But at some point, I end up convincing myself that it's a bad investment of my time. Some examples:
- The above referenced 1/4 grave digger project would be an awesome test of my fabrication skills. But when it's done, I won't enjoy playing with it. 1000's of hours for "push stick forward, vehicle goes foreword". Kind of like lego's, the fun's all in the build.
- I'd love to get into woodworking, but I already have all the furniture I need. Why would I invest in a 1k wood shop (that's CL prices)? What would I create with all the tools and experience? I'm not going to quit my job as a programmer to become an entry-level woodworker.
- I'd love to build my own sawmill (kind of like Jaimie), and build from nature in general. But where would I get wood? Can I make it cheaper than store bought? Do I have the time to invest so that I don't wind up having to go to the store anyway?
- I'm really fascinated by CNC, 3d printers, and metal casting. I want to be able to make my own stuff, and excuse myself from a consumer culture. But those things all involve pretty significant money/time investments. And who are we kidding? After that huge investment, what am I going to print/cast/machine.. that would be worth that investment?
You don't really do a hobby like this because it will save you money, or because you need the end result, you do it because it's fun. I've just started building a reprap (3d printer) not because I need low-rez cheap plastic thingies, but because it's fun and challenging.
You could try building a simple CNC machine. Then you could test your fabrication skills and use it afterwards to make cool stuff. It wouldn't have to be anything complicated either. Use a simple drill for the blade and make some sort of arm to move it around. Then write a basic program to run it. Follow YC's style. Make something simple as fast as you can that just works and then as time goes by improve it. Man, I think I know what I'm doing this weekend.
1/4 scale grave digger: http://www.youtube.com/user/rcWizzard/videos?sort=da&vie...
Matthias Wandel's various projects: http://woodgears.ca
Giant robot project: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL13A11662BDE6EB83
But at some point, I end up convincing myself that it's a bad investment of my time. Some examples:
- The above referenced 1/4 grave digger project would be an awesome test of my fabrication skills. But when it's done, I won't enjoy playing with it. 1000's of hours for "push stick forward, vehicle goes foreword". Kind of like lego's, the fun's all in the build.
- I'd love to get into woodworking, but I already have all the furniture I need. Why would I invest in a 1k wood shop (that's CL prices)? What would I create with all the tools and experience? I'm not going to quit my job as a programmer to become an entry-level woodworker.
- I'd love to build my own sawmill (kind of like Jaimie), and build from nature in general. But where would I get wood? Can I make it cheaper than store bought? Do I have the time to invest so that I don't wind up having to go to the store anyway?
- I'm really fascinated by CNC, 3d printers, and metal casting. I want to be able to make my own stuff, and excuse myself from a consumer culture. But those things all involve pretty significant money/time investments. And who are we kidding? After that huge investment, what am I going to print/cast/machine.. that would be worth that investment?
And that's the motivation for my side project.