DBCstm,
Damn, that bullet light is very sweet.
You asked:
"Interesting, a machine such as a drill press is listed and then limited in the way it’s used? Due to whether or not it’s “labor intensive”?"
I wanted to ask something along that line too, but this statement stopped me short of asking:
"Let's try to be keep this event FUN and the rules loose and flexible enough. Judges will lower the score if they think that a contestant is bending the rules too much."
I second your question. At this point, I don't care if I am looked at as bending the rules by asking questions. I'm all for fun, but mysterious rules take a lot of the fun out for me.
Being told you can use a tool is clear. Being told you can use in in certain ways (with no clear guidelines) is not. I've spent a good amount of my planning time the last couple days trying to think of how to do things that will be considered acceptable to how I think the judges will be thinking.
As far as keeping the rules loose and flexible, that is totally in the control of the rule maker, not the competitor.