What other hobbys do you have

When I've been trying to work something out on guitar, it helps a lot to put it down for a while, and return later. The machinery behind the eyes often comes up with the goods, rather than getting nowhere trying to batter the door of learning down.
 
When its too cold in the garage for working on a Whizzer or Cushman, i work inside where its warm restoring old Gilbert Erector sets from the 1940s. Very relaxing and no wondering if it will start or get me home.
 
thimmaker said:
When its too cold in the garage for working on a Whizzer or Cushman, i work inside where its warm restoring old Gilbert Erector sets from the 1940s. Very relaxing and no wondering if it will start or get me home.
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Wow, I haven't thought of those for years. I had one with an electric motor that you could use to make a crane that would lift stuff.
I'm curious. How do you "restore" an erector set? Sounds interesting.

Gilbert also made chemistry sets. I had one of those too. Back then they even had potasium nitrate in the set. You could have built a bomb. In fact I almost set my mom's breakfast room table on fire one night using the powder out of some cherry bombs and tin foil and some kind of mixture I concocted from Gilbert. :)

Tom
 
Finally got back to this. Most of the old sets are missing the cardboard inserts that the parts were mounted on. They can easily be remade. The cases are usually rusty and need stripping and re-painting. Parts that are missing can be had on e-bay. Pictures of what they should look like can be seen on e-bay. Best bet, join the Gilbert Heritage Society for $25.00 and you will have access to parts lists and layout pictures.
Geo.
 
When I was in my early teens I had Meccano which is the British equivalent. Mum and Dad gave me a new Meccano set for my birthday and not long afterwards I saw a box of older Meccano in a second hand shop for the sort of price that would be highly unlikely now. Somebody had repainted most of the pieces with light blue enamel paint, but I didn't care as that box full of bits had just increased the size of my Meccano set by around 500% :D

I still have some Meccano and thought about getting more when I was ill to help me keep my mind working and to keep my hand and eye co-ordination up to scratch, but Lego took my fancy instead.
Though after seeing this picture from James May's Toy Story series I'm starting to wonder if I should take Meccano up again ;)

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Not the motorbike one, but still interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYG5V3zRtpg
 

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I saw the programme, from personal experience of sidecars, it would have been stronger with smaller diameter wheels and a lower headstock, and possibly lighter as well. However, they did it,proving yet again that ant like persistence is the real key to overcoming difficulties.

How long until he builds a power tool dragster out of Meccano?
 
Lego has changed a lot since I last played with them!! Forget the car, but like IWW said, that engine is amazing!!
 
Before I got into the motorized bike thing I was making folding pocket knives. I used mammoth ivory and mother of pearl manly for the handles .It took over a month to finish just one.
 
Mammoth ivory? Where on earth do you get mammoth ivory from? Do you have time machine? ;)

Seriously though there's a lot of work in a good folding pocket knife and I can well believe that there's a month's work in one.

And on another note here's the video of James May's Meccano motorbike and the circuit it made of the Isle of Man TT course. Well worth watching IMHO :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abvAEM7ehNg
 
Great thread.

Not a "real" motorized bicycle rider as it is just a means 2 an end. My passion is flying my old paramotor. It's only 80cc, so I need 2 stay light 2 get off the ground. Since my wife and I camp at fly ins, I wanted a powered tandem 4 her and another wife 2 go play on, while I played "up". Hence, my Bikee E2 tandem/GX35/ NuVinci Developer's Kit recumbent. It's totally non kit, as anyone can C when gawking at it in the YMCA bike rack. It goes in the back of the truck, behind the paramotor, and we tow a little Casita travel trailer.

My work has me in Iraq/Kazachstan/Yemen, wherever, 4 5 weeks, then back here in south St. Louis 4 5 weeks off. So, when I'm home, we camp, fly, and ride the little buzz bike. Also cruise south St. Louis together - when there's no snow!!

I'll move over the overlong build description and vids from that "other" forum soon.
 
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No time machine , the mammoth ivory comes from Sibria and parts of China it gets dug from out of the ground with hi pressure water hoses and is very expencive. This is a knife I made a long time ago it shows the outer layer of tusk ivory.
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Went Kayaking for my first time. Decided to kayak Roosevelt Lake and I think I have found a new hobby.

Just wish we had more water around here so its not such a drive to go kayaking.
 

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