In this one, I want to talk about developing the ability to see and to rate in importance the different factors that affect a project.  The ranking of importance in particular, so this article will focus mainly on that. And besides, being able to see all of or most of the factors that play a part in a build is something that usually comes with practice and experience.

What prompts me to write this is that I will often get comments on my project videos where a specific detail is singled out as a key issue, when it has very little impact on the project overall. One example that I referred to in the video below is putting my shop air compressor inside a closet. I had numerous comment on that build video about how the compressor will overheat and / or starve for air. Of course the reality is that my compressor only comes on for 5-10 minutes per day, and that’s only when I’m out in the shop using it.
So, on an importance scale, the idea that the compressor could overheat barely ranks when you factor in the run time.

Another example from that same closet build is how I used #20 biscuit plates as shelf pins for the area above the compressor. I had a number of people make comments on how much weight they can take. Again, I factored in the end use for these shelves and determined that the biscuits would be more than strong enough for the load they will carry, which is mainly my wooden jigs. If I wanted to store my millions in gold bars on these shelves, I would have factored that in and built a stronger shelf system for that.

Let’s do a purely woodworking example:

Say you want to build a wooden box to put some old hockey cards in. You know how many cards you have and you know how big they are, so you can plan to make the box the right size to hold all of the cards that you have. Right away those are the two biggest factors involved with the project: you need a box for a specific purpose and you know how big it needs to be.

Next down in terms of importance, you need to decide what you will make this box from. You can possibly use wood that you already have, or you can shop for something special.

How will the sides be joined together? Will you use fancy joinery, like dovetails, or will it be simple butt joints? What will you use as fasteners? Will there be any fasteners, or will it just be glued? What type of fastener will you use? Nails? Screws? If using glue, what type of glue will you use?
How will the bottom be attached? Will it be a floating panel let into dadoes cut into the side? Or will it be just solidly glued to the bottom edges of the sides? Would it be better to make the bottom from plywood instead of solid wood?
Will there be a lid? If yes, how will it work? Will it be hinged or removable (shoe box style)? If hinged, which type of hinge should you use? How big should the hinge be?

And so on.

Box With Needlessly Complex Joinery And Hand-Cut Inlay

As you can see, there are literally dozens of factors that will bear on the final look and functionality of the projects. However, these factors are considerably less important than the top ones listed above, and it’s important to see it that way.

I’ll pick out one example from these less important considerations: the way the box is put together.
You might have the idea that the only way to put together a quality box is to use dovetails. Dovetails are strong and are perfect for a box like this, but that doesn’t mean they are the only way. Obviously, if dovetails are more of an aesthetic choice that you want for the box, then they are the only acceptable means to assemble it. But if your objective is to just make a box that looks reasonably good and will hold the cards you have, simple butt joints will work fine.

The things to consider when deciding on something like how the box will be constructed can be ranked from high to low as follows:

• how strong does the joinery need to be? If it’s a small box to store hockey cards, it doesn’t have to be very strong at all. But if it’s a blanket chest that will be moved and used often, the joints need to be stronger to withstand the abuse from general usage.
• how thick is the material that the box will be made from? If it’s thin, that limits the strength of glue and fasteners that would be used in a simple butt joint. A stronger joint that creates more glue surface would be better for thin material.
• are you going to use mechanical fasteners? If so, you can save time on the joinery. Screw reinforced butt joints that are glued can be nearly as strong as a perfectly made box joint. If using glue only, it’s better to use some kind of joint that increases the surface area for the glue, like a rabbet joint, box joints or dovetails.
• how will the box be finished? Paint? Stain? Just a clear coat of poly, or no finish at all? No sense spending time cutting fancy joinery if you are going to hide it with paint. Likewise, you might want to avoid screws or nail holes if you are going for a clear finish or stain.

In the end, it’s all about putting things into the proper order of importance and not giving the fairly insignificant ones more weight than they deserve.