Unusual interests & hobbies-I’ll go first.

[TechnicAl]

I do a bit of woodwork when the fancy takes me but I also collect Spode (blue Italian)
For the unenlightened its Pottery and it sits on various shelves in our house. Its expensive stuff but you often see job lots at auctions. I buy a job lot and sell what I don't want on ebay and usually get my bits for free or not much. Ive got loads and at face value its worth thousands but stands me at next to nowt. If I sold it on ebay I probably wouldn't get one thousand for it all. It gives me something to do when her indoors is looking around antique / junk shops. We use it for Christmas Dinner.
http://www.spode.co.uk/?gclid=CJGnutDlp8ICFQcewwod2JQAtw

 

[PhillipM]

I didn't know it, but after looking through my drawers, it appears I collect blunt drill bits.

 

[ukracer]

Has anyone got what may be considered unusual or eccentric interests or hobbies?
This is not a hobby as such, but more an interest that I tend to every 2 or 3 weeks.
I keep worms.

Dont they breed and overrun the box.....I am going to breed my own next year for fishing.

 

[MrFluffy]

Away from machines and metal as hobbies, I collect vintage computers and games consoles. Have the usual zx81, amiga, c64, bbc b, a not so usual nec pc98, videopac2000, a original 70s radolin telesports bat and ball game for tv, acetronic mpu1000 console, atari2600, gameboy, ps1 and the other common consoles from the period, a pair of jamma cocktail arcade machines, a upright jeutel arcade cabinet that is undergoing mame conversion because jeutel were a bunch of pirates anyway, bfm fruity, a carousel jukebox and other coin op electronica. Pretty much everything I have was non working when I bought it apart from the crazy fruits and that I bought for my wife as a present originally. Most of it isnt powered on since I use emulators if people want to see one working as I can use them on the wii with the barco crt projector for a display (ex pub, 80kgs, we had to build extra beams to support it when building the room!)
My office here is decorated wtih spare jamma boards for wall art, next to me is streetfighter the arcade variant, and to the right a bench with the usual ragrag of old electronics test gear, the floor has a space invader tiled into the floor pattern, there's glow in the dark pacmen and ghosts and other 8bit and early arcade style art all over the walls that I 3d printed myself, you get the picture

I want a gottlieb pinball next, probably a system80 based one, but I'd love a devils dare but I want one cheap and non working, so just idly browsing at the moment till lady luck smiles on me...

Lots of people who see's my bike stuff and manual machine work thinks I'm a dyed in the wool metalworker, but really I am just a bit of a mad tinkerer at heart.

 

[norlander]

Dont they breed and overrun the box

no, your kids do that when they grow up,worms are less trouble and easier on the pocket.

 

[fizzy]

I seem to be of a similar persuasion to many people on here. Trouble is looking at all these hobbies I seem to have nearly ALL of them!
Astronomy
Archery
Old cameras and Optics
Scientific instruments
Old computers and gaming
Anything engineering related
Old machine tools
Landrovers
Aircraft
Robotics
Fast cars
and Boats
I never watch much TV - or sleep!!!

This is what I want to build after my trailer
http://archive.copanational.org/non-members/PlaneTrade/23685.jpeg
The Murphy Moose

 

[ukracer]

no, your kids do that when they grow up,worms are less trouble and easier on the pocket.

If they dont breed how the hell do I get enough to go fishing???

 

[moose]

My hobby which I first started doing on Boxing Day 1994 and have done every since when time allows is to be a volunteer with Waterway Recovery Group and work on canals ie into the restoration of canals, in the Waterways arenas I am what is called a Wrgie or navvie.

Travel all over the Country working on canals such as the Basingstoke, Wey and Arun, Thames and Severn, Cromford, Litchfield etc.

Work can be scrub bashing ie getting trees down and the roots out, brick work, shovelling sh*t out of locks etc. I have driven 9 ton dumpers, 16 ton road roller, and we also have people driving diggers, off varying sizes. We are all volunteers and do it in our spare time on organised weekends and week long camps which I often lead and are responsible for the work and safety etc. Young people (over 18) can use the camps for their residential section of the Gold Award Duke of Edinburgh.
see https://www.waterways.org.uk/wrg/volunteer/Ways_to_volunteer for more info.

My other activity is being a part of a team that organises shows around the Country for the Inland Waterways Assoc, as the Site manager, I am involved with all the set up, running the event and then the take down. I also help as a bod at events to do with the waterway, this year Helped at Tiverton, on the canal there, Run the site and services at Saul Junction just out side Stroud.

Planning is already under way for August next year (2015) for a boat event at Northampton, will include: boats, camping, a show site and parking see https://www.waterways.org.uk/events_festivals/events_festivals

And when I have nothing to do we have Land Rovers My wife is a club secretary and membership Sec, I'm the Treasure for a small Land Rover club we trail nearly every month and run trailing competitions, club is called the Lee valley Land Rovers Owners Club. for more info http://www.lvlroc.yolasite.com/events.php

And of course when Im bored I work on our boat, or Series 2a, Disco td5, defender 110 or a six wheeled range rover Yes 6x6)

 

[norlander]

If they dont breed how the hell do I get enough to go fishing???

all the fish have been nicked and eaten now, so you just bring back the worms you took in the first place.

 

[Hitch]

Not particularly unusual, my spare time gets taken with a bit of woodworking, I seem to be into turning pens mostly at the moment.

 

[TechnicAl]

I do a bit of woodwork when the fancy takes me but I also collect Spode (blue Italian)
For the unenlightened its Pottery and it sits on various shelves in our house. Its expensive stuff but you often see job lots at auctions. I buy a job lot and sell what I don't want on ebay and usually get my bits for free or not much. Ive got loads and at face value its worth thousands but stands me at next to nowt. If I sold it on ebay I probably wouldn't get one thousand for it all. It gives me something to do when her indoors is looking around antique / junk shops. We use it for Christmas Dinner.
http://www.spode.co.uk/?gclid=CJGnutDlp8ICFQcewwod2JQAtw

Oh and I appear to be amassing quite a collection of empty beer bottles........the bin men have gone to fortnightly collection

 

[CRB]

Oh and I appear to be amassing quite a collection of empty beer bottles........the bin men have gone to fortnightly collection

Just washed mine out for another foray into homebrew.

 

[sardine]

Nudist arc welding.

 

[fizzy]

Nudist arc welding.

Beats a spray tan!!!

 

[Keith 66]

I have a vocation ie boats, then a number of equally satisfying hobbies, airguns, more boats & then last year a mate of mine showed me a cigar box guitar, oh dear the bloody things have a habit of breeding, i started by building a 3 string guitar wih a pitch pine neck & rod piezo pick up, by beginners luck the thing sounds superb & at the age of 53 i have found that i might actually learnt to play an instrument! It has now got a baritone 3 string, a two string & a one string diddley bo to keep it company. In the workshop are 4 more in various stages of completion.
All sound different & the first time you plug one into the amp you never know how they are going to sound!

 

[Keith 66]

Heres a photo of the CBG's, on the left my first one, pitchpine neck fished out of the creek 40 years ago, honduras mahogany fretboard, ebony & bone piano key bridge with antler tip nut. It has a rod piezo pick up with preamp. Second one is the fretless baritone, third is the two string using a smaller box & cherry wood neck. The diddley bo is made from a Kiwi boot polishing set tin of the dump & a broomstick with a disc piezo.

 

[eSCHEn]

They are smart as a dart Keith. What's the sound like, sort of ukulele-ish?

 

[Keith 66]

The first one sounds very bluesy and with the preamp has wicked distortion, second similar but much deeper tone, the two string needs sorting as the strings are tuned too far apart. The diddley bow is surprisingly good despite its dump credentials & is a lot fuzzier.
Thing about these things you will never find two that look or sound the same, 1,2,3,4 or more strings tuned a host of different ways it would take a lifetime to learnt a 10th of it.

 

[eSCHEn]

Any chance of a sound file / video?

How are you doing the pickups, do you buy them in or wind your own or do something else?

 

[norlander]

Any chance of a sound file / video?

How are you doing the pickups, do you buy them in or wind your own or do something else?

this bloke has cigar box geetars and hubcap geetars and gets some wicked sounds out of them-this is on a geetar he got from the dump and its got three strings

I go to Cognac Blues Passions most years, and there are a couple of guys there who sell hubcap and ceegar box geetars, and will often jam something out when they get bored.Ace.