Messed up a dovetail joint on a cherry cabinet door this morning

I was in my shop in Portland routing the pins for a dovetail joint on a cherry cabinet door and the bit grabbed and blew out the back corner. Had to scrap that piece and cut a fresh board, but I salvaged the tails and got the new one done in about 45 minutes. Anyone else have a tool slip that cost you a piece but taught you to double-check your setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

west.richard5d ago

@cora518 hit the nail on the head about checking setups. That pattern shows up everywhere though. Like how I rush through morning coffee and burn my tongue or skip checking my phone battery then it dies at noon. Small lazy habits just build up and cost you time later. The whole "measure twice cut once" thing applies to way more than woodworking honestly. Your router grab is just a loud reminder that shortcuts always come back at you. Good on you for catching it quick and saving the tails though.

cora5186d ago

My buddy had a router bit grab on a walnut table leg once, totally wrecked his profile cut and he had to start over from scratch. He said it was that moment he finally started using a router lift instead of just freehanding everything. Now he double checks his fence alignment before every single pass.