As you may already know, November is Maker Hobbies month here online, a chance for us to geek out over the stuff each of us like to make, as a form of relaxation, fun, flexing our creative muscles, and indulging specialized interests that maybe our family and friends don’t totally understand. For instance, I’m a tabletop sci-fi wargaming nut (namely Warhammer 40,000). Sadly, I haven’t don’t much gaming, terrain modeling, or miniature converting and painting lately, but that’s where my hobby love lies when I have the time and energy (and the budget).
We want to hear from you. What floats your hobby boat? What recreational making do you spend your time dreaming about, thinking about how you would pursue it if you had the free time and the disposable income? Please share us in the comments. And, if you’ve come up with any creative ways of hiding hobby expenses (what hobby is NOT expensive?) from your significant other, please share with the group!
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See all of our Maker Hobbies coverage so far.
28 thoughts on “YOUR Maker Hobbies?”
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Pinball
Video arcade games
BBQ
Photography
TF2
and….
I just got my Arduino Duo starter kit from the Make Store!
I mainly interested in making small robots.
When I’m strapped for cash I like to design and make papercraft toys and automations, if you have a printer, paper and a knife that is all the cost. (There is one I designed here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Walking-Papercraft-Mech-Warrior/ )
Your mech automaton rocks, nice work.
OMG. That’s amazing. I will bloggerate, for sure. Thanks!
I make fireworks and pyrotechnic firing systems. Current project is a wireless firing system using Propeller processors and XBee transceivers. I also make dinosaurs out of welded steel and am in the process of mosaicing the outside of my winter house in Jamaica. Pictures of some of the dinosaurs and mosaic work at http://www.pyrotom.com
radio controlled cars and trucks and anything else… too many in the shop. Nitro , electic, gas, anything really.
I like computers a lot too, video games, hmmmm teaching my kids to make / break stuff (how else do you learn how something works)?
I have been interested in model trains for the longest time, but have not had the room to make a layout. I finally have the room and I am in the process of making a train layout.
One of my current projects is an N Scale layout based on a 1938 British prototype to go inside a glass topped dining table. The table will have the right 1930s style British railways look to it. It’s led me off on a bizarre tangent which is to design my own house in the shape and style of a classic British railway signal box but that’s another story.
My hobbies are pretty much self funding now from writing them up, putting them on the Internet and getting ad revenue, selling the story to magazines or just making something then selling it. I try to make things to make me money to allow me to make more things!
I like to make things in the physical world cause I make software during the day. We started making bike bags for fun. We gave a few to friends and Laura is trying to make a go of it full time selling them on line. I still get to help make them and it was cool. To see our hobby turn in to a full time gig (well for half of us!)
So now it is fun cause my hobby expenses are now business expenses!
Joe
I am building small vehicle which could be controlled over the Internet. There is a camera on board and it is possible to drive around from all over the world.
Now, when almost all technical problems are solved, I am trying to organize races. The “drivers” should be able to buy the “ticket” on eBay and then participate in particular race. Collected money should cover relevant expenses and make profit to let the organizers build more cool robots :-) . More details could be found here: http://veter-project.blogspot.com
I am a classical technical geek :-) and it is hard for me to take care of all relevant organizational aspects. So we are looking for someone who can help us from the organizational point of view.
Over the last few years I’ve been learning to bind books. I’ll grab an etext from Gutenberg, redo the format and layout to my liking, print and bind. As hobbies go, it is actually quite inexpensive, the main ingredient obviously being paper. The only specialty tool I have is a book press, which I cobbled together for about $15.
This is my copy of Origin of the Species, one of my earliest efforts.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7175635/Origin%20Outside.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7175635/Origin%20Inside.JPG
Flying rockets(but not as much as I used to), RC flying wings, someday finish my diy-dronewing, plan to pursue a pilots license and ultimately build a plane.
Fortunately my wife is down with it, since we’re remodeling the house first. She gets the house, I get the plane(which is less than the house now that I think on it).
Flying is still damn expensive, but I think I’ve found a somewhat cost effective way to (eventually) do it. It’ll never compete with an airline ticket, but that’s not the point.
The small plane view is better, and while it’s theoretically possible to barrel roll a 737, I’d prefer not to be in coach while it’s happening, I mean, think of the drink carts…
Brewing beer at home is one of the best hobbies I’ve ever attempted. It combines cooking and science and building things, experimenting, just everything that I love to do.