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When the machining doesn't go according to plan...

I made several hundred cabochons of varous sizes of chips of semi precious stones over 2 and a half years. Some were incredibly beatiful. Some took 30 mins each. I went through several steps of tumbling for a final finish.
My plan was to show and sell them at an event at the end of last Oct. that I was looking forward to for many months
At the last step I had some larger stones in there and for some reason I did not add the cushion material.
2 days later, I shut the machine off, took the pieces out washed them all and spread them out on a bath towel. I was so happy.
Untill I noticed a bunch of broken chips.
I quickly realized that many of my best pieces were smashed chipped or broken in two about 30% The careful polish on the rest were ruined. I was in a state of shock, I tried not to but became very, very upset.
Just a few seconds of a bad descision ruined 2.5 years of hope, pride and carfeful work. A hundred hours of a state of grace hunched over the wheel.
A nuclear holocaust of stupidity. My bubble popped like the Hindenburg.
Though I tried really hard not to be, I was way, way beyond upset.
The show was in the morning. The dark mood ruined my experience at the show.
Now I am struggling to go back to the grinding wheel and make more pieces
 
wmetfab said:
Ive been working on a van conversion. Ive been making lots of little bits of wood to make stamped members a flat surface. Three different angles and a taper on 1/2" plywood. I made a dozen pieces, every one was wrong. I couldnt believe I made so many mistakes, I was so disheartened I had to walk away before i got any more upset.
Today ill try again :(
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Good luck today! I feel your pain, I am in the beginning stages of learning to hand form replacement panels. On a good day a quarter of what I do almost works the first time, most days I am not that lucky. :p
 
wmetfab said:
Ive been working on a van conversion. Ive been making lots of little bits of wood to make stamped members a flat surface. Three different angles and a taper on 1/2" plywood. I made a dozen pieces, every one was wrong. I couldnt believe I made so many mistakes, I was so disheartened I had to walk away before i got any more upset.
Today ill try again :(
Click to expand...
I've also had times when it seems like all I make is mistakes. Usually at the end of a long day. Silly mistakes. And I do like you and walk away until the next day. Usually goes better then. Don't get discouraged. Put it down and come back later. Works for me.
 
Goes to show you most of us have those days every once in a while. I seem to get dumber and slower as I get older so I have those days alot more often than I like.
Just today I was making some extra large sawhorses and trying to do so with what lumber I had on hand and man alive was trigonometry ever cause me some troubles! I had to get my 13 year old son help me figure things out. Now that was a recipe for frustration for the both of us!
 
One characteristic of really good fabricators I’ve worked with (welders/machinists/carpenters) is the ability to execute the work in such a way that the tolerances (intentional, systemic, accidental) of each component can all be taken into account on the final piece they fit or fabricate.
I can’t think of an easy-to-describe example, but cases involved doing machine or welding operations in a specific order so that the cuts or welds would create or release internal stresses in ways that the final assembly or finish of the last piece would compensate to produce the perfect fit.
True artists.
 
wmetfab said:
I made several hundred cabochons of varous sizes of chips of semi precious stones over 2 and a half years. Some were incredibly beatiful. Some took 30 mins each. I went through several steps of tumbling for a final finish.
My plan was to show and sell them at an event at the end of last Oct. that I was looking forward to for many months
At the last step I had some larger stones in there and for some reason I did not add the cushion material.
2 days later, I shut the machine off, took the pieces out washed them all and spread them out on a bath towel. I was so happy.
Untill I noticed a bunch of broken chips.
I quickly realized that many of my best pieces were smashed chipped or broken in two about 30% The careful polish on the rest were ruined. I was in a state of shock, I tried not to but became very, very upset.
Just a few seconds of a bad descision ruined 2.5 years of hope, pride and carfeful work. A hundred hours of a state of grace hunched over the wheel.
A nuclear holocaust of stupidity. My bubble popped like the Hindenburg.
Though I tried really hard not to be, I was way, way beyond upset.
The show was in the morning. The dark mood ruined my experience at the show.
Now I am struggling to go back to the grinding wheel and make more pieces
Click to expand...

I always look for the lessons learnt and place the value on that rather than focus on what was lost. But sometimes it ain't easy and takes awhile to get one's confidence back. Been there.
 
wmetfab said:
I couldnt believe I made so many mistakes, I was so disheartened I had to walk away before i got any more upset.
Today ill try again :(
Click to expand...
When I make a "major" mistake, I walk away. I need time to cool off and think about it before I attempt to correct/recover. Many times, while l lie awake in the middle of the night, the solution comes to me, and what had been a crisis becomes a minor detour.
 
MrWhoopee said:
When I make a "major" mistake, I walk away. I need time to cool off and think about it before I attempt to correct/recover. Many times, while l lie awake in the middle of the night, the solution comes to me, and what had been a crisis becomes a minor detour.
Click to expand...

^ This @wmetfab!

The problem with trying to fix it right away is that your head is loose after the FU. This usually causes bigger problems. It's always better to cool off and try again when the emotion is gone.

MrWhoopee said:
Many times, while l lie awake in the middle of the night, the solution comes to me,
Click to expand...

I have always thought that very few others do that! It's a curse and a blessing too!
 
Elektrishun said:
...how often do you try to hide your mistakes?

I am not a professional woodworker but I did spend a lot of years building numerous projects of varying degree of difficulty. One of the common sayings I heard/read in the woodworking profession was:

"90% of woodworking is knowing how to fix your mistakes."

Now that I am getting more into the world of making mistakes while making metal shavings I was wondering if there is a similar philosophy when working with metal?

It seems to me that the tighter tolerances often needed to make something with metal wouldn't allow for much room for error unless your churning out paper weights or catapult ammunition.

Would like to hear from members how often they need to fix an error or does 90% of errors in your machining end up in the scrap pile?


I assume a one time hobby project on manual machines vs a professional run of several like pieces using CNC equipment might change how you answer.

Thanks
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As a designer of complex radiant heating systems, and multi-zone forced air systems costing small fortunes where mistakes can really hurt I got into the habit of always making a plan and detailed drawings for everything. If I don't I have a plan now I can get absent minded and screw something up.

This causes tension because my brother is the sort to just say "we can just knock out a simple project on the fly"

I'm too poor to buy metal twice. On my colchester lathe I needed a shaft thru the shell of my variator. In the process of knocking it out on the fly he undersized the diameter so it was more a slip fit in the bearings instead of a interference fit. I fixed it by running a knurler over the shaft a few times.

So not nearly 90% of the time but mistakes do happen and usually get fixed
 
I have a sketch book beside the bed, and have for years. Tough to get some sleep when you're rolling stuff around in Neuro CAD, and are stuck on a problem, or building up a project and worried if you fall asleep you might lose it. Always found just making a quick sketch, or jotting down some notes will quickly "unload" my brain, and I can fall asleep easier afterwards. Sometimes, it then moves on to another problem though, and I'm back to the sketchbook again lol. Sometimes it might take a few cycles of that, sometimes I watch the sun come up.....
 
CWret said:
I solved many problems while in bed - particularly at about 3 or 4 AM. I kept a notepad handy (bedside table). I'd have difficulty getting back to sleep unless I jotted down the solution - then I'd relax and go to sleep.
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I forget who it was from humanity’s past but they would sleep holding a pen/weight to wake them so they can jot down any ideas, Einstein maybe.
 
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