TIL some days you just gotta throw in the towel on a project

I was building a simple deck bench last Saturday and everything that could go wrong did. The first cut on my miter saw was off by 3 degrees because I didn't check the fence was square. Then I realized I bought pressure treated 2x4s that were still wet and warped after sitting in my garage for two days. By hour 4 I had stripped one screw head and snapped another drill bit completely. I finally just packed it up and went inside. But then Monday morning I came back with fresh wood and a clear head and finished the whole thing in under 90 minutes. So is it better to push through a bad day or just walk away and start fresh another time? What do you all do when the project just fights you?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan4626d ago

Yeah that wet lumber thing is a killer. I once bought a whole stack of 2x6s on a Friday and by Sunday they had twisted so bad I couldn't even use them for a simple shed shelf. A day or two of letting the wood acclimate in the garage before you start is a game changer, saves a ton of frustration.

kimblack6d ago

Nah hard disagree on that one. I've been stacking lumber straight from the yard into my projects for years with zero issues. You just have to know what to look for and pick through the pile. Grab the dry looking stuff with straight grain, stay away from the pith, and you're good to go. All that "acclimating" business sounds like a fancy way to waste a whole weekend looking at wood instead of building something. Besides if it's gonna twist it'll probably do it after you build with it anyway so why delay the inevitable?

the_felix6d ago

100% same here. Picked a bad stack once, never again lol.