Wondering if forum members have any unusual hobbies

[Slyk Willy]

I enjoy making hard cider. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy the results all winter, summer and run out just as another batch is ready to make. I started out doing ALL the work, coring, cutting, juiceing, etc. Now I wait for the "end-of-season" cider from a local orchard. They sell it by the gallon, is very good although sweet cider to begin with, I "harden" it for about a month and have 15 gallons or so to enjoy.
I'm not very scientific about it, mostly just add champaign yeast, and extra treats like strawberries, cherries, peaches or pecan favoring.

 

[dstegjas]

If you would ask my wife, she would say I have too many hobbies. However it keeps me busy and I enjoy them. I started collecting and working on antique clocks a few years ago. Some from the late 1800's but most from the early 1900's.

Photography has been a long time hobby of mine. I started out in high school in the early 70's and never stopped. I did wedding photography for several years to pay for my equipment. Now I just enjoy wildlife photography.

One of my other hobbies is Petoskey hunting. My sister has a place up in Michigan and we search for them along the shore of Lake Michigan. They are hard to find if they are on the shore and dry. They look just like any other rock. Once they are wet you can see the pattern. Once we sand them down and polish them this is what you see. Petoskey's are fossilized coral that has been there for around 350 million years.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

I tend to get bored after the first or second round of a project type. Then I move on to the next one.

When my daughter was 8 I built her a scale model dollhouse - 2' x 2' x 2 1/2' high. She played with it for a year or so, then moved on. So we gave it away. I renewed that interest on behalf of my oldest son's 8-year- and 3-year-old daughters, and built the dollhouse shown in the following pictures. I rented a u-haul trailer to transport that dollhouse to their home at Fort Campbell, KY (he was Blackhawk pilot in the 101st airborne).

This house is 2.5' x 2.5' x 3' (tall). The "kit" cost me about $250, then I spent another $2,500 on all of the tiny pieces/parts/windows/doors/masonry. It took me over 1,000 hours, spent over 6 months, to complete. As an example, there are over 4,000 individual cedar shake shingles that I personally stained, cut to fit, then glued to the roof. Similar detail was taken on the wainscotting in every room, some with stained walnut paneling, as well as ceiling molding and walnut hardwood flooring in all interior rooms (except the kitchen and bathroom which had individually glued floor tiles).

A neighbor offered to buy it from me for $4,000, but I passed.

Now my youngest son/DIL just had their first child (little girl) so I suppose I'll have to build another dollhouse, but not until two or three years has passed..

 

[moparclan]

Rebuild and collect Bulova Accutron watches



.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

My passion before that dollhouse was my 2002 Corvette Millennium Yellow coupe. When I purchased it in 2010, it had 2,900 miles on the odometer. Seems a rancher in Abilene, TX bought it for his wife, but she didn't like it. So they parked it in the barn, then finally drove it to a Fort Worth BMW dealer to swap it for a new BMW.

The stock car had a 5.7-liter engine with an advertised 350 hp/350 lb-ft of torque, all measured at the flywheel. Well, once I bought it I made lots of changes. Gutted the interior (and its gray leather) and replaced it with custom "baseball glove brown" leather that I had specially made. At that time I also removed the stock stereo system and replaced with a 900-watt amp, driving a navigation head unit, custom door/cabin speakers (with tweeters mounted in the A pillars), and two 8" subwoofers mounted in the back. Added new gauge faces to match the paint, and similar dash-specific improvements. I did 100% of the interior work myself.

Mechanically, I had a local "wrench" install an A&A supercharger, special "blower" cam, new stall converter, race transmission, race differential, coil-over suspension, beefier sway bars, upgraded rotors/calipers mounted in "plus 2" specially ordered aluminum wheels (built by CCW). Then I added a chin spoiler, side ground effects and a rear lip spoiler - all to keep the car planted at high speeds (i.e. in excess of 175 mph - which the car easily attained). The "as finished" power train dyno'd at 600+ rear wheel hp and 520+ lb-ft of torque, which mathematically converts to around 725 hp at the flywheel. Suffice it to say my 0-60 times improved, although hooking up was always a dicey proposition.

I used to joke that the only thing that remained "stock" on my car was the paint.

Overall, I spent twice as much doing all of these upgrades as I spent on the car's original purchase price. Silly? Sure. Did I get my money back when I sold the car? No. But I knew all of that before I ever started. The process took about 5 years to complete and was tremendous therapy.

 

[NDAR15MAN]

This is one of the best threads I have seen.
Stantheman you sure make a nice holster rig. Do you sale them ? Pm me info if you do. Marty

 

[RC44Mag]

Very nice Vette there. I still have mine, 2006 bought it new and like you I set it up the way I wanted. Complete sound system including Hertz HSK components, Morel tempo ultra integra coax, JL Stealthbox 10" sub, Audio Control LC 4-800 amp, JL XD 600/1v2 amp for sub. HU Kenwood DDX 8019.
performance wise, I also did a Vortech SC. Went with a T-trim, LG long tubes and makes 545 at the wheels on a 'safe' tune. Car has less the 60k miles as it's a weekend warrior ride.
Wheels I got CCW also, 505's powder coated comp grey sized and offset to accept C6 Z06 size tires( 325/275) and stay inside the bodywork. To improve braking I did a Z06 brake swap with the 14" rotors / 6 piston calipers up front.
that's my hobby in a nutshell, not unusual but that's it, besides shooting and fishing in the oceans. SALT LIFE

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Very nice Vette there. I still have mine, 2006 bought it new and like you I set it up the way I wanted. Complete sound system including Hertz HSK components, Morel tempo ultra integra coax, JL Stealthbox 10" sub, Audio Control LC 4-800 amp, JL XD 600/1v2 amp for sub. HU Kenwood DDX 8019.
performance wise, I also did a Vortech SC. Went with a T-trim, LG long tubes and makes 545 at the wheels on a 'safe' tune. Car has less the 60k miles as it's a weekend warrior ride.
Wheels I got CCW also. 550's powder coated comp grey sized to accept C6 Z06 size tires( 325/275) and stay inside the bodywork. To improve braking I did a Z06 brake swap with the 14" rotors / 6 piston calipers up front.
that's my hobby in a nutshell, not unusual but that's it, besides shooting and fishing in the oceans. SALT LIFE

We went down exactly the same path. For me, the research to decide what I wanted to do was as much fun as the doing. I was careful to properly "sequence" all of my upgrades so that I didn't have to confront the expensive buy/install/replace conundrum. My only "duplicate" spends were for dyno pulls, something I always viewed as affirmation of work already done and insurance it was done properly.

I went with LG's super pro LT headers (rather than street pro) as one of my very first mods. LG was about 6 miles from my house, so I had the opportunity to pick Lou's brain (or more accurately, his hired wrench) to ascertain the relative benefits of those two options. Lou's specialty was suspensions, so his coil-overs, spindles, etc. were personally designed by him to pursue his road-racing vocation/avocation.

My other recurring passion is baseball. My dad was offered a major league contract by the Phillies and the A's at the end of WW II (as his destroyer's baseball team was playing tournaments on the West Coast awaiting their discharges), but passed - had to return to Dallas and get a job to support his parents. But Dad did instill his passion for baseball in me and my youngest son. My little guy was academic all state and his team won the "large high school" state championship his senior year in HS. He's a CPA (like his dad) but we still closely follow the game. In fact, we watched the Rangers during the final home stand last week.

 

[jimbo1096]

There's some really great replies to this, and I have really enjoyed reading all the different hobbies that people have. That doll house is fantastic and I wish I had the patience to do that type of thing. Of course, I love cars and all of the car related are fun to read about. Wish I had more energy now you guys have got me looking for things to keep me going in my retirement. Right now I'm doing minor house upgrades. Small things that I can do myself without calling somebody in from the outside. Next time I have to clean out the reloading room because it's become a junk storage space. And of course, as soon as the weather cools down a bit, they'll be a lot more range time.

 

[Watertender]

I enjoy making hard cider. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy the results all winter, summer and run out just as another batch is ready to make. I started out doing ALL the work, coring, cutting, juiceing, etc. Now I wait for the "end-of-season" cider from a local orchard. They sell it by the gallon, is very good although sweet cider to begin with, I "harden" it for about a month and have 15 gallons or so to enjoy.
I'm not very scientific about it, mostly just add champaign yeast, and extra treats like strawberries, cherries, peaches or pecan favoring.

I used to work for a cold storage many years ago and they made some of the best hard cider ever. Then they would convert some into apple jack which is another potent potable that sneaks up on you.
Some of the best homemade stuff I ever had was Slivovitz..... The last thing I remember Stanislaus telling me after a good big slug was.... "Good ting you don't zmoke ziggaret.. you might explode"... I woke up leaning against the wall in a chair....

My Puerto Rican buddy Luis makes Pittoro which is another thing that will make you see Spanish speaking leprechauns dancing a conga line....

Now a can of Coors Banquet and possibly a shot of Kessler's with it to make a Boilermaker is plenty and not very often...

 

[Hvymax]

Genealogy-extensive family tree. Collectibles-Baseball/Football/Basketball and several non-sports cards. First Edition/Premiere Magazines. Coin and paper currency collecting. Reading. Firearms: Only half dozen each of handguns, rifles and one shotgun. I try to keep busy for an 80 yr. old. Photography. Pyramid at Pyramid Lake, NV Aug 1966 is one of my better pictures.

Do you need Maury Povich to sort things out?

 

[jimbo1096]

A-team
Back in the 70s I was heavily into the tropical fish and aquarium hobby. I've built some of my own aquariums and most of the stands they were on. I was even a member of and president of a local aquarium society down in San Diego. In both freshwater and salt water but specialized in cichlids. Work for a while in a pet store. Had one bedroom of a two bedroom apartment with nothing but aquariums in it. It was a fun hobby to raise trade and breed different species of fish, but became quite a chore after a while. And then I moved and it all went away.

 

[bookemdano]

My passion before that dollhouse was my 2002 Corvette Millennium Yellow coupe. When I purchased it in 2010, it had 2,900 miles on the odometer. Seems a rancher in Abilene, TX bought it for his wife, but she didn't like it. So they parked it in the barn, then finally drove it to a Fort Worth BMW dealer to swap it for a new BMW.

The stock car had a 5.7-liter engine with an advertised 350 hp/350 lb-ft of torque, all measured at the flywheel. Well, once I bought it I made lots of changes. Gutted the interior (and its gray leather) and replaced it with custom "baseball glove brown" leather that I had specially made. At that time I also removed the stock stereo system and replaced with a 900-watt amp, driving a navigation head unit, custom door/cabin speakers (with tweeters mounted in the A pillars), and two 8" subwoofers mounted in the back. Added new gauge faces to match the paint, and similar dash-specific improvements. I did 100% of the interior work myself.

Mechanically, I had a local "wrench" install an A&A supercharger, special "blower" cam, new stall converter, race transmission, race differential, coil-over suspension, beefier sway bars, upgraded rotors/calipers mounted in "plus 2" specially ordered aluminum wheels (built by CCW). Then I added a chin spoiler, side ground effects and a rear lip spoiler - all to keep the car planted at high speeds (i.e. in excess of 175 mph - which the car easily attained). The "as finished" power train dyno'd at 600+ rear wheel hp and 520+ lb-ft of torque, which mathematically converts to around 725 hp at the flywheel. Suffice it to say my 0-60 times improved, although hooking up was always a dicey proposition.

I used to joke that the only thing that remained "stock" on my car was the paint.

Overall, I spent twice as much doing all of these upgrades as I spent on the car's original purchase price. Silly? Sure. Did I get my money back when I sold the car? No. But I knew all of that before I ever started. The process took about 5 years to complete and was tremendous therapy.

My 95 LT1 in Competition Yellow. Waxing it was a hobby for years.

Dano

 

[RC44Mag]

We went down exactly the same path. For me, the research to decide what I wanted to do was as much fun as the doing. I was careful to properly "sequence" all of my upgrades so that I didn't have to confront the expensive buy/install/replace conundrum. My only "duplicate" spends were for dyno pulls, something I always viewed as affirmation of work already done and insurance it was done properly.

I went with LG's super pro LT headers (rather than street pro) as one of my very first mods. LG was about 6 miles from my house, so I had the opportunity to pick Lou's brain (or more accurately, his hired wrench) to ascertain the relative benefits of those two options. Lou's specialty was suspensions, so his coil-overs, spindles, etc. were personally designed by him to pursue his road-racing vocation/avocation.

My other recurring passion is baseball. My dad was offered a major league contract by the Phillies and the A's at the end of WW II (as his destroyer's baseball team was playing tournaments on the West Coast awaiting their discharges), but passed - had to return to Dallas and get a job to support his parents. But Dad did instill his passion for baseball in me and my youngest son. My little guy was academic all state and his team won the "large high school" state championship his senior year in HS. He's a CPA (like his dad) but we still closely follow the game. In fact, we watched the Rangers during the final home stand last week.

I pretty much responded to your post because we took such similar tracks. I too was pretty careful researching before making changes( other then the headers) I did the LG Pros 1 3/4 before the Vortech, in retrospect I should have went with the 1 7/8 so I left some power on the table, not going to do them at this point at least until the current ones crack Which isn't likely. Knock wood. I left the suspension alone. It's a Z51 and NY roads can beat the hell out you with even the reg suspension, the wife can't take it any tighter then it is. Last year I did Bilstein shocks on all four and sway bar bushings and endlinks . Much smoother then stock and handles better.
Congrats to your boy's sports and academics achievements.
Big Yankees fan here. My aunt was a long time employee of the team and she passed but her connections there still respect her name and we get tickets for any games we want at face value. Was at two Series games in 09, game one was not a good one and we could feel the bad vibe walking in the stadium and Philly owned them then we were at game 6 and it was great( for us NY folks). This year was a disaster.

 

[3manfan]

 

[Fox Mike]

No anything unusual but I putter around with leather. I used to have my own darkroom for black and white and an enlarger (still have that).

 

[Randyzzz]

I used to always have a couple of Jeeps "in process". Now I'm down to one, a 1981 Scrambler with a 6.0LS, 4L80E, and a fully fabricated 9" rear. I'll get her done some day but my body says "NO" to any more.

I also like making my guns "my own". Once a hot rodder, always a hot rodder. I used to build AR's, now I mostly work on Ruger single actions. RW Gripframes, different hammers/triggers and the like

I pretty much enjoy "tinkering" and there will always be some small repair project on my workbench.

Lastly, my wife has horses, so I'm the official ranch hand.

I consider my dogs "Family", so they don't count as a hobby. But I do spend a lot of my time with them. This is my little Remington.

 

[JCK]

If not hunting, fishing, shooting, boating, shooting competitions, reloading so I can go shooting;
I'm teaching someone else to fly airplanes.

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

Lifetime learning several different martial arts, and a ridiculously sized oil lamp collection. EDIT: I'm told that I should add making liqueurs from scratch, though why that's unusual I don't know.

 

[RC44Mag]

Randy, Scrambler looks great and properly powered. Just missing a set of stainless long tubes. IMO