Beginner projects/hobbies

[Anonymous No.286708]

Hey /diy/ I've been lurking here for a bit and seen some things that sound fun, but with my skills will never happen. I just wanna know what some of you guys do to get started with some of your hobbies or projects. I can save about $200-$300/mo I live in an apartment where i am allowed to do anything to and have a lot of spare time. Any recommendations on what i could do? I do have some skills when it comes to building, but in terms of hobbies, I have nothing. Doesn't need to be profitable, just something i could do to pass up time.

TL;DR projects/hobbies for a beginner within $200-$300

[Anonymous No.286715]

bump because on the same boat

[Anonymous No.286726]

Model airplanes bro

[Anonymous No.286737]

>>286726
Do you mean like build and paint them? Or just go and buy some? haha

[Anonymous No.286738]

I guess he means assembling and painting, I enjoy it very much to

[Dr Faget !YgQRHAJqRA No.286741]

>>286726
Yup, fun and eats up lots of time. Don't go crazy with supplies at first, just xacto knives + plastic glue + sandpaper and some cheaper models to get started, then go nuts with super detailed stuff if you get into it

Restore something. A small piece of furniture, older laptop, hifi amp, whatever. You'll be pushed to learn a couple of new skills.

If you have a balcony / even a window ledge, grow something. Vegetables, flower, cacti, whatever.

Learn an instrument or language. Bores the hell out of me, but you might love it.

Damn, this thread makes me wish I had more time

[Anonymous No.286742]

>>286737

Or build tanks, they're more badass.

I guess you'll learn some basic skills, like.. airbrushing. Masking.
Cutting your fingers to bits.

[Anonymous No.286744]

>>286741
Well I do have basic piano skills and i was probably going to get a simple electric one soon. But i do get a good amount of sunlight in my back window and cacti sounds pretty cool.

>>286742
Yeah that does sound rad maybe build old war vehicles and maybe soldiers. Nostalgia hard because half my childhood was playing with them and ultimately getting me into RTS computer games haha

[Anonymous No.286808]

>>286741
> If you have a balcony / even a window ledge, grow something.

Grow herbs in a pot on your windowsill and then learn to cook with those herbs.

Other hobbies

-making liqueurs, brewing beer, or fermenting your own cider or even fruit juice hooch.

-baking bread

-making cheese

-buying metal bar stock on ebay ($10), filing ($5), hacksawing ($5) and grinding ($50) into a knife blade, affixing wooden scales ($5?) with brass pins ($2)

[Anonymous No.286850]

Learn to home brew. You can get all the gear you need for around $80-$120, and it will cost about $25 per 5-gal batch of beer (which yields 50+ bottles of beer...).

[Anonymous No.286854]

Electronics. Pick up an Arduino and start with some led circuits. Could get expensive depending where your interest takes you, though.

[Anonymous No.286885]

>>286742
>>286726

I've always wondered how difficult modeling(?) would be when working from scratch, ie not using those silly plasticy kits. I'm kinda thinking of building model of Curiosity (and maybe other rovers to accompany it if it gets lonely).

[Anonymous No.286887]

>>286808
Well I could get into cooking and making my own ingredients. Also making my own knives sounds cool and can make money even. I have friends who love knives so maybe.

>>286850
I am only 19 and don't drink at all so wouldn't benefit me much, but if i were to just sell it cheap to the people at this apartment maybe it'd be worth it. (just as long as I don't get caught)

>>286854
I do know someone who could actually help me with this. But later along the line, what are some more advanced things to make?

[Anonymous No.286894]

>>286887

I think the stuff that LFT makes is fairly neat, eg:

http://www.linusakesson.net/scene/phasor/index.php

Still fairly simple from electronics point of view, but if you want to add complexity then mix in some analogue filters.

[Anonymous No.286897]

>>286894

oh and another neat field imho is robotics. Make a robot that fetches you beer or something (you'll be at drinking age the time you finish, don't worry :))

[Anonymous No.286898]

>>286897
Well there are a few schools in the area with robotics classes, but until i can at least use a soldering iron, and make an led flash on and off, I won't be signing up or attempt to make my own robot. Before i do anything i should probably buy (or make) a nice workbench for most of these ideas.

[Anonymous No.286900]

I occupy a lot of my time with chainmaille and making instruments, such as cigar box guitars, pretty fun.

[Anonymous No.286903]

>>286900
I actually looked a few chainmail threads, but the area i live it it would benefit me to have something bullet and stab proof. Illinois allows people to wear them as long as they don't have a firearm. Also what other instruments have you made?

[Anonymous No.286905]

I'd put the $200 in the bank, spend it on education at a technical college to learn skills that you can score internships with to develop relevant "hobbies" in anything from programming to electrical engineering.

[Anonymous No.286906]

>>286903
You can make a lot of non-armor related chainmaille things as well, which is what I mainly do. I've also made didgeridoos, they don't sound nearly as good as the authentic one I got in Australia, but they aren't too terrible, and it allows me to have ones in different keys. I also make effects pedals for my electric guitars and footswitches and stuff. For less than $3.00 of supplies you can make a footswitch that would normally run you about $30.00 or more

[Anonymous No.286908]

Get into Warhammer, that'll mop up your 300 dollars very, very quickly

[Anonymous No.286910]

>>286906
So mean something like this maybe? I guess most chainmaille threads i read must be people hopeful to do what god wants and convert people to their religion by force.

[Anonymous No.286912]

>>286887
Well, if you're only 19 and don't dink much... maybe not brewing. If you 19 and DO drink, home-brewing is the perfect hobby. It's the best and cheapest way to get beer. My roommate and I started doing it when we were 20... that semester was great.

[Anonymous No.286914]

>>286910
I wasn't aware that chainmail threads were full of Christians...

[Anonymous No.286915]

>>286910
> I guess most chainmaille threads i read must be people hopeful to do what god wants and convert people to their religion by force

uwot8.jpg

[Anonymous No.286917]

>>286914
Well i am sure they aren't, but most i have seem people want to make some form of armor with it. I have seen things with bracelets, but after google, I found a few things i could do to pass up time and maybe sell on ebay or fleamarket.

[Anonymous No.286925]

>>286708
Do something that gets you out of the house. Go on Craigslist, find a cheap road bike. Fix it up, add your own bar tape, paint job, new tires, etc. Start riding at least 20-30 miles once a week. Get better and ride 40-50. I just rode my farthest to date - 103.6 miles in a day.

Or, start hiking if you live in such an area. Hike out and bring a journal, or a sketchbook. Very relaxing and something to do, for me at least.

Lastly, another meditative thing for me is skateboarding. It's a challenge and a stress reducer. You don't even have to do flip tricks or skate flat, just go fast and learn how to carve bowls and skate transitions.

[Anonymous No.287009]

>>286910

Yea, check out the maille artisans website and look at some of the weaves in the library on there. Doesn't have to be a big project. I've made a prom corsage, other forms of jewelry, and just cool looking shit, or you could always become pro and make something like a complete chess set, pic related.

[Anonymous No.287025]

3D printing. Yeah, it has been booming to death recently and all people seem to care about is that they can now print out their favourite characters from games and stuff. But there is far more to it: you will have to learn some basic electronics and mechanical design; physics will also come in handy. Practically, a little bit of computing and 3D skills are a must.
Also, there is a lot of research to do: we still only have that stupid homogenous infill. For example, I am currently working on a solution to provide variable density printing (some MIT students are also working on that, but I cannot patiently wait for them to finish their research and patent it to some closed source company). A lot of complex maths and programming will be involved in the process, making it all really challenging, but that's the fun about it.
Basically, you would be combining a lot of different areas of expertise in this hobby. And with the various complete printers you can buy for around 500$, getting into 3D printing is becoming rather easy.
I am aware that your budget is 200-300$ per month, but those 500$ would only be the initial cost. After that, around 60$ per spool of printing material should last you at least one month as long as you don't start a printing factory. Speaking of factory: you can also print printer parts and sell them for quite some money. It's no exaggeration to say that the profit is several hundred percent of the investment in raw material if you look at the prices of some sellers.

[Anonymous No.287044]

>>286925
I used to actually skate when i was about 8-10, but eventually was bored with it. Also used to ride my bike all the time around 12-16 on my little Haro til my stepdad comes in with a nice bike which i eventually rode about 25 miles a week (furthest was about 20 in one day) and i have a nice bike to ride and may ride it once spring comes around next year.

>>287009
Yeah i am probably going to look into this more. Not sure on what i would wanna start with, but i want to try this.

>>287025
This also seems interesting. I've seen plenty of things around the internet that'll use a 3D printer to print stuff and do services that cost some people an arm & leg. I may look into this a little more and i feel it may be a tad challenging to get the hang of, but once i get going it'll be easy (hopefully) Any recommendations on what printer i should get?

[Anonymous No.287234]

bump

[Anonymous No.287250]

>>287044
bump for this

I want to get into 3D printing for various reasons.
What is the best printer I can get for ~$600?

[Anonymous No.287282]

>>287250
I personally ordered a Solidoodle 2, got the model with the heated bed.

[Anonymous No.287402]

>>287044
>>287250

To get yourself started, the RepRap Wiki might be a good starting point: http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page


Depending on how big you want your build platform to be and how fast you want to print, a Mendel90 might be about one of the easiest designs without compromising stability.
Another cheap alternative could be the Wallace/Printrbot design. However, the X axis looks like it will start to wobble as soon as you reach a little bit higher speeds. So, only slow printing speeds with this one. And it is expensive for what it is if you buy from them directly (instead of building your own).


Personally, although the Printrbot does look quite attractive aesthetically wise, I would rather go for the Mendel90 in every aspect. Not only did I reach about 500mm/sec axis movement (about 10 times the speed most people seem to use) with the one that is available in our college's workshop, the frame is also inherently one of the most rigid ones. If you already have some tools available to work with MDF (there are also builds that use acrylics or aluminum composite and stuff), definitely go for this design.

Just don't let yourself be scammed when you buy the printed parts to build your first printer. Anything >100$ per kit is clearly way too much. The parts for a Mendel90 cost around 20-30$ max for raw material.
Also, get yourself a heated bed. It makes things that much easier.

pic related: Mendel90

[Anonymous No.287408]

The fun part about 3D printing on homemade printers is that there is always something to tweak and improve. I guess it would not be an exaggeration to say that there are only very few printers that are exactly alike because the owners constantly modify them.
In my opinion, this is one very essential part about this hobby.

Of course you could also go the prefabricated route and buy a complete printer (which still is modifiable). In this case, be prepared to pay much more than what you would for parts kits or buying every single part separately.
Still, if you do want a complete printer, and have a lot of money to spend, the best currently available one is the Ultimaker (which you still have to assemble yourself). It costs about 1500$ or so, though. Since it is completely open source, you could also copy the design partially/fully and build your own for less.
In this case, let me elaborate why this is one of the best designs out there (don't misunderstand though, the Mendel90 is still the best low-cost and simplicity oriented design):
The X and Y axes have to move little mass compared to other designs (which is also the reason behind why the Ultimaker is also the fastest printer currently available). All motors are in fixed positions and the bowden extruder design eliminates most of the mass of the printhead. The build platform only moves in Z direction, eliminating wobble in your print (compared to e.g. All Mendel-derived designs with the platform moving in Y direction, which also adds accelerated mass).
The boxy design is also easy to insulate and seal so that you can theoretically keep a constant temperature around the print (resulting in higher quality output) and extract and filter fumes (good for printing ABS which sometimes releases nasty fumes).

[Anonymous No.287755]

>>287402
>>287408
Well you guys just convinced me to save up haha but i will defiantly look into this when i have a little more than $700 for now I'll just stick with something like chainmaille or something.

OP is lurking still.

[Anonymous No.289400]

bumpin