December 2022 Turning Challenge: Final Results

[Bill Boehme]

Voting has ended. Congratulations to James Seyfried, the winner of the December challenge.

The December turning challenge was to turn one (or more) Christmas decoration(s) that wasn’t a tree ornament. The challenge now is for all forum members to help select the winner for December. Voting begins now and ends at midnight UTC (coordinated universal time) on December 31, 2022. You are allowed two votes, and once you have voted, you won't be able to go back and change your votes. After you have voted, you can track the vote totals. The voting is secret (just like a real election), so nobody else can see who you voted for (not even the moderators/administrators). In case of a tie vote, the forum moderators will gather in a virtual waist-deep shavings-filled shop to determine the winner. The winner might have to pass a lie detector test before collecting the prizes.

You can click on any of the images below to see the originally posted image and description. Then you can right-click on the originally posted image and select "Open Image in New Tab" (or equivalent, depending on your browser) in the pop-up menu to see the full-size image in lightbox mode. Clicking on any of the images below does NOT cast a vote for that image. To cast your vote, you must go to the poll at the top of this thread.


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[Dean Center]

Boy, this is a really tough decision. These are ALL really terrific Holiday items. Great work, Everyone.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Boy, this is a really tough decision. These are ALL really terrific Holiday items. Great work, Everyone.

It certainly was a tough decision. Thanks to the seventeen contestants, all of the Christmas decorations really are wonderful. And thanks to the seventy forum members who voted and made this challenge a nail-biter. And, finally, congratulations to the December Turning Challenge winner, James Seyfried.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

Congratulations James! Your bells are beautiful! I’d love an audio file to hear them ringing.

 

[Curt Fuller]

Congratulations Jim!

 

[James Seyfried]

Thanks, Bill, Lou, and Curt!

I am amazed to squeak out the win, as there are so many excellent turnings.

I had quite the assist from Curt Fuller. I was so impressed with a couple of bells that he made that I was inspired to give it a try. I used his as models and quickly found that there was a learning curve to making bells.

Lou, they do make a bit of a jingle, but not as loud as I had hoped for. I had bought three sets of little bells. The first batch was too small so I bought a couple more. The larger bell shaped ones that I though might be the nicest didn’t hardly make any noise at all. I even thought about writing a bad review for them. I showed them to my wife and complained about the sound. She said they ringed good, I said, but not very loud. She said yes they do it is just a high pitch. And I was wearing my hearing aids!

 

[Bill Boehme]

Lou, they do make a bit of a jingle, but not as loud as I had hoped for. I had bought three sets of little bells. The first batch was too small so I bought a couple more. The larger bell shaped ones that I though might be the nicest didn’t hardly make any noise at all. I even thought about writing a bad review for them. I showed them to my wife and complained about the sound. She said they ringed good, I said, but not very loud. She said yes they do it is just a high pitch. And I was wearing my hearing aids!

Oh my! That sounds like a recent experience I had with a stud sensor. It no longer made a high pitched sound when it sensed a stud/pipe/wiring. So I went to the hardware store and bought a fancy new Zircon stud sensor and dang if it didn't have the same problem. You would think that these manufacturers would figure out that that a lower pitched sound would be appreciated by us geezers. Also, just recently our doorbell quit working ... or, did it?

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Thanks, Bill, Lou, and Curt!

I am amazed to squeak out the win, as there are so many excellent turnings.

I had quite the assist from Curt Fuller. I was so impressed with a couple of bells that he made that I was inspired to give it a try. I used his as models and quickly found that there was a learning curve to making bells.

Lou, they do make a bit of a jingle, but not as loud as I had hoped for. I had bought three sets of little bells. The first batch was too small so I bought a couple more. The larger bell shaped ones that I though might be the nicest didn’t hardly make any noise at all. I even thought about writing a bad review for them. I showed them to my wife and complained about the sound. She said they ringed good, I said, but not very loud. She said yes they do it is just a high pitch. And I was wearing my hearing aids!

Congratulations. I do a bell Christmas ornament and use a 1 1/4 " bell and it makes a nice sound. You might also find them as sleigh bells.

 

[Russ Braun]

Tough choice for sure; great participation level. Congratulations James!!

 

[Christine Smith]

Congratulations, James!
Beautiful bells!
Having said that I’ll try harder next year!

 

[James Seyfried]

Thank you, Gerald, Russ, and Christine!

Gerald, I have been searching for a larger bell, there are a lot of choices. It does seem like a 1 ¼” would be a good choice.

Christine, I think all of the entries look great and agree with Russ that it is a tough choice. As you have expressed I think competition can encourage and inspire us.

 

[Troy Sorensen]

Great work everyone!