Thread: Timber Challenge II Comments

Originally Posted by SPIRIT

l think the poll worked well 1 member 1 vote rule#1 kiss

Yep, that was the idea.

It's good to discuss options, though. Nothing is perfect and everybody has a different idea of what would be better.

Or two:

I tend to think that eliminating consecutive entries may unduly reduce the calibre of competition.

Obviously some people are overawed at the standard of entries so may be disinclined to enter in the future.

You might have answered your own question, Bob. If a group of highly skilled people enters all the time, after a while everybody else would find pointless entering. After half a dozen competitions we would be forced to separate the "masters" and have two types of competition. Been there, done that in similar circumstances (home made wine competition). Nothing wrong with that, it only means that there has to be a mechanism to make it fair, e.g. whoever wins twice can't enter anymore until there are sufficient winners to have a "masters" competition for them.

As regards the judging:

Don't disregard a Peoples Choice, which is what we have now, which may be dramatically improved if everyone had say 3 votes. Though that may not be practical under the forum software.

Maybe one way to get around it could be to have two/three rounds: on the first one the top half goes to the second round, etc. A bit dragged on, but not more complicated.

Originally Posted by underfoot

I vote BozInOz get an award for best critique (so far)

I second the motion.

Has anyone thought about getting the item put onto any of the woodworking magazines?

Someone should let me know how much you guys need to make sure I have enough for you guys.

I would love to donate the Red Cedar on one condition. That 3 highest polled items get auctioned off with the money going to charity of the maker's choice. What does people think of that?

The auction idea with the proceeds to charity was tried last year & it failed to happen.

Mind you, it wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of the poor bugger trying to get it to happen.

BTW. Thanks also to Groggy & thkoutsidthebox for making the effort to at least pass a comment on every piece entered.

Well in that case, I am more than happy to donate the timber.

Well done wood workers, they all look spectacular.

I am amazed at the level of detail in many of these. The variety is what makes it interesting for us!!

Cheers,

Tom

Originally Posted by dlim2986

That 3 highest polled items get auctioned off with the money going to charity of the maker's choice. What does people think of that?

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

The auction idea with the proceeds to charity was tried last year & it failed to happen.

I had similar thoughts on this and have actually already spoke to a couple of other forum members regarding this.

I decided not to raise it on the forum until this challenge was completed to allow the attention to remain focused on F&E's competition.

Will send PM to Cliff and dlim2986 to explain and raise it for the general members at a later date.

cheers.

I reckon there should be a few areas of marking, like; creativity, workmanship, overall. With prizes for the winners in each category.

I reckon the top three contestants from this challenge should be the judges for the next one

My offer for the 100mm cube still stands, maybe for a later challenge..

Originally Posted by funkychicken

I
I reckon the top three contestants from this challenge should be the judges for the next one

The problem with this is that a good artist is not necessarily a good critic. The reverse is also true and hardly anybody would question that. IMHO it is either "people power", even if limited to the number of contestants for practical reasons, or judges of proven experience.

G`day there is some great work there I think 3 . 4 & 8 are outstanding and yes we should have put something to compare for size,(next time) I have really enjoyed this comp and can`t wait for the next one I will have to put more effort into next time.Congrates to Frank & D J great effort and all contestants good job.
Mick

Yay I got a vote
what were the you thinking
And no I haven't voted yet nor have I told mum but SWMBO has voted 15 times ... wait a minute

Seriously
I wouldn't change the voting. This method seems fair, one ma... (OMG) person one vote. It makes you really think about what you like and what you think is excellent workmanship and what is very innovative and what is absolutely brilliant (eg No 12) and what is merely bling.

I for one made something I hadn't tried before. When I recklessly said yes I had no idea what I'd do with such a smallish hunk of timber. I had quite a few ideas (a couple very similar to no 12!) and one to do with kindling for the bbq . and my final form had nothing to do with my original plan and ... My biggest fear was that I might enter a jumbled pile of stuffup.

I also have no intention of entering into every one of these challenges. Whilst a lot of fun, I have other things to do (just ask SHMBO). I am also not the best at commenting on others work, unlike some whom have done so brilliantly, so I would not be a judge or a person to give critiques. However I welcome others comments.

As for an auction of the winning pieces, I'm not sure. I think it would need a bigger audience then this one. How about a $1 fee for voting and the total to go to a charity of the winner's choice. This is getting too hard. Half the fun here is that the process is clean and has not too much extra baggage hanging off it. ie the kiss principle.

A left field idea, another comp, match each item crafted with a/the person whom entered. Very tricky.

and yes I'm sorry I didn't include a piccy of the original lump of wood and something to show scale. Maybe this can be a requisite for the next challenge?

I am glad to see nearly all entry has at least one vote. I hope by the end of the week each one of us have one because they are all deserving.
Toni

Hi again folks,

You Aussies are a laugh! This seems like a good forum...I like it. How many people get a prize? The first 2/3 entries?

I'd like to offer up a free copy of my program as a prize in the next competition, if anyone's interested?
The only condition is that the person getting it has to contact me by e-mail so that I can send them personally the download link (Obviously I can't post it on the forum! lol ). And if needed I can contact them with free updates and so that they get the same customer discounts as every other customer on future major upgrades.

There's only one problem with this.........if I'm giving a prize am I not allowed enter?

I like the current format, its simple, it works. No need to make it complicated. 1 person 1 vote. And half the fun is voting on the entries at the end. And because the entries and judging are all anonomous and open to the floor, people who offer prizes can still enter and its still fair and above board . If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

...If a group of highly skilled people enters all the time, after a while everybody else would find pointless entering.....

I couldn't disagree more. This competition wasn't about the prizes, they're just nice to have because it motivates entries more so than nothing at the end. It was good craic because it wasn't very ridgid and complicated. Plus the high quality of the work gives you more to strive towards. And everyone loves when the little guy goes that extra mile in the 10th competition and comes out on top....especially the little guy who thought he'd never get there. (Maybe me! )

Anyway....great competition...1 wo/man 1 vote....power to the people. But in the end I suppose let the person hosting the competition decide the rules.

P.S: Are you allowed use a Cnc-Machine on your entry?....say yes, I can't hand carve to save my life and cnc is what I do....lol...

Edit: I know I can't get prizes because I'm not in Australia....and probably can't get the same wood here....but I think there was mention about people in the States buying wood locally and entering for a laugh.

I think Boz and TOTB's critiques on each piece are excellent and they, and this competition, have inspired me to put more time and effort into my next competition entry. Can't wait for the next one.....

HH.