Reply To: Cheat sheet for common newbie mistakes? Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Cheat sheet for common newbie mistakes? / Reply To: Cheat sheet for common newbie mistakes? Jim Braun 27 November 2014 at 1:01 am #121544 28. Don’t rock the tenon when trying to fit it. In softwood at least. You can crush the sides and then the will not fill out the mortise. 29. When defining the knife wall with a chisel make sure that you are cutting from the waste side.. Settings