Took me 3 nights to figure out a stupid simple hinge jig

Been building cabinets for a side job and needed to route out spots for euro hinges on like 14 doors. I figured I'd knock it out in one evening. Nope. First night I tried measuring each door individually and my lines kept drifting. Trashed 2 doors that way. Second night I tried clamping a straight piece of scrap as a guide but it kept slipping on the third door. Last night I finally had the idea to cut one master template out of 1/4 inch hardboard and just clamp it to every door. Did all 14 in under an hour after that. Total time wasted: about 6 hours for something that should have taken 20 minutes. Anyone else ever overthink a simple jig and kick yourself when the obvious answer hits?

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finley_lane622mo ago

Honestly, that's the most relatable thing I've read all week. I once spent 4 hours building a custom router sled for a single shelf, then realized a 2x4 and a couple of clamps would've done the same job in 15 minutes. The kicker is, I still use the fancy sled, but only because I'm too stubborn to admit it was a waste. Your hardboard trick is way smarter, but the real lesson is that our brains just refuse to see the easy path when we're tired and holding a power tool. Ngl, I'd probably do it again tomorrow just to feel that 20 minutes of victory.

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