Project Planning and Process

[sroxberg]

I have difficulty in finishing projects quickly and seem to come to road blocks where I can't decide what the next step is, or how to complete a step. At any rate projects just aren't efficiently completed so I'm going to spend some time thinking and planning out my next project.

It will be a blanket Chest, shaker style with a drawer in the bottom and pretty plain as a normal shaker design would be.

What advice or process do you use that ensures a smooth orderly process. Any tips would be appreciated and after I create my plan it will be shared with the forum.

Thanks in advance.

[goaliedad]

I find that if I have a design or plan in place and stick to it, things go much more smoothly. No design changes once I start. True, sometimes I need to change things, but think it thru, make a new plan and stick with that
If there are things I am not sure of of the how to do this, figure it out earlier than later.
Also I avoid starting a new project until the current one is finished, or at least well under control. Sometimes I reach a point where I know there will be down time, waiting for glue ups or finish to dry, and I can start something else. However, stay focused on the first project, not the new one
Anticipate challenges and work them out prior to being at that step. If I can't move forward because I am unsure of how to do the next step it us much too easy to walk away from the project and I gave a very hard time getting started again
I hope this makes sense yo you

[Bob Vaughan]

Do the largest and hardest component first. Everything else will be built to the existing dimensions of that. Say your box was to be 36" wide x 28" deep but came out 29-15/16" wide x 18-1/8" deep Then you can proceed with your base to those dimensions. Do the drawers dead last. Those are the easy parts and can be made from the drop from the larger components. Sand to finish smoothness the inside of the box before assembly.

SOP for most furniture is to make a cut list. Rough cut lumber oversize. Face joint and plane to thickness, but edge and cut to size only those pieces that pertain to the sub assembly you're working on.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I answer as a shop foreman. I'm not that any more, but I will answer in that "voice."
When I get a job, a large suite of cabinets is a good example, it's usually in the form of a plan view that was presented to the client. The drawing was suitable to say, " This is how your cabinets will look Mr. So and So." The drawing will not be enough for my purposes, though I will use it as a framework for what I'm about to do.
(Assume face frame construction)
First, I will take a fine tip, red, felt pen and draw a small mark between each cabinet that I want to be a separate item. If the rectangles, or compartments, are meant to be one cabinet, a dash is placed straddling both, to show that they are one. This exercise takes some logic. I'm making choices about what I want be separate and what I want to be the same. Sometimes it's as simple as determining the size of the door, the hall, or the elevator. A cabinet has to be transported after all.
Each cabinet is identified with a number (black felt tip pen). One could use any system, but I chose numbers, e.g. cabt 1, cabt 2 etc.
I would prepare rods or detailed drawings. If I used rods, certain little detailed drawings were required to make clear any special relationships between elements of construction. Nothing, absolutely nothing was left to chance. Nothing was "made up as you go"; nothing.
After the rod, I developed my cut list.
The cut list had the name of the job, the date, and the words, "Cut List", written in the header. Writing "Cut List", is important. The crew needs to understand that many documents will be generated with a large detailed job. It is not a cut list if it does not say, "Cut List", and vice versa. I learned this the hard way. It matters, and it's how I do it.
The cut list columns (all by hand on lined paper) were: Desc. Qu. Th. Width Length and notes. Organizing my groups by cabt. number, each group was filled out. Face frames and cases were separate lists. The notes column contained any information such as: lefts & rights, mitered, leave long & trim in field, etc. I go T X W X L, because that is traditionally the order in which stock is milled.
Different cut lists were given to different members of the crew; their relative assignments.
Each piece that was cut was numbered and triangle marked. When any given item had been cut out, a mark from a red felt pen was placed to the left of that row. "Lipstick." A lipstick mark says, "This item's done." I had huge problems getting some guys to triangle mark. I always triangle mark. I work alone now, so it ALWAYS gets done. With the numeric designation and the triangle mark, any piece from a stack (as high as six feet tall) could be instantly identified. Any characteristic of the piece could be known in detail. If it needed holes or grooves, I knew.
Around about 90% completion of the job, I put together a punch list of items yet undone. I chip away at that until it's all marked with " lipstick."
I use the little lipstick dots for two reasons. One, I don't want to redact the written material on the cut list. I may have to troubleshoot later, and I want to know "how we got here." Two, lipstick dots, red marks about 1/4" diameter are dramatic and bold little marks. I don't have to look long to see exactly where we stand.
Speaking of redacting, only one type of addition was ever made to the body of my cut lists in ink. If I made an error, I did not erase or redact. I wrote a small note, in ink, the following. The word, "error", the Date (when I discovered the error), and the correct dimension. Again, I had two reasons for this. One, if I made an error, it suggested it was possibly a confusing task, one where misdirection was a risk. The crew needed to know that "somebody already stumbled here." Pay careful attention to this bit. Second, I insisted that my errors were not to be brushed aside or erased. When my crew figured this out, they admitted their errors to me at once, and we worked together, as a team, for worthwhile solutions. This enabled us to address simple matters before they could even cause any real problems. One example I remember was the errant cutting of at least two sheets of expensive cherry 3/4". My casemaker messed up. We went to my shelf guy, "Mike, have you cut out any shelves yet?" He answered no, again because I insisted that my crew be about solutions, not blame. It was great news that he hadn't begun. Casemaker and shelfmaker traded panels, and the cost to the company for the error was zero.
I'm remembering those times fondly as I type. The crew enjoyed working together, and felt a great deal of pride.

[K. L. McReynolds]

First furniture I tried never got done. I tried to do it by plans from a book. The case was first and the drawers last.

I found it is much better for me to build the drawer(s) first and the carcase last. It seems I build out better than in.

For a chest like yours, I'd do the drawer first, basic frame second, fill in the panels and the top last.

[handi]

First, DO NOT worry about "finishing quickly". The one hard rule of woodworking is that patience is a virtue.

I have always had trouble completing projects. Not because of roadblocks, but because of my personality. I would begin a project because I wanted to see if I could do it, or master a new skill. AS SOON as I knew I had mastered the skill, I lost all interest and moved on. My shop was filled with half done projects!

When I began writing articles for magazines, it forced me to complete projects, and within a deadline. I found that thinking carefully through all the steps and writing an outline of the process was a huge help to me.

It organized my thinking, made me aware of the potential trouble spots, and allowed me to plan my work more efficiently so that, for example, I could glue up a panel and move on to a different sub assembly while that was drying.

Ralph

[Aram]

handi said:

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First, DO NOT worry about "finishing quickly". The one hard rule of woodworking is that patience is a virtue.

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Amen to that. Enjoy your shop time.

I don't have a good read on whether you get stuck because a technique (or series of steps) is new to you, or because you didn't plan and realized it too late. Either way, think through your build start to finish. You'll probably break it into mini projects, naturally and without really trying to. Do a mental run-through of the steps involved. I assume you have the woodworking experience to do this. You'll hit on critical stretches of the build -- sequences that need to be done in a certain order, cuts that should be done in batch because they need to be identical, etc.

Jot those down. Stick them up on your wall.

Helps me, anyway. I dislike planning (boring!) but I dislike wasted days more. To me, it's worth it, and it's saved me from a few serious issues.

[mdhills]

sroxberg said:

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I have difficulty in finishing projects quickly and seem to come to road blocks where I can't decide what the next step is, or how to complete a step.

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This won't address your desire for smooth and orderly... but:
#1: Enjoy the journey
#2: give yourself freedom to explore when you do hit a point of indecision. Switch gears to thinking of different approaches and evaluating those as cheaply as possible. (if you are under deadline and don't have time for this experimentation, seems like these indecision points resolve more quickly)

Matt

[Chuck Nickerson]

Paul Murphy's answer is great.

If you want to start at a slightly less involved point, I offer this. When I'm not in the shop I make a simple list of steps. A start for your project might be...

1. Rough cut front and back, 2 - 36 x 16.
2. Rough cut sides, 2 - 16 x 16.
etc.

Save these from project to project. Plans are quite transferable from project to project. Keep notes on any changes and why.

If you reach a step and aren't sure how to do it, 'spend' the wood to do practice runs. For instance I now always do this when mounting hinges. Always.

[sroxberg]

By quickly I mean less than two years!!!! Agh.

Thanks for the input so far.