How Long Did It Take?

This question was usually phrased "How long does it take? Is it done? Shouldn't it be done? Daddy when will you bring it home?" Followed quickly by "But that’s what you said last week, can’t you just bring it home!"

This is not the first woodworking project I have done. As my wife Susan, can attest, the results are usually pretty good but I am slow. Slow with a capital Slow. Slow like the line for stamps slow. Slow, Slow, SLOW!

When I asked the expert, Jack, how long this should take an experienced furniture maker, he said 40 hours. Knowing that I am not experienced, I took that estimate, doubled it to 80, and added another 20 hours for safety. As I was designing the piece, Susan asked how long it would take to build. Having consulted the expert, and padded the estimate, I replied confidently…100 hours in the shop. Susan’s immediate response was, “oh you mean 200 hours.” To which I only smiled, knowing my guess had lots of room to spare.

So how long did it take? Easy, 237 hours in the shop! That’s right 237 hours. So, like I said, I am slow. Do the math. If I got paid what any real carpenter got paid for a custom piece, this armoire would cost $30,000, and that is before parking tickets. (see How much did it cost? below for more on the parking tickets.)

Which brings me to another bit of Workshop Wisdom: Plan, Plan, Plan! In the wood shop, like business, good planning is always a time saver. I understand the resistance to planning. Excuses like, “there is no time to plan, we need to get started to beat the competition, maybe if I Blackberry during meetings I will look too busy to plan, etc.” are common, but not planning always takes more time.

To wit, I also know what its like to be introduced to a new computer controlled power tool that can rip through huge chunks of lumber in minutes with spectacular precision. Schweeeet!

Yes, I am a card carrying member of the NWA, Nerdy Woodworkers Association. Jack possesses just such a machine, the C&C (Computer Controlled) router pictured here.

Those of you who share my fascination with precision, computer controlled power tools can understand how I threw planning to the winds and rushed ahead. Jack programmed in all the specs and the C&C cut up all my drawer parts before double checking the plans. Since I rushed, you should not be surprised to learn that after I put the drawers together, they were approximately half the thickness of a junior mint too big. So close but yet so far. They did not fit! Which brings me to a good example of why everyone has heard that old bit of Workshop Wisdom: Measure twice, cut once! Planning and measuring and checking the plans and re-measuring will always save time, especially if you are cutting up 20+ pieces with one C&C run.