I’m surprised that this contest hasn’t come up in any of the discussions yet. The rules for this state:
Build a piece that originates from a 10 ft. by 10 in. by 2 in. thick maple board or equivalent amount (17 board feet). All wood, even inlay, must be from original stock. The maple can be hard or soft, figured or not.
I have a couple of questions for The Powers That Be:
1) Does the design have to take into account the dimensions of the board as stated above? Let’s say that my “project” is to turn a cylinder, 2″ in diameter and 16′ long, out of a single, long piece of maple. It would require less than 17 board feet, but it wouldn’t fit into a 10′ long board.
2) If one goes the “equivalent amount” route, does this mean that a mix of different kinds of maple (e.g., figured vs. straight-grained) is allowed? Or does it all have to look like it could have come from the same board?
Thanks,
-Steve
Replies
This is an interesting project for students. I'm way beyond wanting to take on an assignment whether there's 15K worth of tools at the end or not. Nevertheless, the rules include: "Entrants can use a collection of smaller boards if they can't find a single large one, provided they use no more than 17 board feet in total."
So you certainly can use more than one board and there's nothing saying that cannot be 16' long. As to the 17 bf requirement..... you can always claim the rest became sawdust. As a student, I always believed it was OK to bend the rules as long as the bending was done well.
It seems to me that allowing more than one board sort of defeats the "one board" title. Why didn't they simply say 17 bf max. Oh well, when I sponsor a contest, then I'll get to make the rules.
When I saw this my first thought was.. Why limit it to Maple?
Why not a wood of choice?
Steve,
Your idea is fairly conventional.
My idea for the contest is to grind up the board and then mold it into a large mold that I will construct, and then I will carve resulting block into a likeness of Tage Frid, or maybe Lataxe.
What do you think?
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
"Your idea is fairly conventional."
Oh, I didn't say that that was what I was going to do; I'm just trying to suss out the envelope, as it were. I wouldn't want to be disqualified for planing the World's Longest and Thinnest Maple Shaving, after all. Oops. There goes my secret.
By the way, I was at the Woodcraft in Parkersburg WV yesterday. I hadn't been there in a few years, and lo and behold, what did I see when I entered the door? They have their own Mel! This Mel seemed to be quite a bit older--if you can imagine that--than our very own Mel. He also seemed not quite as knowledgable, and his name wasn't actually Mel, but he was definitely a Woodcraft Mel, no doubt about it.
And I think he would have done a better job of checking me out at the end. As it was, I had a young'un who tried to charge me $55 for about $160 worth of stuff.
Regarding your plan to carve Lataxe, I say, "Go for it." Hand tools only, though.
-Steve
Steve,
I put in 8 hours at Woodcraft today. I was able to really help out two people who really wanted to learn about sharpening. Both spent a good deal of time with me and ended up taking my recommendations. I did show them the Lie Nielsen and the Lee books on sharpening and recommended they read certain sections of either of the books. Another guy brought in his grandfather's Stanley #4 plane, which was rusty, and he wanted to use it today. I showed him the Taunton book on hand planes and I gave him a quick lesson on what has to be done to the plane to get it in shape, and then how to sharpen the blade. He understood what he was up against but he wants to renew his grandfather's plane. He bought the book (A GOOD THING) and some supplies and left happy.The most interesting part of the eight hour shift was a guy who walked out of the store, yelling and screaming. I had been helping another customer and I asked him what was wrong. He said that the store is crazy to be charging as much as they do for router bits, and he would never come here again. WOW. He was wound pretty tight. Lotsa crazy people out there. You mentioned that the "Woodcraft Mel" that you met is old. Most of the Woodcraft folks that I know are retired. Most young folks couldn't afford to "work" there. (I am using the term "work" loosely.) There is a real difference in their woodworking skills. One of my cohorts just finished a magnificent Boston Blockfront chest. Others don't do much woodwork any more. They do have their biases on various woodworking tasks. But in general, I find that it is the best place for folks to go to get some help and advice. Sears, Home Depot and Lowes are far down the list. Have fun.
Mel (the Real one)Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
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