Well said. That is the goal we are aiming for 
Thanks YuvalS 
Possible issues that I can think of -
‘hand made style’ will likely disappear
Some people might (still) be reluctant to enter if they are not segregated from experienced modders/builders
Of course, i could be wrong on both accounts. However I still think it’s a good idea. Appreciate you suggesting it
That’s the way forward imo, 1 compo, no categories, anything goes so long as a flashlight comes out the butt end.
There are simply not enough entrants to be picky around the whys and wherefores of how it was made. The judging/voting will sort that out and rules really are not needed.
The luxuries of many categories and lots of rules is fine if you have maybe 50 entering…but clearly this is not the case.
The write up is just as daunting I think - a lot of people don’t like having to do it, I know I’m not looking forward to it 
Anyway, last bit arrived today…… off to the shed. 
You’re a smart man YuvalS. I’m learning from you 
This year I entered the OL-Lumen Contest prepared with an idea, parts, and a plan to show what is possible to make by hand with few tools. After starting the build thread and looking at it, I was concerned it may discourage members from entering the competition. So I edited the build thread and removed what I was making in hope it would help not to deter anyone. I replaced it a few weeks later after a few members joined the contest.
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I Love a challenge making things from raw material and a Blue Print. Been doing this for a job since High school.
Still a newbie here in many ways just having fun here at BLF learning and sharing with friends.
So after I joined BLF the OL-Lumen Contest was something I wanted to do. But I was afraid because everything was new and unfamiliar.
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I think it would be a good idea to ask the members thru a poll or question list just who are interested in the contest, entry level, intermediate level, skilled level. If no response, then no need for changes. The goal is to Have Fun Competing and to get as many contributing as possible.
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Also I feel it necessary for the experienced guys to want to compete. Guess I’m not much help. 
I haven’t said much on this as I am more or less content with the status quo. But I can adapt to change.
There is a bit of an intimidation factor when contemplating entering . There are a lot of very talented people here making some beautiful stuff . I have been watching builds on this site for a few years and am just in awe and all starry- eyed , and think I’d like to make something too . But I know I am not even close to the caliber and expertise of some of the people here . The spirit of this competition , to honor Old Lumens , a guy who liked to make things , to try new things and not worry what anyone thought of his creations , is why I got the nerve to enter . That and I spent a chunk of money on a lathe , but it was this push that finally got me to make an attempt at it . It’s hard to take the plunge . I’m not sure changing the rules will help encourage more participants to enter . I’m glad its here and hope it continues because … if it just helps one kid…
I have considered a poll and will probably do it at a later date. Your suggested titles are a great starting point.
Thanks MtnDon. I appreciate the comment even if there’s no strong opinion one way or the other.
The way i read your comment is you weren’t comfortable enough to enter until you bought a lathe. I’m sure there are others that feel the same. If we could convince these types to enter without the heavy tools and machinery then that’d be great. Up until last year’s contest there was only 2 categories - hand made and machine made. Either way you pretty much needed to be good with your hands, have the space to work and access to the tools you need etc… On top of that you needed the motivation to do such a thing and then the willingness to present the workings to the forum. Last year CRX had the brilliant idea of introducing the modified category. To enter that category you didn’t ‘need’ a whole lot of tools and expertise. So in theory - if the tools and expertise was the restricting factor then this category should have had the largest pool of entries. The number of finished lights in that category however were much the same as the first two categories. Overall we did have some of the largest numbers in last years competition but not excessively large. So I don’t think the tooling and expertise issue is the problem. When you look around at the build threads and other additional threads pertaining to the OL comp (such as this one) you might notice the vast majority of comments are by the contestants. A relatively low number of non-contestants make comments in any of the threads. This says to me that the average enthusiast is not interested and we are a niche group within a niche group. As much as i love BLF it seems like this platform is probably not the best since the majority of members don’t seem interested. I’m not suggesting to move the comp elsewhere or anything like that, just making observations.
Bingo!
Well, I don’t think a lathe is needed, but it makes certain things easier for sure. Don’t forget there are levels of skill on all tools, and though I can use a lathe, I cannot use it to anywhere near the level of some on here. partly to do with my very old antique lathe (but I love it)
I’ve never entered before partly due to the same reasons you raise, but you know, once I started doing it I forgot all that and just enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it so much I’m sad I’ve just finished mine (pics coming) but I am going to make some more, maybe to sell.
Consider allowing the outsourcing of coatings (anodize, gold plate, nickel plate, powder coat, etc.) in the “machine made” category, or if nothing else: aluminum anodization. Machine shops typically outsource these processes.
Another consideration would be whether or not unfinished entries from previous years can be resumed as entries in the latest competition.
Also:
“All machine shop tools are allowed, such as: Lathe, End Mill, Programmed Automated machines, Standard 3D Printers”
“End Mill” should be “milling machine.”
No , the lathe just let me do machine made . I’m much more comfortable with hand made . My point was that I was apprehensive from a lack of skill and lack of fully understanding the components compared to the levels of others . I don’t doubt there are others feeling the same .
Why compare yourself to others? Every self help guru/predator in existence advises not to do that, because there’s always someone younger or richer or more skilled or prettier or whatever, so you’ll just never end up doing anything if you do that. And, this is no longer a “contest,” it’s a “challenge.” A challenge to build something. Anything. And there are usually more prizes than entrants, which is a plus.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that people aren’t interested. Take a peek at the right-hand column here. I just picked a random thread from this year, and last year’s main contest thread:
That said, the participation is lower than I’m sure we’d all like to see. But I think that kind of goes hand-in-hand with those participating in the contest itself: We’re more probably more likely to participate in general, whether in the contest or the contest threads/discussion. There’s probably other factors involved as well; if you look around the forum there’s definite trends about things. Some members are much more active/participatory in general. Some may feel they don’t have anything to contribute if they aren’t participants (though I cannot stress enough how much that is not the case), or that there’s no way they could have a better idea than the legendary CRX about something (again - not only wrong, but I know for a fact CRX wants to hear what people think!). I myself have felt similarly in the past, and it’s not because anyone here is really doing anything wrong.
As far as the platform, I agree that we do represent a niche within a niche. However, BLF is not just one of the only places where something like this could happen, IMO it is the best of those few places for it to happen. This thread itself is proof that we care about the contest, we care about making it accessible, and we continue to encourage people to participate in whatever ways we can.
That’s some interesting comment. I’m curious to know about the views counted. Is that counting each individual view? i.e. MtnDon’s thread has 3138 views. Is that 3138 individuals or roughly 300 people looking at it 10 times each? Out of all those views only 4% have made a reply (134/3138=0.043).
In regard to the platform I don’t think the challenge would ever leave BLF , and I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. I think it was more the fact that making, creating, crafting and producing something is only a small aspect of this hobby.
It’s safe to say CRX is in the same boat as us and he’d love to see more participation. It might be an idea to not put him on a pedestal though.
I think this thread has been somewhat productive. If nothing else it’s a bit clearer in my own head. At a later date i’ll open a pole to see if we keep or change the current format. If a new format is adopted i’m guessing most of the regulars will likely enter no matter what the format is. After participating in this challenge I personally find the rules, prizes etc… secondary to actually participating. Once I realised I didn’t have to make the brightest , most technical , newest/freshest idea it became much easier and much more fun. All i had to do was produce a light and show my build.
If we allow outsourcing i think YuvalS ‘s approach of minimal rules should be adopted. Outsourcing for one category only is not a good fit e.g. why not let modified category do some anodising? It also opens the discussion again about outsourcing- exactly what type of outsourcing is acceptable. I think a very small change to the rules like allowing outsourcing of anodising to machine made will have a negligible effect on numbers entering the challenge. Also good point about calling it a ’challenge’ , I should adopt that word instead of contest/competition because it gives off the wrong vibe.
I don’t think we should eat that one
Some thoughts.
I do not often comment in OL competition build threads, I even do not take the time to have a look at them for weeks, but I appreciate the competition a lot and at least I feel guilty not following all the build threads as closely as they deserve.
What I mean is that the OL competition is one of the things that make BLF special (I think, I’m not aware of what happens in other hobby forums) and it should stay if possible, and a discussion about how to upgrade the rules to make the competition more accessable is a good idea.
The modified lights category is a nice new addition I think, even if it does not attract the loads of entrances that were hoped for. It does make entering possible for people without extensive workshops, like me (two square meters behind the cupboard).
Btw, I like build threads of lights that are not revolutionary or are even clumpsy very much, every modder, sophisticated or not, has been there and will recognise himself (herself?) in those threads 
. I hope people with limited skills continu to enter the competition.
This year I entered the competition with a build that I would have also done without the competition, but the competion did cause that I finally started it (could have been another two years without the pressure of a competition), and the competition caused that I went the extra mile documenting the build well, and that I added more features and did more finishing touches.
What I was not prepared to do is squeezing my build into the rules of the handbuild category, in which case I would have to handbuild parts that would turn out uglier and less practical than using a few parts of an existing light that was spare and at hand. I simply wanted to build it the best way I could. Maybe I should not have entered the competition for that reason, but the competition did give me that extra motivation to make it better and show it in a thread. This is not to suggest any rule changes, it is just how it worked for me.