Closed: 3rd Annual BLF Scratch Made Light Contest

Giveaways and Contests
75

From the Merriam Webster dictionary - online:

handmade

adjective handĀ·made \Ėˆhan(d)-Ėˆmād\

: made with the hands or by using hand tools

Full Definition of HANDMADE

: made by hand or by a hand process

So, the original thought, when I started this 3 years ago, was to have a hand made contest. Using only hand tools. It did not take long to discover that the enthusiasm for hand made has gone with the Dodo bird. Many love to watch someone do something hand made, but very few want to try it themselves.

As a result of this, the contest evolved, because if it did not, there would have been no contest, since not enough members would even try.

The contest evolved into using a rotary tool, then a drill press and now into even more powered tools.

Is that right? If you want to stick strictly to a loosely defined definition that started in the 1600's, then it is not right. If you want to adopt the word into the 21st. century, then it becomes a gray area, as it has this year.

It does not matter what I think, since I gave it up, but there should most likely be 3 categories:

Hand Made - using the hands or hand tools only

Home Made - using the hands, hand tools and small, manually operated power tools designed for the home handy man. Power tools that need to have a person operate them and tools that do not run in an automatic mode, such as lathes or end mills.

Machine Made - using anything available to individuals or machine shops. Any hand, manual, or automatic machine or combination thereof.

That still leaves gray areas for some people. So be it. Let the judges decide. That's what judges are for. If they think a person stepped into the machine made area, then judge them with the other machine made contestants. The judges should make those decisions, not the contestants.

76

Perfect! Thanks, O-L!

77

OMG, stop the bickering and just make some damn lights!!! :bigsmile:

78

^ I know you are saying the above to lighten the mood and that is cool. Just in case, it's not bickering. Some of these builds require a serious commitment of time and money. They can put a strain on your family and other obligations too. One doesn't want to do all that, just to be told later they were not totally compliant. That is why a few of us care so much.

I just realized a stupidly easy solution for just my case. It was right in front of me, but I didn't realize it. Here it is:

Please reclassify my entry to the machine category. I only have average home owner tools, but I would like to use them in any way I dream up and not risk being accused of bending the rules later.

If the above is possible, I would appreciate it very much.

79

Not bickering, procrastinating, so your half right. Besides, itā€™s been very polite bickering.

80

Less talk, more building ;) :beer:

81

Iā€™m on it, Iā€™m on it. Iā€™ve already used a drill press in several different ways, none of which involved any drilling, so I hope the rules donā€™t change too much. :open_mouth:

82

hereā€™s my build thread for my ā€˜camera luxā€™: OscarM's handmade entry for the 3rd scratch built contest - camera lux

83

Judges have now discussed about the ruling, and decided to add Table Saw to the allowed tools section.

We also thought that OL said it very well, especially these parts:


Ps. I love the way Lancman used his Drill Press for polishing up the head of his hand made light, see here:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/34442#comment-785932 (Clearly allowed, not even on the gray area)

84

Phew! Thatā€™s a relief. Thanks. :slight_smile:

85

Thanks _the_ and judges for your consideration and follow up. The confusion started when the "how a tool is used" concept was adopted. I'm guessing that is still the case since it doesn't seem to be specifically addressed. Obviously, Lancman didn't use guides in the example above, so it didn't seem to be any where near a grey area based on my understanding of RBD's interpretation of the rules.

It doesn't seem to matter though because it sounds like any Hand Made contestant that pushes the limits will just be reassigned to the Machine Category with out any negative repercussions. Is that why there has been no response to my request that my entry to be reclassified?

86

Sorry, didn't notice your request. :(

If anyone in Hand Made category goes to "too gray" area, judges will vote about re-classifying the entry.

If anyone wants to enjoy full freedom of choosing tools/machines, reassigning your own entry to Machine Made category is a good choice.

87

^ Thank you. I will now commence planning proper.

88

I was just looking back at O-Lā€™s build thread for the prize light he built last year. I had to laugh inside, when I reached the end of his beamshots and saw this line:

Not to in any way put down that light (it is still awesome looking and Iā€™d be proud to own one) but, if youā€™ve been watching his builds over the past year, you know how funny that line is. :stuck_out_tongue:

89

I'm not going to ask a 4th time to be reclassified to the machine category as it apparently is too difficult to cut and paste my name a few lines down. Instead of saying please, I will just say withdraw me from this "contest". I do not have the time or energy to put hundreds of hours and dollars in the name of this contest when a simple, reasonable, request made more than once can not be honored. I didn't introduce vague nuances into this contest, but I guess questioning them crossed an unspoken line.

I wish the best to the contestants! I'll continue to root for you as you are the real contributors and true spirit to this event due to the amount of time, money, sweat, and (sometimes) blood that you invest.

90

He probably just forgot, it happens sometimes. You could just go ahead and continue your build as if machine made. Iā€™m sure it would get corrected sooner or later.

91

Has been happening a lot for me lately.

..but this time I just didn't understand it correctly, I guess.

[quote=ImA4Wheelr]

^ Thank you. I will now commence planning proper.

[/quote]

^^ At this point I thought that you would be ok with "just be reassigned to the Machine Category with out any negative repercussions", but that was obviously a misunderstanding. I'm very sorry about that. Please accept my sincere apologies.

I'll do that right away, before I forget.

We would really love to see you joining / staying in the competition. But I also understand if you feel really bad about my misunderstanding, are not able to accept my apologies, and still want to be withdrawn. [In that unfortunate case, please repeat your request to be withdrawn.]

92

I appreciate your explanation and apology _the_ and, of course, accept them. I also appreciate your urging me to stay in the contest. I just don't have the energy to gin back up for it. So please withdraw me from this year's competition. You have a great group of competitors and prizes. So it will be a good and entertaining one. Best wishes on it.

93

Thank you for your kind words. I respect your decision and have now removed you from competition.

..but the competition is long - 67 days left - you can come back any time if you happen to regret your decision. :)

94

Hi Guys,

Here is my entry for the competition. Its showcasing the new Cree XHP-35, and a lot of hours of custom work.