County Fair Judging School, Need Ideas

[Jim Hager]

:confused:



I have been asked to teach a class of people who will be judges of the woodwork divisions at the N.E. Arkansas county fairs this fall. They want me to teach 2 one hour sessions that will bring out the important factors to be used to judge county fair woodworking entries. I suppose I'm gonna need to make a distinction between woodwork and crafty things. Will need to bring up some issues of quality, difficulty of technique, selection of wood used, finish applied, and no telling what else.

I need some ideas, the class is to be held on June 24th, so you guys better get started today if you are gonna get it through to my pea brain. Anybody got any good ideas that I can use without paying some kind of royalty. http://theoak.com/tools1/smilies/biggrin.gif I appreciate your input, and welcome all comments that you might have.

[Bill Lewis]

How about design and style?

For design, you could touch on the subject of the golden rule, and why things look better with the correct proportions and balance.

With regards to sytle, people's tastes may apply more here than anywhere else. Some of the potential judges may prefer mission over contempory, and that may influance their decision even if the mission piece is poorly built/finished in comparison. So style should not be the basis of their vote, but rather the execution of a certain style should be.

[Shannon Grizzell]

Wow, Jim, that's quite a task. Maybe you could turn it into a book too: "Learn Everything about Woodworking in Two Hours" :D

I gather from your post that these people will have little or no experience in woodworking. In that case I would try to keep things as simple as possible. Maybe even produce a short - one or two page - guide or checklist these judges could carry with them as the judge the entries.

As a woodworker and former teacher (taught music not woodworking) here's how I think I would approach it:

I. Craftmanship:

1. Does it look well-built? If it's a chair, would I be afraid to sit in it? Does is wobble or sit flat on the floor.
2. Fit? Do joints fit together tightly? Are there gaps? Glue stains?
3. What type of joinery was used Screws, mortise and tenon, dovetail, etc? Here I would explain the different levels of complexity and skill required. Perhaps use a scale to rate difficulty of each. I'd also include illustrations here. In some cases it's alright to use material for educational purposes without written permission or paying royalties - or grab the digital camera if you've got one.

II. Finish

1. Quality. Is the finish applied evenly? Is it smooth? Does it have air bubbles or dust in it? Are there runs? Brush marks?
2. Appropriateness (this is somewhat subjective I know). Does the finish fit the intended use of the project. For example if the piece will see a lot of wear, was a good protective finish used?

III. Design and Creativity
1. Style - is this a good representation of the intended style (mission, shaker, etc.) Of course you'll have to introduce these styles or their characteristics to your students.
2. Appearance - Does the piece look pleasing to the eye? You can explain the golden rule, but I'm afraid it may be lost on some. Most people can look at a piece and tell if it looks "proportional" though.
3. Creativity - Did the craftman come up with something unique (in comparison to the other entries) or is this the 87th lidded box of the day? If it's a common project, say a box, a cutting board, or a bird house, did the builder do something unique in its design and execution?


When judging music students, we used several criteria for technical and musical proficiency. Each element was considered and rated individually. Then the performance was rated as a whole.

I would suggest something similar here. Hopefully the categories above will spark some more ideas. Break them down for your judges and maybe provide them a judging sheet with a rating scale for each element of each category.

When they walk through the exhibits they would judge each piece in each of the categories, giving a score to each. When the judging is finished they add up the scores and the highest wins. In this way you have a reasonably objective method of determining the winner and it helps judges to put things in perspective.

Hope this helps you.
Best of luck!

[Jim Hager]

I really like the idea of working with the Golden Rule of woodworking. The idea about Woodworking for Dummies in 2 hours or less, I wonder if that book will sellhttp://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/cool.gif, I sorta doubt it.

Anyway thanks much for the ideas. I am sure I will use most of what you two have posted.

Shannon you said you used to teach music, I'm a teacher too. I teach agriculture and ag mechanics, which means for at least 1/2 of the school year I get to play in the shop with my students. Teaching is fun, I'm just tired of it for now. After 26 years you sorta tend to get that way.http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif Just 2 more terms and I'm outa here.http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif Insert tune from Johnny Paycheck song.

http://a1.cpimg.com/image/D1/30/15690961-7226-028001E0-.jpg

Here is a little something that I made a few years ago that I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of. A former music teacher should appreciate this as well.http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Dan Oelke]

One thing to find out is if most of the fairs use face-to-face judging and/or if a Danish system is used that specifies that up to 25% of the entries can be blue, up to 50% red and blue, etc. Face-to-face judging has the people sit down with the judge. This allows the judge to find out more about the finish and if the person knew what it was and if it was appropriate, etc. It also generally meant there were no limits on how many blue's could be given in a category. Where I grew up each county had their own rules, although they were pretty similar.

Along those lines - some counties require a lot of information to be submitted with the project - and some almost none. A Notecard with information about techniques used, finish used, etc. can be very helpful if you aren't judging face-to-face. After all - could you as a judge tell if a well-fitted joint was held with dowels, a blind mortise and tennon, biscuits, or just butt-joined and glued long enough for the fair?

One of the issues you will run into is that some counties have VERY good programs and the judge will spend a day doing woodworking alone, and other counties will have a few dozen entries (mostly crafty) that take the judge less than an hour. Some will have dozens of categories, and others will have 3 or 4. It is important for the judge to look over what is there to get an idea of what the level of craftsmanship is in general for that county before starting the judging of each category.

Every judge must read and understand the rules for each category they are judging. For instance one county might have a rule that every entry must have a card with the participants age, on it. Missing that it should be disqualified. There are usually helpers for each department and the county agents are usually available if absolutly necessary. They can answer any questions for the judges about how that county interprets it's rules.

As for what to judge on. - in no particular order.
1) Take into account the skill level - often there are categories for different skill levels. They might be done by age level too.
2) Finish - smoothness (touch everything!) appropriateness, but don't judge purely by your likes. You might hate poly, but it is pretty common and sometimes even appropriate. "Deft Clear Wood Finish" is VERY popular because you can coat it in the back of the truck on the way to the fair on entry day and it will still be dry. DAMHIKT (hint - take a small rag with mineral spirits along - at least one entry will still have wet paint) Of course not every piece is supposed to be sanded glass smooth.
3) Construction. Solid joints. Gaps at the joints? A hand-cut dovetail with small gaps beats a tight machined dovetail which beats a dado which beats a butt joint. Appropriate joints for the piece.
4) Design - often these projects are pretty much from plans so I wouldn't put a lot of weight here. Higher end shows might.

Good luck!

[Shannon Grizzell]

Nice job on the guitar Jim. I'm sure it's a joy to play as well. :)

I admire you for having taught 26 years. It can be a lot of fun, but it definite has its trying moments too.:rolleyes: