Hi everyone. I am feeling like I’ve lost any direction after getting laid off earlier this year (was working as an analyst in telecom and very recently landed a much lower position in healthcare data entry due to necessity). I already have several hobbies but I am either burnt out on them or they have lost their luster (similar to how life has lost its luster for me this past 6 months).
I would really love to learn a new skill, preferably using my hands to create something while challenging my brain. I’m willing to take classes, study, practice, and buy some equipment required for the skill.
Please tell me about your skill/hobby that gives you purpose. I’ve kind of exhausted google search which always returns the same 20 or so craft suggestions like “make custom invitations for weddings”, and while that sounds good for someone, it may not be good for me.
Current hobbies: Music composition and gardening,
EDIT: trying to move away from hobbies that involve me sitting in front of a computer. I already do that way too much.
Have you deepened into jazz harmony theory? What about permaculture?
Learning buddhist meditation is also a great asset IMHO
I learned how to flintknap a little, and it was super fun. I heard buying rocks can be expensive if you don’t live near where they’re plentiful, but what hobby doesn’t get expensive? I went to the class with my brother in law and he got absolutely lost in the sauce working on his flint, and didn’t talk to anyone else there
It can be tiring but it’s definitely fun seeing what you’ve made (even if you’re not very good at it like me) and besides, you get to say you’re hitting rock/buying rock so there’s even more fun to be had!
I have a small machine shop where I make little doodads out of metal. All of my equipment is manual. If I want to cut metal on my lathe or mill, I’m spinning handwheels and engaging power feed levers. I then have to sit there, watch the beautiful blue steel chips fly, listen to the sound of the cut, and wait for the cut to be finished so I can turn off the power feed. Then I turn off the machine, get out my micrometers, carefully measure my cut, and do it again until I’m done. Then, I take the work out of the vise or chuck, grab my file, debur all of the sharp edges (I love the sound of a good file knocking off metal burrs), and get to work on the next part.
It’s intensely peaceful. Machining tools are relatively quiet and stately (power woodworking tools scream like evil demons). Small hobby tools are slow, so you always have plenty of time to enjoy yourself. It requires a lot of planning and thinking, and it helps you develop a much more attuned mechanical touch. You get to make really cool shit out of the best material (i.e. metal), and it’s a genuinely useful skill. I do software development, and I spend way too much time sitting at my desk. Machining is my escape.
One downside is that it can be expensive. Good tools cost money and good metal costs money. I’d guess that I have $20K invested in my shop, but I’ve also been doing this for 7 years now. The initial investment isn’t that high. You can save a lot of money by making your own tools, which I didn’t always do. Used tools are also a really great option (except for measuring tools, sometimes you have to buy those new). To get metal for cheaper, go to nearby machine shops and ask nicely if you can buy scraps from their offcut sections. If you tell them that you’re learning machining, they’ll be very likely to oblige!
The other downside is that it requires you to be careful. Human flesh is soft compared to metal. Machining is only dangerous if you’re incautious, but I feel like it’s important that I bring up safety when I recommend machining as a potential hobby.
If you’re interested, check out Blondihacks on YouTube. She has some great videos on how to get started with your own hobby machine shop. I also really like Clickspring and This Old Tony. Clickspring has some good project videos on his channel, and TOT is hilarious and educational.
Here’s the thing I’m most proud of making. I adapted the design of a 3D printed yarn winder to manual machining and built it from scratch. All of the metal parts started out as raw stock (everything is 4340 steel, except for the base plate which is ductile iron). The base is black walnut. The little feet are brass, with sorbothane feet on the bottom.
Honestly, that’s really beautiful. I can tell you have a lot of passion for your hobby. I am going to look into this and subscribe to the youtube channels you listed. Thank you!
It’s definitely been life-changing for me. I never had the “touch”. When I’d do stuff around the house, I’d put in screws at crazy angles and drill holes in the wrong places on walls. I never felt like I could fix or build anything. Machine tools let you build crazy shit without relying on your visual reasoning or coordination. You want a hole at a spot? Move the handwheels to that spot and you’re there. There’s no fucking around. That built up my confidence, and the stuff that does require spatial reasoning (like using a file to turn a round hole into a square one) happens slowly enough that you can make mistakes and still be okay.
If you decide to get into it, I’d recommend getting a lathe first. if you can’t afford a mill, a drill press is still very useful. You can do almost anything on a lathe if you try hard enough, and a drill press makes some things a lot easier. Blondihacks will have a lot more to say about it, but I believe that’s her recommendation.
Ha ha, read this wonderful piece through thinking, sounds great but what would I ever make? And then omg, yarn winder. I’m a knitter, and my yarn winder is a plastic monstrosity. I mean I’m never going to do it myself, but there definitely is a market for beautifully machined yarn winders.
My mate started terrarium building.
For very little cost, you can look for second hand fish tanks and go for walks to collect moss, rocks, twigs etc. Weirdly it built more meaning to the more ‘I need to move my body so I’ll go for a walk’.
Now he likes hiking, and collecting moss along the way.
The actual terrariums are gorgeous too.
Thought of a few more.
I should mention metal scraping, surface lapping and lens/mirror figuring (like for a telescope) too, since the other forms of metalworking have been brought up. For woodworking, there’s all kinds of old techniques if you’re looking for something a bit different. Cooper isn’t just a last name.
Stone knapping, like to make arrowheads or similar. It’s tricky I hear, but you can do it with any reasonably thick piece of glass to start, and move up to actual rocks eventually.
Weaving, spinning and of course knitting and sewing. Textile hobbies are associated with women, though, and Lemmy is mostly men, so you might get the occasional weird look.
Someone else mentioned canning, and I’ve done that one - I’m pretty good at it, too, although it’s hard work. Taking normal food and making it last literally forever is neat, you just need to pay attention to all the details.
Navigation?
Metal working, (although kinda expensive to get into) sheet metal bending, machining, welding. I really enjoy learning and making real world useful parts out of metal.
Wood working/whittling Its cheap to learn and can be very rewarding. Id suggest to look at local stores for discarded pallets for free wood. To make a few things out of, aim for hardwood, but lots of them end up being pine.
Potentally electronics? (Although you said you didnt want a hobby that doesnt use computers)
Photography could be rewarding Going outside to parks and just taking pictures really helps feeling grounded an in the now. And you can show others your photos!
I’m taking some welding classes later this year. Being able to fix or create things with a welder seems like a useful skill to have.
I suspect the intro classes are all the same regardless if you take welding into the art direction or the mechanical direction.
That’s really cool. I’ve considered welding, seems really neat. Good luck, build something awesome!
Also, you can make really good money welding.
I really want to get into casting, because it’s crazy how much stuff you can make. Machining too, but that requires a lot of equipment. If you want to use metal casting to make machining tools, David Gingery’s works are a classic.
Machine is a very fun hobby, but be very careful when using high power tools. Mills, lathes and surface grinders can easily bite yah. As my shop teacher once said “If it can cut metal it can cut you!” “Metalworking tools are not toys, treat them with respect and they will respect you back” “Follow the MSDS procautions and shop rules, ie no long sleeves or gloves near rotary equitment and dont roll up sand paper on the lathe”
It is very rewarding being able to show people the part you made and solving problems feels great too!
Casting can also be dangerous. It’s not too surprising, when glowing hot molten liquid is involved, but it’s not necessarily intuitive. Any excess moisture in the work area is a potential steam explosion, including the water in porous concrete you might not think about. Materials weaken at high temperatures, and thermal expansion when you’re going up that high is more than a detail. To deal with that, use PPE, your brain and Murphy’s law. They say to assume everything in a metalworking shop is hot unless you know for a fact that it isn’t, for example.
Machining is also cool because you can get microscopic precision with pretty standard equipment, and quite often need to if you want something to make something like a smooth-rolling bearing. That makes it a lot more of a science than more common skills like woodworking.
I did not know about water expantion being a hazard when casting. Wow go figure. Casting is pretty neat, ive had a few buddys cast alumium and its hot as balls when pouring into a mold, but has alot of compontents that you really dont know unless your into it. Like water expantion, thats pretty cool thanks for sharing!
I’ve been into 3D printing for a few years now and it’s been a really fun hobby that has grown over the years.
I started with a cheap FDM printer which basically is the most common kind that extrudes plastic onto a build plate to create a 3D object. I then began learning how to create my own objects in various CAD programs like Fusion 360 and even Windows 10/11’s 3D Builder. I started making small alterations to existing objects I found online. The first was because the object I wanted was too large for my small print bed so I learned how to modify the model on my own in the CAD software. I then began doing more complex things like creating objects from scratch to be used. I’m mostly into practical printing but there are a lot of people who choose this for miniatures like for DnD and Warhammer or for creating cosplay armor/accessories.
Most recently, I moved into resin printing (SLA) which is different than FDM in using liquid resin and lasers to create the 3D objects. This is more expensive and more hands on in terms of needing post processing and also more safety involved because resin is toxic to breathe in and also hazardous to the touch, but has been very satisfying and a joy. The level of detail is much higher quality on SLA than FDM, generally feeling like something you’d actually find in a store than something that has noticeable lines straight from a FDM printer bed. Not that you can’t achieve similar qualities with FDM, but it just will require more work like sanding and polishing.
Similarly, my girlfriend likes to crochet and we both have grown to find commonalities in our hobbies. I recently created and 3D printed a crochet hook for her with a cute little buddy on top which she has been awing over the past week.
We have gone to some local street fair events and often find people who are selling their crocheted and 3D printed stuff, usually like stuff animals and desk toys, respectively.
But if you feel burnt out, you may need something else in your life. Maybe to find a more fulfilling purpose like helping others? Speaking from experience, some of my burnt out feelings have been “fixed” when I spend time helping others and being a source of strength for someone else. I find myself most satisfied when I have been able to improve someone else’s life in some way. Just to throw that possibility out there too.
All great suggestions. I was gifted a secondhand resin printer a while ago. I don’t have any post processing stuff or anything so haven’t really delved into it.
Currently I am sitting on the board of directors for a new non-profit. Been trying to get it off the ground and have done some good in the form of utility relief for families in need. Its a lot though and while I am keeping at it, its not really scratching my itch to find new purpose.
Woodworking. I love it. Wood is such a warm medium to work with, and it’s a really easy hobby to get into, too. You don’t have to buy expensive power tools, nor do you need to set a target of making fine furniture.
For me, I started out with scrap wood, trying to make as perfect as dovetail joint as possible, using just hand tools - a cross-cut saw and a good, sharp chisel.
That took me down a path of trying to learn different joinery techniques, which was a whole lot of fun. I bought a couple of joinery books from the big A and scrounged scraps from my local hardware to practice on. And, I know you said you wanted to get away from the computer, but there’s some incredibly good woodworking channels on YT. I tend to avoid the ones that talk too much about what they’re doing - I prefer to just watch masters at work. I find Japanese woodworking videos incredibly satisfying and enjoyable.
I don’t get to indulge the hobby as much as I want - family life keeps me pretty busy nowadays - but, when I have the occasional afternoon to myself, I love spending it in my little workshop, mucking around with wood. I always come away from a bout of woodworking feeling relaxed.
I was about to say something like this, hands on work is really satisfying when you can see the results in front of you, and even show them off as well!
Wood working is very fun an obtainable. At the end all your really need is a knife and some wood! Realtically if you want to get into it your gonna need some hand planes, but its a pretty fun and useful past time.
Do you live in an area where you can go sailing?
Heh, unfortunately no. I was born and raised in Ft Lauderdale, but now reside in Missouri… so no where near water, lol.
Not trying to dox myself, but I also live in Missouri and have a sailboat on Carlyle Lake in IL (about an hour from St. Louis). If you’re anywhere in the area, our sailing club is doing our annual Try Sailing Day on June 22nd. Free rides on a variety of different small sailboats and catamarans in exchange for a gentle sales pitch to sign up as an associate member, take some lessons, and be able to rent out any of the club’s fleet boats or volunteer to crew for someone on the Sunday buoy racing circuit.
Thats super cool. I didn’t think it would really be a thing around here. I will look into it. Thanks!
Most of the larger lakes in the region have similar organizations, Perry and Smithville over on the KC side as well as the Ozarks in south central all have sailing orgs to a greater or lesser extent.
Going thru similar shit right now myself I found an anchor in working out. I started from total zero - zero push ups, zero pull ups, zero sqats, zero crunches. I can do most of these now, with pullups to go still. But I also got into better mindset and learning discipline too. Good stuff that I’ve neglected for 20+ years.
Keep it up! That’s great progress.
Gymnastics. Seriously. You don’t need to be all that athletic to do the core basics. You get fitter and have fun just throwing yourself onto big soft mats.
If you become a plumber or electrician it will satisfy your desire to create with your hands while challenging your brain. It pays decently good and keeps you in shape too.
As an electrician you’ll start off paid low for a year or two as a laborer, but in four or five years I think you’ll be a trade professional making good money and doing useful work.
