Proposed 2014 Woodturning Challenge

[henton49er]

Hi all,

As you may be aware I have volunteered to run the woodturning Challenge for 2014 :shock: :shock: . The thread for comments on the 2014 Challenge has been open for more than two weeks and no new posts have been posted for the past three days. I am therefore hoping that all those who wish to express an opinion have done so.

Having had a PM exchange with (one of) the judges and taking all the comments on the thread on board, I have come up with the following proposal:-

The 2014 Challenge will have a mix of specific projects and themed projects so that those turners who do not believe that they have sufficient skill to turn “difficult” items for public viewing can turn simple things and still participate in the Challenge.

Each month, that month’s entrants may (but would not be required to) vote for their top three entries (but not their own obviously!) and I will convert these into additional marks such that the judges score two thirds of the marks and the entrants one third of the marks.

Entrants will be encouraged to provide constructive critique of other entries by PM – the Judges have always been willing to respond to requests for critique and hopefully this will continue.

There seems to be a clear benefit in having a small award for each month’s winner (2011 had plaques, 2012 had medals) and an overall winner for the year’s Challenge. If any of the entrants would like to make a small financial contribution towards some form of monthly plaque, medal or certificate we could bring this idea back to the Challenge. I will start the ball rolling by saying that I will pay for the postage of the winners award each month, and the overall winners award as well (a total of 13 postings – unless I win any! – at, say, £0.80 each, is about £10). Please contribute if you can!

An alternative to voluntary contributions would be for one of our commercial forum members to take ownership and sponsor the Challenge for the whole year? Are there any corporate takers out there? We could even consider renaming the Challenge to the “XYZ” Woodturning Challenge, subject to the agreement of the forum owners.

Here is my suggested programme for 2014:-

January – Something pierced
February – A Fisherman’s Priest
March – Smaller than a matchbox
April – An Easter Egg
May – Three different Woods
June – A Pot Pourri Bowl and Lid
July – An Artistic piece
August – A Goblet
September – A pair
October – A bangle
November – Fruity
December – Pestel and Mortar

I am still open to constructive suggestions, but need to have the format sorted before the January Challenge is started!!

A merry Christmas and happy New Year to all forum woodturners! :ho2 :deer :ho2 :deer :ho2

 

[monkeybiter]

I like the look of that list, and I think the sponsorship idea is a good one. The finish brands are always getting good publicity from the entries for instance.
I wouldn't be averse to making a small contribution if it could be done with ease, e.g. with paypal or similar.

Good luck with your challenge.

 

[nev]

I'm looking forward to taking part from the other side again (hammer) , Best of luck Mike and everyone that takes part =D> (hammer) (hammer)

 

[henton49er]

I wouldn't be averse to making a small contribution if it could be done with ease, e.g. with paypal or similar

I could take Paypal contributions if that is the way we go, but we need to find someone who can make 13 plaques/medallions or whatever as awards (one per month plus overall winner).

 

[heatherw]

I wouldn't mind making a small contribution if necessary, though I don't really see the need for plaques. How much would the sponsorship be?

I like the list of projects very much indeed.

 

[user 17340]

The list of topics looks good and appropriately challenging. I like the plan for a mix of entrants and judges votes.
I would happily contribute to the award scheme too but it sounds like there are practical problems.
Is there a way on-line badges/awards could be added to members IDs beside their posts? It sounds quick, easy and visible but I know nothing of the IT skills involved.
Good luck and thanks for taking on the task of running this. I will submit work this year.
Mike

 

[monkeybiter]

The first years challenge plaques were laser cut by a forum member and donated free if I remember correctly. Perhaps they could make another 12 for a reasonable fee.

The plaques aren't neccessary but it feels great having one on display. [Subtle gloat ]

 

[duncanh]

I vaguely remember the discussion of a commercial sponsor in the past and think that the forum owner had issues with it. I may be remembering another forum but it would be worth checking before you went to the trouble of organising it.

 

[henton49er]

How much would the sponsorship be?

We would be looking for somewhere around £60 - £70 total for the year for the small slate medals that were awarded in 2012.

 

[henton49er]

Is there a way on-line badges/awards could be added to members IDs beside their posts? It sounds quick, easy and visible but I know nothing of the IT skills involved.

Can any of the Mods advise on this point?

 

[CHJ]

It is possible but it would involve a fare degree of moderator input to manage, an alternate would be to agree a simple Signature banner that members can add to their own profile on trust.

See sample I've added to above post.

 

[Grahamshed]

I like the sound of all that, especially the list of projects and the shared voting. Not sure when I will be getting my new lathe but I will definitely enter as soon as I can.

And Chas's idea of a sig line credit is good to.

 

[tekno.mage]

Good looking list of projects there, Mike - seems to be something for everyone. Maybe this year I might get time to enter some of them? If not I will enjoy seeing everyone else's entries. Had you considered using a printed certificate for the winners (which should be cheaper than a plaque or medal) which Mike could sign for authenticity.

 

[henton49er]

Had you considered using a printed certificate for the winners (which should be cheaper than a plaque or medal) which Mike could sign for authenticity.

I think that will be the fall back position if there is insufficient sponsorship (either by entrants' voluntary funds or commercial operators funds) to get some medals or plaques made.

 

[monkeybiter]

Anybody remember who made the original plywood plaques?

 

[Dalboy]

Good looking list of projects there, Mike - seems to be something for everyone. Maybe this year I might get time to enter some of them? If not I will enjoy seeing everyone else's entries. Had you considered using a printed certificate for the winners (which should be cheaper than a plaque or medal) which Mike could sign for authenticity.

I am going to try and enter as much as I can this coming year. I personally feel it is all about taking part and also would be quite happy with what tekno.mage suggests with the printed certificates

 

[nev]

Anybody remember who made the original plywood plaques?

I think it was Daven that generously did the plaques first time round

 

[Daven]

Anybody remember who made the original plywood plaques?

I think it was Daven that generously did the plaques first time round

It was indeed me from Blister's idea

Not doing any turning of late as my laser cutting company has been keeping me busy on top of re-locating to Devon - only woodworking has been making a new workshop

Best
Dave

 

[nicguthrie]

I can't help much with plaques, but if you hit a wall and want simple printed certificates, I could help with knocking something "Authentic looking" up to your spec, if you like. It used to be something I did for a living. (Forms of all sorts)

Signed and then cheaply laminated would satisfy most of us I'd think. We don't need a gold trophy

Something wood would be more fitting tho...

Nic.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

[henton49er]

Plaques:-

I have had a very kind offer from Daven (who made the plaques for the 2011 Challenge) to make similar plaques for the 2014 Challenge for the cost of materials and postage of the plaques to me. Many thanks, Daven =D> =D> =D>

This will mean that we only need very modest, and entirely voluntary, contributions from entrants to help meet these costs. Please donate what you can, but certainly no more than £5, to me, either by PayPal gift to [email protected] or PM me for my snail mail address if you prefer.

2014 Marking regime:-

The monthly Judge will provide a list of their top 5 entries with comments (as in previous years). This year the top five will be awarded 10 points for first place, 8 for second place, 6 for third place, 4 for fourth place and 2 for fifth place (a total of 30 points). All other entrants get one point each.

Entrants will be asked to nominate their top three by sending me a PM within 48 hours of the close of the entry posting period. I will take the entrants’ nominations and award a temporary score of 3 for a first place, 2 for a second place and 1 for a third place. These will be totalled and a ranking will then be produced. The highest ranked entry will be awarded 5 points, the second ranked 4 points and so on down to 1 point for the fifth ranked (a total of 15 points).
Judges and entrants points will be added together for an overall score. The highest overall score will be the month’s winner. In the event of a tie for first place, the entrant with the higher or highest Judge’s score will prevail (as there will only be one medal or plaque).

With a more complicated scoring system, the results may take an extra day or two to come out (depending upon how many entrants there are and how busy or hungover I might be!!).

At the end of the year, the entrant with the highest number of points (Judges and Entrants combined) will be nominated the “Overall Challenge Winner for 2014”. In the event of a tie, the entrant with the most first places will be declared the winner. If it is still a tie, the entrant with the most judges points will prevail. If it is still a tie ……. :roll: I give up!!

Project List as published in this thread in my post of Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:57 pm (the first post).

Any final questions or comments - if not we are good to go from the start of next month.