3 Simple Ways to Keep Track of Your Project Parts
If you're like me you may go days or even weeks between shop sessions and in that time you forget what you were doing. You have to retrace your steps to get back into your past self’s mind to recall exactly why you bought what you did and what was important to you at the time. You remember the plan and get to work only to realize that in the store you bought the board you just cut specifically for it’s interesting grain and wanted to feature it as drawer fronts. Now you scramble to figure out how you can salvage it or if you’re now out of material for a consistent look and have to settle for a sub-par look.
I used to spend most of my setup time just standing around thinking, trying to remember what my plan was, that is, until I started writing it down. Now I have a plan for every project, but that alone isn't good enough. I also need to know where those parts are going to come from.
Here are my 3 simple tips to help you make fewer mistakes and save time.
1. Start with a Cut List
I always begin a project with a plan. From that plan you can generate a cut list. What lengths and widths do you need to make the project. Use your cut list to dictate what you need to buy.
My recent project required four 75 inch long boards and I needed to either purchase 12 inch deep boards or enough material to glue them up. Knowing that helped me purchase the correct material. Then when I got the boards back to the shop I already had a head start, knowing exactly what I needed to cut out.
2. Label everything
Writing down on your pieces of wood what they wood is for. I like to mark out where I want to make my rough cuts, marking which side is waste and what I plan to keep. This simple act helps me know where to make my cuts and to plan out my material use to keep the best parts of the board for the project.
Recently I picked up a bunch of rough white oak from a sawmill, which was great in the price and quality, but meant it had lots of checking near the ends which needed to be cut out and thrown in the burn bin. I spent an hour going through the wood, figuring out which parts of the boards would make the best looking shelves and labeled them so I could not forget later and cut into the wrong area.
3. Use Chalk
When marking un-planed, rough cut boards, use chalk. It’s easy to see, even from across the room. Leave the pencil for later when you need precision. At the early stages of a project pencil lines can get lost in the roughness of a board. It is more important to see at a glance what you are planning.
I like to steal a piece of my kids sidewalk chalk for this. I prefer the sidewalk chalk over chalkboard chalk because it is thicker, leaving an easy to see line. Plus it is much harder to break which is great for us heavy handed writers. Here’s a link to what I use:
Sidewalk Chalk - https://amzn.to/3I6OgX0
Bonus tip - Check off what you’ve done
I like to keep my plan on my bench as I’m working on my project. I call it a plan but it’s generally just a list of steps I need to complete. Buy lumber, rough cut, mill, glue up panels, cut to final size, join box, sand, finish. I then cross off each task I’ve completed as I get them done. That way I know where I’m at in my process and I can prepare myself for the next step.
I usually write my steps down on the same sheet as my cut list so I can also cross off the parts as I have them cut. That way I don’t accidentally cut too many or too few of what I need.
Hope those 3 + 1 simple tips help you on your next build!