table is absolutely beautiful. (and I am glad you didn’t end up going with the skateboard and agree with you that it’s not a feature :-). I find it very brave of you to not only tackle this situation with creativity and perseverance, but that you share the journey with others.

[AlAmantea]

Chris, I've been a custom woodworker for more years than you've been alive. One thing that I've learned is that mistakes will happen. Usually they happen to a greater degree the more you stress about the project, and if you aren't making mistakes, then you aren't doing anything worthwhile.
It truly does suck that the client lost faith and decided to back out of the project on you, but I've learned that the honesty that comes from owning up to the mistakes is worth way more than any amount of money I've lost from the mistakes themselves. "Hangie" could have definitely handled the situation differently, but they chose not to, and that is their right to do so.
Your commitment to finish the project and develop deeper character to move forward will make you a better maker in the long run, but also in the short term.
There are many who will look at this video and move on, but there are also those who will look at it and choose you for their next project because of that honesty. Those are the ones you want to work for. Not because of the mistakes, but because of their faith in you.
I am unsure of what direction I would have taken with the table personally, but it isn't my place to say whether you did a good job or not, anyway. I support you in the choices you made in the moment, and actually believe that the table turned out quite beautiful despite the setbacks.
Keep on doing what you're doing, learn from, then move on, from the errors of being human. Push yourself out of your comfort zone in some way on every project and as often as you can. It will keep you on your toes, and force you to grow both as a maker, and as a human being.
You're doing fine... and I certainly hope you said, "Thanks, Delores" for all the support and assistance that woman has given you.

[thomaspaulson]

The sketchup animation makes it a million percent easier to understand your work flow. Must take forever but it really helps. Deloris nailed it… so thanks Deloris

[michaelrichey]

"What's more important than people thinking I'm good, is people trusting that I'll always be honest."

I watch your videos thinking, he does such great work and makes such interesting videos - but I'll never be that kind of woodworker; we're so different. Then you said this and I realized, we're more alike than I originally thought.

Cheers to your integrity, and thanks Dolores!

[tiladx]

Thanks, Dolores!

I have to give you props for saying up front that you messed, that you showed how you messed up (multiple times), and that you were honest enough to allow the clients to decide the final remedy. I would watch a video from someone who makes a mistake, admits it, and shows how to learn from it many more times than I would watch a video edited to show something was done perfectly. We are all human and bound to make mistakes; it's how we learn from them that determines who we are as people.

[ashokponnappan]

I personally feel that the leg assembly is the actual work of art in this build! Thanks dolores for agreeing to play our role. A good percentage of your subscribers must be fans of your storytelling more than your design/craft, so no losses in that respect. great video!

[luinnar]

As a weekend woodworker I learned that the hardest thing in this hobby is accepting imperfections and own mistakes. Your videos teach me how to incorporate imperfections into the design part of the build. Thank you (and Dolores) for sharing this experience

[ambrosia]

The inlays honestly give the feel of extremely large bowties. Making three definitely made it feel intentional, even if it started out as a gaffe.

[vivienclogger]

My dad was a patternmaker (basically a highly skilled carpenter with a 7 yr apprenticeship). He would have approved of this video (as high a praise as he was capable of) - I just wish he was still here to see it.

Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. I think you used all 100% in this video. ❤

[MrEricg]

Humble guy. World needs more humble people like Chris. Thanks man for being you.

[MeMyselfi]

My husband and I think the final project is magnificent. To us your mistake fixes are what grabs our attention and love. Mistakes are what shows your piece as a one of a kind handmade piece of furniture. Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[ChrisSeeboth]

What you shared in this video makes me feel much better about mistakes I make in woodworking. I recently finished a scratch electric guitar build that has several patch jobs from router mistakes and often get discouraged when I look through guitar builder forums and see experienced builders committing projects to the burn pile for much smaller mistakes than mine. As I am brand new to this, never sold a guitar before, and next to zero disposable income (it took me a year to slowly gather materials and build this thing) I can’t imagine taking all that work and throwing it away. The fact that you embraced the “scars” and even implied this piece is still sellable gives me hope that I may find someone out there willing to embrace the ones on my piece and help fund the next build.