July 2026 Contest

[Michael Mathews]

For July show us pics of Weird Items you've made that aren't obvious what they are. This can be anything!

This contest will end July 31. Voting will run August 1- 10.

Rules:
- Must be created within the last 60 months. That's 5 years
- One submission per creator/artist per category (month). Pick one piece. If you have a set and want to show how it matches okay but you are only entering one piece. Hi-light that one piece.
- Members vote for winners so your submittal 'marketing' post should reflect quality. Limited to 3 photos and 500 words. One post per submittal.
- Any Q&A regarding a submittal should be handled by separate post, or DM/PM. Expect questions to be deleted. Separate posts do not clutter the contest thread, avoids vote biasing, and everyone can share How's It Made (Resources forum content).
- Each creator can win a contest no more than once every six months.
- In case of a tie, a judge panel will make the selection. Judges' decision is final. Judges will remain anonymous.
- Each monthly contest will have two winners, novice and experienced/journeyman/veteran/pro. Novice is defined as <3 years woodworking, cumulative. "Experienced" is all others. Submitters must indicate if they are novice; honor system applies. If you don't declare, you're an experienced woodworker.

 

[JNCarr]

OK, I'll kick this off. This is a 3d printed prototype/breadboard of a weird mechanism that will eventually be made of wood.
It's sitting on 1" grid and final version will be 25-40% larger.

 

[ChemE75]

I finally have something under 5 yrs old! Pretty sure it fits the weird/oddball criteria - made from some odd shaped butternut and cherry scraps as well. Just cut to fit, glued and sanded. No finish. No fancy joinery. I’ll post the first 2 photos so y’all can guess it’s purpose. Next week, I’ll add the photo “in use” to clarify its purpose. FYI, photo on 1/4” graph paper gives idea of size. (I’ll put post/pics in the “What are you making” thread for anyone interested in guessing. Keep this thread clear of clutter.)

Well, there it is on my monitor holding an old laptop webcam. Way back before laptops all had built-in webcams, my wife needed an add-on to use at work. When she no longer needed it, she gave it to me to replace my old low res webcam I had from way back in the day. This one has a rather small range of the clip to latch onto a bezel. It has decent res and works well with current video call apps. So I use it with my desktop monitor but the monitor has a thick bezel. My second monitor has a thin bezel but the backside bows out too close to the top for the cam clip to attach. So this little widget sits on the older wider bezel and lets the cam clip latch on nice and tightly. Also justifies my hauling around a box of odd scraps.

 

[Artisan Pirate]

Mechanical Heart with moving gears, made on the scroll saw

 

[karlkoch]

Ok, I’ve created a few weird things over the years. This piece is from a series of projects made after attending a demo by Rebecca Degroot. This is “Mimic 2” made in 2024. The series is called “Mimic” as a reference to playing Dungeons & Dragons” in college. A “Mimic” was a dangerous creature that disguised itself as a common household item like a box or trunk…woe to the adventurer who reached inside. “Mimic 2” is a Halloween candy treat bowl…go ahead…wanna piece of candy?

 

[Mike Davis]

I am disqualified since I won last month, and I was thinking I've made a lot of weird things in my life.
But, looking back through my photographs I can not find anything truly fitting this category.
This bracelet holder is possibly the closest thing to weird.

 

[creasman]

I'm also not eligible since I've won within the past six months (and this was made over 5 years ago). However, I can't resist posting this weird object here.

In case you want the details, it's a stand for high-end tops like the kind you spin. The person it was made for collected these (some cost $100 or more). This was made as a display stand that also allowed you to spin them. Each pad is slightly concave so the top stays in the center. It's made from an upside down root ball of a red cedar tree. The pads are cedar cookies turned on the lathe.

 

[bowman]

Needed something to use cell phone timer when spending time in the spa. Just glue and brad nails, no finish.

The dowel does have 1 flat to assist in getting getting a tight fit.

 

[woodgnome]

Not really entering, but I had to share …..

The CAT (Aristotle) knocked off the 19” tv on the kitchen counter enough times he broke the legs off
My Beloved lost her patience with it falling off the ramekins I set it on so
I made this.
I had to put just the right curve on it so it wouldn’t rest on/muffle the speakers
One ornery white elephant- the tv died about 16 months later
I can’t find a place for it & I just can’t let it go

 

[TTocs Elgoh Woodw3rks]

This was a wood shaving "rose" that I made my wife for her birthday last year. It's made from hand plane shavings, which were then dipped in a red dye, then I added some deeper red tint to it in some spots. All of the shavings were glued on one end to the main dowel center, then curled over and around it, then glued to another part to get its size. It's not technically weird, however it was weird for me to make.

 

[mbeedy2]

This was made for a friend almost 4 years ago. It was my first attempt at something like this. She added "astro-turf" padding to the top and the bottom was threaded to add a stake so it could be pushed into the ground.

Any guesses on what it is/what it is used for?

 

[pop-pop]

This little turned and bandsawed item:

Is a trash bag holder for our Camry (and it works very well). Secured with hot melt glue.