Encouraging Progress, and Discouraging Quality

Dear Internet,

I wanted to let some progress happen on the project at hand before showing an update- I'm sure seeing a tiny new piece on a futon is not very thrilling, so I am happy to show you this:



The futon here is almost at completion, the two side pieces are built- just needing some sanding, the bars are cut, armrests installed, and the seating/sleeping portion was done months ago. Now, all that remains is the attachment of the horizontal braces (two of which can be seen sitting on the side pieces, a third on the way) with blind mortise and tenon joints.

I did, however, when assembling the panels, make a stupid mistake. I did not label the pieces as left or right, and somehow in the shuffle, I mixed up which panel went with which set of supports. Ideally, they would be identical, and it wouldn't be an issue, but my work is still shaky, and so, things like this happen:



This is the worst of the joints, so its not all that awful, but because of it I am now considering filing all the gaps with wood putty, sanding it flat, and painting it. While it would make it look better, it would also add a few days work to the thing, and I'd lose the natural wood feel.

I expressed my concern to Martin, purveyor of wise statements that he is, I got the advice I needed. He said, "Mike, don't worry about it. This futon, you're going to sleep on it, sit on it, stand on it, jump on it, and f*ck on it, and once you know everything, you'll build another."

So here's the plan: I will finish the construction TODAY. Look for finished pictures tomorrow.




Thanks Martin, and Happy Birthday.