state fair results

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just got back from the fair a little bit ago. my nephew and i were on a mission tonight. funny thing, in all of the thousands (that's 1000's larry) of people out there, ran into: one of my co-workers, another of my nephews and his friends, and 2 of my nephew's friends from the neighborhood. oh well, on with the ramble. since we were dropped off by the bus where we were dropped off, i bought the 16 lbs. of honey that i will need for the mead and honey ale to be made this fall. then on to the creative activities building, and got some pics of the table, the game board, and the barely adequately executed table that took first.

don't get me wrong about this, i'm perfectly happy with being in second place, but it's the judges that i take issue with. with that said, i'm going to vent just a little, and critique this table, and when you see the pic of this table, you will understand. to me mind you, it looks like something you can pick up at any target, kmart, or walmart, just a generic, milquetoast design. the design is definitely influenced by mission. starting with the top, it is entirely too thin for this design, if it's more than a half inch, or 5/8", i'm a monkey's uncle. the joinery is ok, the only real detail to the piece is the machine made dovetails in the drawer, and the angles at the bottom of the legs, which to me are too steep. if you look close, you can see that the lower shelf does not meet up at the inside corners, but makes an s curve from what is probably a blind tenon at the lower stretcher, and the shelf hints at plywood, with edge bands front and back, that are about 1/4" too thick for the shelf.

now any other time i would not be so critical. one other year when i took second, the table that beat me was a beautifully executed, queen anne style, pie crust carved edge table in black walnut, and i thought it was just beautiful. but this table, there was no challenge to it. ok, enough rant, on to the pics....
 

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Dan i guess you did not pay the judges enough. :):)

I agree with you on the thickness of the top on that unit and the s curve in the shelf looks like a mistake. My view that should meet edge to edge with square cuts to match the square shaped design.
Dont be concerned with this piece though you did your best and cannot control the judges. They may not be woodworking literate. So it gets down to personal taste and preferance.

I would like to know just how many entries were there????


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I saw the picture of the table before reading your critique. The top did not go well with the rest of the piece and appears to be a big visual design flaw and should have been marked down by the judges, even if they were not seasoned woodworkers.

I agree with Rob that you should not feel bad at all though. Keep doing what you have been doing and your work will get the recognition that it deserves.
 
not sure how many were in the table competition, but it's a state-wide contest. i'm happy with what i got, but i'm waiting on a call back from the fair people. they are going to check to make sure that table and mine were in the same part of the competition.
 
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