I used to clamp wood the wrong way for 12 years

Finally figured out in a shop class in Portland that I was clamping my workpieces backwards. The bar clamp was always on the wrong side of the joint. It popped loose every time I hit it with a chisel. Anyone else have a basic shop habit they had to unlearn?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.piper1mo ago

Did you ever figure out why you kept doing it backwards for so long? It reminds me of when I spent YEARS sharpening my chisels by just grinding away at the edge with no real plan. I thought I was doing it right until a carpenter buddy watched me for like 30 seconds and just sighed. Turns out I had the bevel angle all wrong and was basically making tiny scrapers instead of cutting tools. Now I keep a little angle guide taped to my bench so I don't drift back into bad habits.

emmaclark1mo ago

Started doing the same thing with my chisels for like six months before my dad finally said something. He just walked over, grabbed it, and sharpened it right in front of me without saying a word. I felt so dumb when I saw the difference cause his cuts were totally clean and mine looked like trash. Now I keep a piece of tape on my bench too with the angles written in sharpie so I dont forget again. Sometimes you really just need someone to call you out on your nonsense.