So many fun things to do, too little time

[Andrew Schlosser]

I've been doing woodworking now for about 8 years. Last year, I got a MIG welder and started working on homemade bikes. This year, I started working on the metal lathe, mill, and CNC. A few weeks ago, my wife gets me a blacksmithing book, and the shop across the street from my house is selling a small forge.

Question: With all these fun, useful, interesting hobbies- how am I supposed to fit them all in AND put in a productive day of concentration at work?

What are the other hobbies that you guys are into? And how do you blend it with work?

[Adam Strong]

My other hobbies usually share equal time and many are some how related back to woodworking at some point. Metal working, RC airplanes, RC cars, gardening, luthier (making guitars), and I am sure I have forgotten some others. Lately wood working has taken more than it's share, but these are mostly paid projects so I guess that makes it more of a job than a hobby. When your hobbies are included in your work, it helps keep that concentration and productivity level up.

[Paul Greathouse]

My other hobbies are hunting and fishing. My sons and I will be going to check on our duck/goose blind this morning, the season opens in a couple weeks.

I have enough time for woodworking/cabinetmaking but I do find myself thinking about projects while at the day job. I have 5 weeks of vacation to burn at the end of the year, thats when I'll be building a new set of cabinets for our kitchen. Hunting in the morning, cabinets in the afternoon for 5 weeks straight, Man I'm Blessed.

[Paul Atkins]

I'm a woodturner by trade and woodworking is my main hobby. I have a metal lathe and want a mill too. A wire welder is on the list. This is so I can work on my antique cars and just fix stuff. Oh, yeah, the kitchen is torn up, so I guess that is a priority. I 'need' a video camera so I can do more woodworking videos and about 32 hours in the day. I'd like to rebuild the player piano and set up a small archery range and the kid next door wants to learn woodworking ---Bored? Who me?

[David DeCristoforo]

"...how am I supposed to fit them all in AND put in a productive day of concentration at work?"

The only thing worse than being busy is not being busy. But if you want to take up one more "hobby" that is guaranteed to drive you to distraction, take up chess. Set a goal of learning only the most common variations of the most common openings. Then see how much time you have left for "the rest" of your life!

[Dan Forman]

I have many hobbies, and find that I can only really do one at a time, as I like to be fully engrossed. So I turn for a while, do flat work for a while, make fountain pens for a while, etc. The worst time "sucker" is all of these darn forums!

Dan

[Jacob Mac]

Originally Posted by David DeCristoforo

"...how am I supposed to fit them all in AND put in a productive day of concentration at work?"

The only thing worse than being busy is not being busy. But if you want to take up one more "hobby" that is guaranteed to drive you to distraction, take up chess. Set a goal of learning only the most common variations of the most common openings. Then see how much time you have left for "the rest" of your life!

I can waste days just on puzzles and tactics. What a grand hobby. And a lot cheaper than wwing.

[Bill Arnold]

Well, let's see. Does continuing to add to one's shop when one has a break in a current woodworking project count as a "hobby"? Hmmmm..........

Photography has been a lifelong hobby but I seem to have little time for it on a regular basis. I'm still filtering through the 639 frames I shot on a recent Fall color trip to Blue Ridge, GA!!!

[Paul Ryan]

I am trying to get somethings done in the shop. But time is ticking away very very fast. MY wife is due with our second child in 1 week. So that is certainly going to put the brakes on anything I hope to accomplish in the near future. Today I was repairing and putting up deer stands for the season that starts next sat. I will probably be sitting in the stand when my wife hollars out the door, "my water just broke." The stand farthest from my house is about 300 yards. I will have to call my mother to take my wife in to the hospital. Deer season only comes once a year!

[Jim FInn]

Other hobbies? Building RC airplanes (a while ago) and Ballroom dancing.

[Harold Burrell]

Woodworking is actually my secondary hobby.

My #1 hobby has to be shopping for Woodworking tools.