A client in Denver once said my dovetails were 'too tight' and would split the wood.

He insisted on a 1/32 inch gap for seasonal movement, which felt wrong after my 10 years aiming for perfect seams. Has anyone else had a client challenge a fundamental technique like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elizabeth2mo ago

Forgetting why the rules exist is so real, I had a client ask for wobbly shelves once for "character".

the_olivia1mo ago

@casey393 is right, I've definitely been that person obsessing over some detail nobody will ever see. "Character" is a funny way to describe "will probably fall apart in six months," but hey, at least it's honest. I guess sometimes the real craftsmanship is knowing when to let the rules slide a little.

casey3932mo ago

That line about aiming for perfect seams for ten years really hits home... it's like when you master something and then the real world tells you it's wrong. I see this all the time now, where people get so focused on the "right" way to do a thing that they forget why the rules exist in the first place... the client wasn't buying a showpiece, he was buying furniture for his Denver house that changes with the weather. Makes you question what you're really building for.