READ ALL OF THE RULES BEFORE SIGNING UP!!! (I did shorten this up from last year, I swear!)
While I do ask that you consider waiting until a future swap if you haven’t built a shootable bow before, the Bow Swap IS open to all levels of bowyers. Your goal in entering the swap should be to challenge yourself and pour your heart and soul into making a bow for your recipient by the deadline; it SHOULD NOT be to score a sweet bow for yourself.
By signing up for the 2019 TradGang Annual Bow Swap you are entering into an agreement with the other participants that you will abide by the rules of the swap below and are on the hook to deliver a bow to your recipient (hereafter referred to as ‘victim’) by the due date. We expect you take your obligation seriously and not leave someone hanging because you procrastinated until the end and then life got in the way. If you’re not sure you want to be held to this kind of commitment, don’t sign up.
IF YOU’RE STILL ONBOARD:
Good! Sign up by posting in this thread and please list the following information: your draw length, desired draw weight within a 5-10 pound range, right or left-handed and whether you will be building a glass or wood bow, one piece or takedown for the trade. If you are making a glass bow and want glass in return, or making wood and want wood in return, please note as much. Also note if you’re are willing/able to ship international.
Once you’ve signed up, PM me your shipping address as well as a good phone number and email address to reach you at if anything comes up. This contact information will be kept private.
Signups are now open for three weeks, closing January 25, 2019 at midnight (EST). I will PM your victim’s information as soon as I can get it all ironed out, but I promise no later than Friday 2/1. If you need additional info on your victim, PM me and I will gather it for you so you don’t have to worry about tipping your hand.
DEADLINE:
You have four months to get your bow shipped, the shipping deadline is Friday, May 31st. Remember not to wait until the end because: (a) everyone likes to see bows getting delivered early, (b) lots of stories of bows that didn’t make it to the finish line and a plan B (or beyond) was required, and (c) we all get curve balls in life we have to work around.
There will be a 30 day grace period after your shipping deadline. During this 30 days (and hopefully prior) I expect you to be in constant communication with at least myself if not the larger forum on your progress. If I don’t hear from you, I will be calling at all hours of the day and night to get updates. If that proves fruitless, I plan to arrange a TG member posse to show up at the address I have on file for you to see if you need help finding your phone. Any bowyers who do not ship by the end of the grace period will be asked to forward the bow they received directly to their victim.
Note there is no distinction in deadline this year for newbies and no holding of bows until newbie ships. (I do reserve the right to tell a bowyer to hold a bow if I start to worry about progress by their victim.) Not only did everyone ship on time last year, but looking through old records from Kelly the newbies have always made a great showing and the deadbeats are more likely to be old veterans who didn’t take their commitment seriously or had a curveball and didn't reach out and communicate as much.
COMMUNICATION:
The only way this annual swap is going to stay alive in the future is through good comms by all participants; a lot can be forgiven and worked out with good communication. Keep us up to date on your progress in the Progress Thread; that’s half the fun of the swap. If Roy can figure out how to post pictures, he can probably help anyone else do the same. Reach out to me at any time if you have concerns, have come up with problems, have an emergency, etc. The Gang here on the Bench is a pretty helpful and generous group if you share what’s going on and ask for help. But there’s also little patience left for people who just stop communicating when they fall behind and keep this swap unfinished until the New Year. I wasn’t joking about the posse.
UPON RECEIPT:
You need to post some pictures. Your bowyer may post the most beautiful pictures in the history of bow porn prior to shipping, but that doesn’t remove your obligation to post at least one full draw pic with your new bow. I don’t want to hear any excuses about camera batteries in a sock drawer. Find a teenager somewhere to take a picture for you if necessary, or call me and I’ll see if we can get the posse to visit and help you out.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
Same as prior years: to keep it as honest as possible, no one who has signed up to TradGang after the date of this post can enter.
Over the years there have also been a few concerns about liability, so I will throw in that anyone who receives a bow in this trade is doing so at his/her own risk and in no way can hold anyone responsible in any way should a misfortune occur due to the use of said bow.
IT’S GO TIME…
Topic: 2019 Bow Swap Sign-Up Thread - CLOSED (Read 14390 times)
