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Got told my wood joints were 'too perfect' by an old carpenter at a barn raising last month
I was showing off my dovetails at a community barn raising near Eugene and this 70-year-old guy said they looked like machine work, not handmade. He told me to leave a tiny gap on the inside so the wood can breathe and move with the seasons. Anyone else get advice that seemed backwards but actually made their work better?
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murphy.abby21d agoTop Commenter
Yeah the gap thing works. It's one of those lessons that applies to way more than just woodworking. Everything needs room to move or it breaks. People cram their schedules full and wonder why they burn out. Relationships where nobody gives space get suffocating. Even good soil needs air pockets or roots rot. The old guy figured out that trying too hard to make something perfect actually makes it weaker. He was telling you to leave a little life in it.
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robert_bell12d ago
Whoa, did you actually test it side by side with a tight one to see the difference?
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