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Shop Made Surprise Swap April 2017

38K views 3K replies 32 participants last post by  HokieKen 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lady's and Gents (used loosely),

It's time again for another swap. Unfortunately you will have to deal with me this time around. In regular standing, I have completely ripped off the theme intro, rules, etc. format from the previous swap. I would hate to break tradition here.

The theme for this swap is a surprise! No, the theme isn't a surprise the theme is a surprise….we could go on all day about that. You can make ANY WOODWORKING TOOL YOU WANT. I was going to limit the size but that's just going to hinder one's imagination. Let's try to limit the number of mallets made this time around, as there were a lot made during the last swap. I suggest if you are going to make a mallet, maybe make it a brass plane adjusting mallet or from some special woods. Just a suggestion.

A Note: This is in no way officially sponsored by, run by, or otherwise tied to "LumberJocks" as a company or organization, or to any of the parent or sibling holdings thereof. It is simply run by those of us who participate on LumberJocks.

Basic Details

If you have not participated in one of our LumberJocks Shop Made Swaps before, Welcome! It's relatively simple; each participant makes their swap item(s) and will get a name and address via e-mail a few weeks before the shipping deadline to where they will be mailing their entry. Postage is to be paid by the sender. The LumberJock who you're shipping to, as well as the one who is shipping to you, will be completely random. Unless there are special circumstances - like the need for international shipping - I will not influence who anyone is paired with.

Rules for this swap

- Teaser shots are allowed, but please do not post full in-progress or finished pictures until after the reveal date. Remember we want everyone to be surprised when they receive their package!

- A progress pic (sent to me) will be required NO LATER THAN the due date listed near the end of this post. The progress pic needs to show that you've put sufficient time and work into the project to be able to complete it by the ship date. I know things come up so if you don't have a progress pic by the required date but are confident you'll still be able to complete your tool(s) by the ship date, just e-mail me BEFORE the progress pic due date and we'll make arrangements. Anyone who doesn't e-mail me a progress pic or let me know why they haven't by 11:59 pm CST on the due date will be dropped from the list of participants.

What we're making

I can't believe some of the amazing work I see come out of these swaps and knew I had to be in one. I didn't think my work was up to the standards that I have seen come out of these swaps. I have since learned that it is more about the camaraderie between fellow woodworkers, and the experience. Its also about pushing yourself to do something you might have otherwise forgone. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I volunteered like a dummy to run this one but, oh well, so why not right?

The theme for this swap is a surprise! No, the theme isn't a surprise the theme is a surprise….we could go on all day about that. You can make ANY WOODWORKING TOOL YOU WANT as long as it fits in Santa's gift sack which has no limits. I was going to limit the size but that's just going to hinder one's imagination, so any tool you desire.

Bonus Items are completely optional and are not in any way required or expected. In past swaps, some folks include an extra "goody" along with their swap items. Bonus items do not have to be related to the swap theme, or even woodworking for that matter. If you like to turn pens and want to throw one in the box, great. Maybe you brew your own beer and want to send your recipient a bottle or twelve, go for it! Nobody's expecting anything other than swap items though, so don't feel any obligation whatsoever to add anything extra. It's just something that I think has kind of evolved in past swaps so I wanted to address it up front.

How to sign up

Post below letting me know that you are in and then send an e-mail (LJs.SurpriseSwapApril2017 at gmail.com) containing ALL of the following information:
- LumberJocks Username
- Real Name
- Email address
- Shipping Address, including country
- Let me know if you are not willing to ship internationally (so I can make sure I pair any non-US participants accordingly)

I won't send a confirmation e-mail but will be keeping a list of confirmed participants below that I will update daily (weekdays). If you don't see your name on the list within a day or two of e-mailing me, shoot me another e-mail or PM so I don't miss anybody.

Progress pictures will also be sent to the above e-mail address no later than the due date given below.

Your recipient's name and address will be sent to you from the same e-mail address so make sure it's not caught by your spam filter.

Important dates

In order to participate, you need to adhere to the dates below. Failure to do so will result in you getting dropped from the swap. If you can't make one of the dates, please make sure to notify me immediately so that I can update my swap spreadsheet.

- Register for swap: April 31, 2017 (lots of time to figure out if you can handle the work load)

- Progress picture: May 31, 2017

- Ship date: June 30, 2017

- Reveal date: July 10, 2017. No final pics until this date. Let the recipient post a pic or two before the sender posts their "formal" pics and project entry. We may reveal earlier depending on if everyone receives their package.

-Closing date: July 14, 2017. Please post "reveal" photos by this date. Everyone's anxious to post their projects and for the other participants to see what they made. If your recipient hasn't posted reveal pics by this date, then it's open season! Feel free to post your own pics in this thread and go ahead and post your project. (Unless there is a shipping SNAFU - then please wait for your recipient to get it and post a few pics)

Other Stuff:

When you post your projects, use the tag "April 2017 Surprise Swap" so we can all easily find the projects in one spot.

This is a collaborative learning experience for all of us so make use of this forum thread to share knowledge and ideas as well asking questions and getting advice. These swaps are about the journey more so than the destination!

(Thanks to Ripthorn and then Mark Kronell and then Mosquito and then HokieKen, and then ki7hy - much of the verbiage (including this) was plagiarized from their posts on the previous swaps)

1. KI7HY - Registered - Shipped - Received
2. WoodworkJosh - Registered - Shipped -Received
3. Papadan - Registered - Shipped - Received
4. Waho6o9 - Registered - Shipped - Received
5. GR8HUNTER - Registered - Shipped - Received
6. HokieKen - Registered - Shipped - Received
7. Babicea - Registered - Shipped - Received
8. TheFridge - Registered - Shipped - Received
9. Mark Kornell -Registered - Shipped - Received
10. Dave Polaschek - Registered -Shipped - Received
11. Builtinbkyn - Registered -Shipped - Received
12. r33tc0w - Registered - Shipped - Received
13. PoohBaah - Registered - Shipped - Received
14. Buckbuster31 - Registered - Shipped - Received
15. LDO2802 - Registered - Shipped - Received
 
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Discussion starter · #11 ·
Lol, that is funny Ken, I think I will leave the registration open until progress pics are due. If anyone can make the progress pic then they are in… That should give you a little more time.
 
Discussion starter · #21 ·
Swab newbie. I ll be in.

Still trying to wrap up three in-progress projects, but they re all moving forward and I ve got some vacation time coming, so I ll get something put together. It ll be a surprise for me, too! Pretty sure whatever it is will be made with only hand tools, so that s something.

- Dave Polaschek
Hey Dave, are you primarily a hand tool user? The only thing I use machines for is to get pieces down to more manageable sizes then I do the rest by hand because I love it. It takes a little longer, but I enjoy it a whole lot more.
 
Discussion starter · #49 ·
Yea it's one of the downfalls of the dates. I could pair everyone up after the last day of registration, but sometimes we get some last minute entries that can make the progress pic
 
Discussion starter · #52 ·
No there really isn't any quality control. We all understand that when we do these swaps there are many different skill levels and many different budget levels. It's just kind of a roll of the dice. Mostly we do it for the fun, learning experience, chance to pick fellow woodworkers brains and just cause we love it. And in the end everyone ends up with something pretty cool usually. If I missed anything I'm sure some of the vets will chime in
 
Discussion starter · #59 ·
Great to see a lot of the vets starting to sign up. Thanks guys we need you. Nakmuay I'm glad you said screw it and joined in. I think you'll have a blast. It's such a fun experience
 
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