A friend recommended that I read Hogbin on Woodturning by Stephen Hogbin. I’m just getting into it, and found this comment on making mistakes (page 17):
Mistakes happen almost every day and what counts is the ability to work with the situation… If you are not making mistakes your skills are not being tested or extended.
Does your woodwork push your capabilities? How far? Do you ever feel unsure about what you are doing? How unsure? Do you push through anyways? Is the end result worth it?
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 
Mistakes are my standard… I have come to think of my projects as a series of them to overcome without resorting to the fireplace. Thankfully I don’t have a fireplace.
Boy, you’re not kidding. I had to do a lot of dancing on my latest 3D chessboard. One mistake took a week ti fix. Others required serious design changes. The finished piece is really good though. One mistake remains, but I’ll leave it up to viewers to find t!
Hi Jim,
This sounds like a very interesting project, and your description has inspired me!
Chris
Morgan,
Mistakes, and “defects” guide me in many of my builds. Sometimes if I need direction I will do something risky (to the project, not to my well-being) and let chance have a say.
Chris
I learned as an apprentice, the difference between a good carpenter and a bad carpenter, is that a good one knows how to fix his mistakes. After 40 years of making mistakes, I hope to be considered as a good carpenter…