What Are Some Practical Indoor Hobbies to Keep You Busy?

[wolram]

I need an in door hobby to keep me busy, like making some thing, but i can not think of any thing worth making, it matters not what it is as long as it has a use or is entertaining, and the cost can be spread over several weeks/months.
Any one have sensible/realistic ideas?

 

[Moonbear]

Carving wooden bowls? (That's what one of our recently retired faculty has been keeping himself busy doing...I don't know how much it costs to get all the tools for it though. They are pretty bowls.)

You could always learn to make quilts.

I dunno...I have trouble finding hobbies that make useful things too...usually you wind up with a ton of little something or anothers that just collect dust until you're sick of them and throw them out. Sometimes I make Christmas ornaments, either little wooden ones that you then paint, or beaded things or some such. At least then they're useful once a year (or you can give a lot of them away as gifts once a year anyway).

 

[Cyrus]

Paper models. All you need is a printer, paper, and glue.

 

[Barfolumu]

Fiction writing. Or just writing in general.

 

[seycyrus]

Chain Maile armour!

 

[Wesleytf]

a reef tank!

it's expensive, time consuming, and difficult! You'll love it, I know I do!

 

[wolram]

I was thinking more on the lines of making one thing, may be mechanical/electronic, but a thing that is usefull or entertaining, building time can be months, the only other thing is it must not include expensive components, or the cost can be spread out.

 

[wolram]

a reef tank!

it's expensive, time consuming, and difficult! You'll love it, I know I do!

What is a reef tank Wesley?

 

[Wesleytf]

basically a saltwater aquarium. You've got a lot to maintain/monitor, and the build is extensive, too. If you're into DIY, it can be a TON of fun.

 

[JayR]

Do you have kids Wolram?

Try puppetry (a marionette can become quite complicated) not to mention the home made puppet theater.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Make me a guitar.

 

[wolram]

Do you have kids Wolram?

Try puppetry (a marionette can become quite complicated) not to mention the home made puppet theater.

No kids, i live all on my Sweeny, and i am no good at arty stuff, good idea though.

 

[symbolipoint]

You need some imagination to choose YOUR hobby. Consider computer programming, or origami. Other paper constructions, like making wallets(need to use tough paper like market bags of paper).

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Figure out something to make and start selling it on the internet. I don't know much about internet sales, but if you can come up with some quirky thing, you might make some money.

 

[BryanP]

Maybe you should make music? Do everything through your computer.

 

[mcknia07]

You could try making an instriment, like a guitar, like poops said I hear they aren't too hard to make, lol.

 

[BryanP]

get hardcore in chess

 

[Moonbear]

Figure out something to make and start selling it on the internet. I don't know much about internet sales, but if you can come up with some quirky thing, you might make some money.

I wish the internet was around when my grandmother and I went nuts one summer making little poodles out of yarn pom-poms. Her house looked like a puppy mill for pom pom dogs.

 

[wolram]

Fiction writing. Or just writing in general.

I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.

 

[Moonbear]

I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.

Ooh, it sounds like a good one...I'm already afraid to ask.

 

[scorpa]

Learning to make an instrument like a guitar would be cool, lots of room for creativity in it to, plus if you are good at it you can sell them and turn a profit.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I wish the internet was around when my grandmother and I went nuts one summer making little poodles out of yarn pom-poms. Her house looked like a puppy mill for pom pom dogs.

How many pom-pom doggies did you end up with for birthday and Christmas gifts?

 

[wolram]

Learning to make an instrument like a guitar would be cool, lots of room for creativity in it to, plus if you are good at it you can sell them and turn a profit.

Countless ages ago i thought of using a beam of light instead of strings for a guitar, but i think some one all ready did that.

 

[Moonbear]

How many pom-pom doggies did you end up with for birthday and Christmas gifts?

I didn't get any, because I was helping make them...my bedroom was rather full of them too, but when my mom told me I wasn't allowed to bring home any more pom pom doggies, my grandmother continued to indulge me (since she taught me to make them...after my aunt taught her...my aunt is one who has a house filled with the results of craft projects gone crazy). My friends all got at least one, I had shelves, dressers and beds lined with them, my grandmother's house had them all over the backs of sofas, sitting in chairs, covering the guest bed. I don't know how much yarn we went through. The original pattern we had was for bigger dogs, about 10 inches or a foot long, but that wasn't good enough for us, we had to make puppies, we made a bunch about 6 inches long, then wound up in a competition for who could make the tiniest ones.

The hobby after that was using shells to make frogs. My grandmother collected shells for decades and had shelves in the garage FILLED with jars that were all filled with shells sorted out by shape and size. So, when she found projects for using shells, she had plenty of supplies to make a LOT of them. I only made a few of those. My grandmother filled an entire curio cabinet. She had a whole bar scene of frogs made of shells (plus the bar, the drinks, the tables and chairs, the band with instruments, waitresses carrying trays, etc), brides and grooms, and random other characters. It was one of the few things she actually spelled out in her will that my aunt got the frogs. All I can say is my grandfather was a VERY, VERY patient man to put up with my grandmother's quirks.

 

[B. Elliott]

Maybe construct a small engine dynamometer?

 

[Danger]

No kids

Now I'm confused; isn't Kia your daughter?

Anyhow, as far as hobby/construction projects go, I'd recommend creating a new child. You did mention that a hot young honey was stalking you...

 

[B. Elliott]

Just thought of this while eating breakfast. Build a larger Dobsonian telescope!

 

[BryanP]

Go learn a programming language and work on some project.

 

[Andre]

Why not build something like this.

 

[rewebster]

think about some hobby you had as a kid --- and update it (make it adult , ..er, sized)


--or combine it with something you do now or have an interest in----

 

[Barfolumu]

I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.

I'd say pursue it. Part of the hobby in writing is learning how to get something picked up by the market, and will definitely take up time with a minimum of funds. (Hell, to look at the greats, the biggest budgetary problems stems from "alcohol funding" :D)

 

[wolram]

Now I'm confused; isn't Kia your daughter?

Anyhow, as far as hobby/construction projects go, I'd recommend creating a new child. You did mention that a hot young honey was stalking you...

I confuse every body, LOL. Kia is my daughter but she does not live here, and Hmmm, i like the grunting and groaning but i could not stand the crying now.

 

[BobG]

Genealogy is interesting, especially when you wind up corresponding with relatives you haven't known since you were a kid or relatives your parents that they haven't known since they were kids.

I tracked one branch of my family back to 1602 (from Normandy to Guernsey Island of the BCI to Guernsey County in Ohio to Illinois and on to Cherokee County in Kansas). It might be more interesting in the US since everyone's ancestors are immigrants and a lot migrated West even after immigrating to the US.

(It's no coincidence that the county and the home island are named the same. A few people from Guernsey Island established the county when Ohio was first opened to settlement and there was steady influx of their relatives and relatives' friends from Guernsey Island to Guernsey County.)

 

[Chi Meson]

I have a friend (well, acquaintance) who builds benches, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, etc, and then plops them outside with a "for sale" sign. The sale pays for the next load of lumber plus a new tool. He calls it a hobby, and so he's not interested in profit, but he has a lot of great tools!

 

[Danger]

i like the grunting and groaning but i could not stand the crying now.

Stop sleeping with porcupines and get yourself a human female.

 

[rewebster]

Stop sleeping with porcupines and get yourself a human female.

that's not a hobby---that's a life style

 

[wolram]

I have almost made up my mind to make a light operated musical instrument, even though i know nothing about music.

 

[Evo]

I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.

I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

 

[rewebster]

I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

still not feeling well, there?

 

[B. Elliott]

I'm not sure how into motorcycles you are, but I remember once seeing a smaller diesel powered motorcycle that is offered in the UK. May have been offered in the mid to late 80's. I'm not sure how expensive they are, but if you could find one cheap enough you could attempt to build a biodiesel refinery.

A good friend built one for his diesel Dodge truck because he has to haul large game machines back and fourth a 120-140mile trek on almost a daily basis. It's saved him a load of cash considering how much he would be paying for diesel. He gets the waste oil completely free.

This would be more so a neat thing to build rather than something out of necessity for you, though it would be neat to say you can drive anywhere within reason for free.

 

[Wesleytf]

Gah, I'm not allowed to post a url to another site just yet, so maybe you can interpret this. I wanted to show you what a reef tank really looks like...

double u double u double u dot

reefkeeping

dot com

www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-05/totm/index.php

piece that together.

 

[B. Elliott]

Now THAT'S a nice tank. After you've put one together, it's always neat to see the critters coming out that you never thought were there before.

 

[turbo]

Woolie, are you any good at electronics? Years back (MANY years back) I found out that I was unwilling to pay tons of money to have techs repair my tube-driven guitar amps, so I learned how to do it myself, and got good enough at restoring/rebuilding amps that pros and music stores were coming to me for help. The trick is to learn how the sub-circuits of each amp type work, and how you can tune them to meet the expectations of the musicians. I find myself drawn to underpowered rectifier circuits that sag when you hit the amp with a hard signal and then bloom as the note decays. My favorite amp ever was a clone of a Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 that I built. I never should have sold it.

 

[turbo]

Another related hobby - you can buy aluminum chassis-stock and tag-board, design and punch your own eyelet-punched circuit boards and build simple single-ended stereo power amplifiers. Let the stereo nuts supply their own pre-amps, and sell them simple high-quality tube driven power amps. I would suggest 6V6 output tubes, since you should be able to push at least 5 watts per channel at full chat, and still keep down component costs.

 

[rewebster]

Another related hobby - you can buy aluminum chassis-stock and tag-board, design and punch your own eyelet-punched circuit boards and build simple single-ended stereo power amplifiers. Let the stereo nuts supply their own pre-amps, and sell them simple high-quality tube driven power amps. I would suggest 6V6 output tubes, since you should be able to push at least 5 watts per channel at full chat, and still keep down component costs.

are those common tubes in amps?---I have an old Silvertone with those

 

[turbo]

US amps commonly used 6V6 tubes early on, even in car radios. Later, the higher powered 6L6 tubes became the standard in guitar amps. I have a soft spot for the 6V6s and have two Fender Vibro-Champs - little single-ended amps that put out less than 5 watts each and sound like heaven. If anybody is paying attention to this part of the thread, please listen to the Derek and the Dominos studio album. Both Dwayne Allman and Eric Clapton were playing through miked Fender Champs. In order for the guitarists to hear themselves in the studio environment, the amps were set at ear-level - on top of an upright piano. Listen to Derek and the Dominos. Those little amps sound HUGE.

 

[wolram]

I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

While out looking for Some of MoonBs lost sheep you accidently fall down the only ravine for miles around, MoonB get worried you are taking so long and goes looking for you, she finds you at the bottom of the ravine with a head wound.
A tornado has wiped out the only bridge to MoonBs place and has also taken down the phone lines, so MoonB must (operate) on your injury.
All goes well unill the camera picks up on your right eye twitching------------------------.

 

[turbo]

If Evo bites people, will they become hopelessly accident-prone? I see a pretty good Zombie theme there.

 

[wolram]

Woolie, are you any good at electronics? Years back (MANY years back) I found out that I was unwilling to pay tons of money to have techs repair my tube-driven guitar amps, so I learned how to do it myself, and got good enough at restoring/rebuilding amps that pros and music stores were coming to me for help. The trick is to learn how the sub-circuits of each amp type work, and how you can tune them to meet the expectations of the musicians. I find myself drawn to underpowered rectifier circuits that sag when you hit the amp with a hard signal and then bloom as the note decays. My favorite amp ever was a clone of a Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 that I built. I never should have sold it.

I can fix most things, i have this vague idea for new type of musical instrument, i am not really interested in selling stuff thanks for the idea though.
I think the first thing i have to do is build a high quality tone generator, would 0 to 15,000Hz
cover most notes?

 

[Danger]

I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

Sure. I'm only 1/2 necrophile, so an undead is pretty attractive...

I wanted to show you what a reef tank really looks like...

Hmmm... I was expecting to see a bunch of joints with snorkels...