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2020 Backyard BBQ swap

27K views 2K replies 27 participants last post by  recycle1943 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
It's time for the next swap! We want lots of folks to give this swap thing a try so I want this to be attractive to all skill levels. If you have never participated in a swap before, give it a try, you won't regret it. It is a lot of fun and you will want to participate in every swap.

Thread participation is a requirement. If you can't check in at least once a week, maybe the time commitment isn't for you. A big part of the swap is the camaraderie and banter so if that doesn't appeal to you please refrain from joining. And yes, there can be a lot a banter. We've also had people forget, and a weekly check-in is good insurance against a faulty memory. We'd love to have a good showing of active members in this swap, but we don't want anyone getting short-changed because the person supposed to send them something flaked out.

LumberJocks are a creative bunch and turn out impressive work! So, I feel no need to give strict guidelines for what you make for this swap. Use your own judgement and creativity! Your contribution should be "made" in your shop, by you. Build something you designed from scratch, build something from someone else's plans, modify an existing product, or even overhaul/restore something you purchased. Again, I trust you so use your best judgement. The important thing is that it's something you put your time, effort and talents into something for a fellow LumberJock!

Rules:
Your swap item has to be used for or while grilling/smoking/barbecueing. Incorporate wood and/or metal as you see fit. The whole idea of this swap is to make something you would like to make whatever that may be - grill tools, serving bowls/platters/trays, pepper/spice mills, pinch bowls, knives, coozies, thermometers even Bluetooth speakers! Remember this is also a chance to try something new. I challenge you to try something to push your skillset!
I'm not putting any size suggestions on it since we have such a broad range of possibilities, but aim for nothing larger than a large USPS flat rate box (the large game-board size is handy if you want to ship long-handled tools, for example) so shipping costs don't kill you. If someone wants a cart for their big green egg, they should probably build it themselves.

A progress pic (sent to me) will be required NO LATER THAN the due date. 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 item 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 8pm MDT on the due date will be dropped from the list of participants.

How does the Swap work?
The process is simple; each participant makes their swap item(s) and will get the name and shipping address of their recipient via e-mail after progress pictures are turned in. Postage is paid by the sender. Use your preferred shipper - UPS, Fed-Ex, USPS, or pony express.
The LumberJock who you're shipping to, as well as the one who is shipping to you, will be selected randomly.
Unless there are special circumstances - like the need for international shipping - I will not influence who anyone is paired with. Unless it's funnier that way. EarlS might get picked to send Kenny a box of corn.

Disclaimers:
This swap 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.
In order to participate in a swap you must be a member in good standing in the lumberjocks community. The moderator can not be expected to, and will not act as a go between for banned or blocked members.

Other Details
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!

Bonus items
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. Nobody's expecting anything other than swap items though, so don't feel any obligation whatsoever to add anything extra. It's something that has evolved in past swaps so I wanted to address it up front. For this swap I'd like to suggest a favorite seasoning as a bonus!

How to sign up
Post below letting me know that you are in AND send an e-mail to lumberjocks2020bbqswap@fastmail.com containing ALL of the following information:

LumberJocks Username
Complete Real Name
Email address
Shipping Address, including country
Let me know if you are willing to ship internationally (so I can make sure I pair any non-US participants accordingly - if you're outside the US, be aware that with shipping times, this will be a very fast swap)

I'll send a confirmation e-mail and will keep a list of confirmed participants below that I will update periodically.
If you don't get a confirmation email and 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.
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 the progress picture or ship dates, please make sure to notify me immediately so that I can update the list. For all dates, the cutoff time is 8PM MDT.

Register by: June 12, 2020
Progress picture by: June 26, 2020
Recipient names emailed on June 27, 2020
Completed picture (via email) and ship by: July 17, 2020
Reveal date: July 24, 2020
No final pics until this date. Let the recipient post a pic or two on this forum thread before the sender posts their "formal" pics in the "Projects" section. We may reveal earlier if everyone has received their package before the reveal date.

Closing date: July 31, 2020
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 problem - then please wait for your recipient to get it and post a few pics)

Other Stuff:
When you post your projects, use the tag "2020 BBQ Swap" so we can all easily find the projects in one spot. Projects from last year's swap can be found here if you're looking for ideas.

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 than the destination!

I hope we all have a good time and great discussion while this swap goes on. That is truly what these swaps are about, growing as wood workers, learning new techniques and trying new things out, and getting to know our fellow Lumberjocks. As a bonus we also also get something cool in the mail.

Participants:
Dave Polaschek P S R
doubleG469 P S R
Keebler1 P S R
MikeACG P S R
Woodmaster1 P S R
clieb91 P S R
RichBolduc P S R
wildwoodbybrianjohns P S
recycle1943 P S
Arlin Eastman P S R
Bill Berklich P S R
GrantA P S R

And if you've read to the end, here's the tag that projects should show up under. I'll add a list of the projects that are in sometime soon as well.

Brian's Spice Box

Grant's Tongs

Chris' Toss-It

Mike's Bill's BBQ Barn sign

Bill's Box of Tricks

Dick's Cutting Board

Woodmaster's Cutting Boards

Rich's Ulu Knife and Cutting Board

Dave's BBQ Briefcase
 
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#3 ·
Actually Keebler, it looks like you are #2 (and I mean that in a nice way…) as DoubleG somehow miraculously beat you out without even posting, making me #3 (my lucky number!)
Hey Dave! Can I please join?

Mike
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
I haven't grilled in so long that if nothing else, this swap will force me to make an effort! I actually own several grills this year (a real step up from the last swap where all I had was an unused, table-top grill - using the term 'grill' loosely).
Home appliance Kitchen appliance Gas Automotive exterior Automotive design

Still unused!
I'm currently finishing up my offerings for the turning/box swap so inspiration hasn't hit me yet… Oh wait! OK, I'm good to go! I can't wait to see who will be my lucky victim… Oops, I meant fortunate recipient!! Everybody on the list so far is much too nice to receive my shoddy attempts at woodworking… So, either I will have to improve greatly in the next couple of weeks - or Dave needs to sign up somebody who won't know the difference! Yeah, that's the ticket!!! (Kenny, Grant, Tony, Tom, Earl…) Heck, there are a lot of them! Let's get busy and sign up guys!

Mike
 

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#16 ·
Brian, if you can talk another European into playing, I'll be glad to pair you. If not, we can generally find someone from the states willing to ship to Europe. I think there's at least one person signed up who said they would (I'm probably off that list this time due to running the swap and having no idea what I'm making yet).
 
#20 ·
The thing about "international" isnt the timing, so much as the durn import tax I have to pay. And it isnt like I am all that cheapo or anything; I just hate paying MORE tax that just gets eaten up by the bureacracy monster.

When I ship to the States it goes realtively quickly to destination.

I will PM TEK later. It is siesta time.
 
#22 ·
Brian what did you end up having to pay in duties for the surprise swap package? Just curious as the value was $43 (marked as gift too) and the plane was the highest duty rate item @5%, maybe closer to 6%
Did they make you pay a VAT also? If so you can supposedly claim that back at the end of the year, I've never lived in the EU so couldn't tell you for sure, that may just be for businesses
 
#23 ·
hmmm - since Mike is looking for a sub par wood worker and mentioned me by name…....

I do have an idea for something but it isn't terribly original or creative. Of course, that describes most of my work. Let's see how this weekend goes with the plywoodworking. I'm hoping to get the upper shelf units installed on the base cabinets. That would leave just the doors to build and finish and they aren't nearly as time consuming and cumbersome.
 
#24 ·
Speaking of shipping…The swap item that I sent this week was too big to fit into a large USPS flat rate box (that now seem to be smaller than they used to be) so I just reused an Amazon box I saved. After pricing it on the USPS website by size and weight (still priority), it was almost $6 cheaper than the large flat rate box. So unless you are shipping something really heavy, it appears that using your own box may be cheaper, even if it is larger.
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
Brian what did you end up having to pay in duties for the surprise swap package? Just curious as the value was $43 (marked as gift too) and the plane was the highest duty rate item @5%, maybe closer to 6%
Did they make you pay a VAT also? If so you can supposedly claim that back at the end of the year, I ve never lived in the EU so couldn t tell you for sure, that may just be for businesses

- GrantA
I think I paid somewhere around 35 euros, inclusive VAT. I need to be Autonomo (self-employed) and pay the 300 euro monthly fee for that, in order to be able to deduct expenses. I am sorta stuck right now, because my work/residence Visa has expired, they have cut back staff at immigration by 70% to save money, and that was before all this silly lockdown business. They are going to be way behind what they were already way behind on!
So, once I get the Visa in order, then go Autonomo, and after, shipping expenses wont be a problem, all deductible.

One tip for anyone shipping international, where import duties are an issue, is to understate, significantly, the "Value" of whatever you are shipping. Another tip, is to mark the item/items as a gift.

If the Authority has even the slightest suspicion that something being imported is going to generate profit, the sharks want their cut.
 
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