Blind dado cut saved my cabinet job in Denver

Was building a set of kitchen cabinets for a client in Lakewood last month and my router bit went dull halfway through a run of dadoes. Had to switch to a hand saw and chisel for the last eight joints to match the depth. Took me about 3 hours longer than planned but the fit was actually tighter. Anyone else had to fall back on hand tools mid-project?

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umam954mo ago

Kind of makes you wonder if the best solutions come from something going wrong first. That smooth, planned path often falls apart, and the messy backup turns out better than the original. Might be a good reminder that perfection isn't always the goal, you know?

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andrew_miller904mo ago

Had a similar thing happen last year on a built-in bookshelf job in Arvada. My biscuit joiner died halfway through cutting slots for the shelves. Grabbed my old Stanley chisel and a mallet, chopped out the rest by hand. Ended up with these nice clean mortises that felt way more solid than the biscuits would have been. Shelf joints are still tight after a full year. Sometimes the old way just works better even if it takes twice as long.

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