Changing a Project Plan
A little while ago I wrote about a dress stand for my daughter’s play dresses, you can read more about in my post, Designing Projects.
Tenon ready. Next up, route out the groove in the base, or so I thought.
The in my design I set out some rules for myself, one of which was to build this project without using any metal fasteners. I had planned to attach the lower shelf using a mortise and tenon that would be pinned in the middle much like a breadboard end. This design allows for seasonal wood movement and would be strong without the need for screws or nails.
At the time, I wasn’t in a rush. I had not client projects lined up and wanted to spend the time to work on my skills. Then things changed.
I ran into an obstacle. I was planning on using my router with a guide bushing and a template to route out the grooves to accept the tenon. I wanted to do it this way because the groove would be stopped so you couldn’t see it from the outside. It was a good plan but my router bit I had was too short to protrude past the bushing and past the template into the material.
That’s okay, I knew I could overcome this small obstacle. I needed to spend a little more time to do it right. I could use my trim router.
But my trim router isn’t setup to work with the base I have the bushing in, so I then need to make a new base or drill out holes to work with my trim router. I could tolerate that except…
I booked two client jobs.
I was thrilled. Two jobs in one week, and one substantial project to install shiplap, floating shelves, and replace an MDF countertops on two built-ins with solid wood.
With my mind shifting toward new work and my patience thin for extra steps like modifying an already functioning jig, I’ve decided to take the easy way out and use pocket hole screws to secure the base.
Before you woodworkers freak out and tell me that pocket hole screws aren’t strong enough for this let me say, this solution doesn’t come lightly. I would rather continue down the path I’m on, but I want to finish this project as I wanted to finish it a week ago. The good news is pocket hole screws will be a good option as I can drill them in a way to allow for wood movement.
I was able to finish the whole thing up in about 2 more hours of work. I cut off the tenon, sanded, screwed the shelf on, glued in the dowel, and applied finish the next morning.
While I’m not happy about it, plans change. The only constant is change, we have to learn to adapt. In this case, I knew good was good enough. This piece is staying in my house and going to be used by my daughter. No one will notice or care that I used pocket holes. What will bring her joy is the end product, which will function the same regardless of the joinery used.
Check out the final project in My Work - Clothes Rack.