What do penturners do for a hobby?

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Texatdurango

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I'm sitting here enjoying my morning coffee thinking about a question I read the other day... "Where does the white go when snow melts?". I invested half an hour on that one :) so figured it was time to move on to another thought when I got to thinking about what people do in their spare time. I enjoy every moment spent in my shop and don't consider any of it "work" but it seems that the majority here on the forum make pens as a business, some grinding out long hours to meet deadlines, shows, etc.

So my question is...What do all you "professional" pen turners do for a relaxing hobby?
 
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I am relaxed when im shooting. Something about being out back, nobody around, and just taking aim and shooting at my steel targets relaxes me. The more you do it, the more you enjoy it. Its not too much unlike turning pens. The more we do it, the better we get.
 
What makes you think that those of us that do Shows, and make deadlines are not enjoying what we do. Granted the excitement is a different excitement, now we get excited about finding a new venue to sell our "hobby-works" at. I still go out to the shop for relaxation and consider pen turning a hobby that also makes MONEY so my new terminology "Hobby-Works" fits me. Are their others out there that do shows that still consider pen turning relaxing?
 
I play World of Warcraft and take college classes as a hobby, lol. Of course I also work 2 full time jobs so not sure how much of hobby they are.
 
Turning is still a hobby, but aside from that, geocaching, family camping, yardwork, home renovation projects.......
 
markgum said:
between SWMBO and kids, and work,,, I guess work would be the hobby.. :biggrin:
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Ha! I have to agree, sometimes it feels that's the way it is.

For me, though, woodworking is the hobby. With Connor's birth, I've lost a lot of time in the workshop, so the pens take up most of my woodworking time. However, I just cleaned up the shop yesterday and am planning on expanding it a bit so I can start making some shop cabinets/etc.

Outside of woodworking, though, I guess checking IAP is a hobby...right? :tongue:



daniel
 
When not pen turning I repair and restore old furniture and then if it needs it I reupholster it. I also repair things for friends. Recently I have begun to restore Atomic expresso machines. They come from Italy and work on the stove top or even better, a camp stove. I have had mine for over 30 years. It is lots of fun. I also work on cars, especially my oldest daughter's.
 
When I'm not making turning tools or actually turning a pen or bowl, I guess my hobby is building Volkswagen's, I've got a 70 Baja body setting on a 74 IRS pan with about 95hp and the other day a 1971 sedan followed me home from the Doctor, I had to get the neighbors sons to get it off my trailer <LOL> it will be a Cal Style Low Rider for my wife. I've been talking to a farmer that has a 67 Micro busin a field, he might be willing to sell, I have to find some place to put it though.
 
This is all hobby for me. I usually get into the shop about once a week, usually
on Sundays. My shop is about 15 miles from home, so I don't get a chance to
go during the week unless I'm driving through that town and I can sneak in for
a few minutes..
 
Riding the Harley! What else is worth my valuable time besides, eating, sleeping, aggravating LOML, and picking at the cats, other than woodworking and woodturning? :RockOn::bananen_smilies046:
 
Another dubhead here. My current baby is my 78 bus. Did the interior all myself last year, plan on body and paint this year. If the dayjob situation improves I may build the stock 2.0 T4 engine into a 2.2.
 
Well as for me i don't consider myself a professional at anything. Pen turning was just something i wanted to try, after making my first pen i wanted to make another and so on. But i also paint, i do oil paintings, mush like the late Bob Ross. When i get a vision of a place in my mind i head for the canvas, once i get started it's like i leave where i am and i'm standing right in front of what i'm painting; if that makes any scense to anyone. Now what could be more relaxing than to be taken away from all the everyday hassles of life and be painting a world all your own, it may be a sun set,waterfall or whatever but it sure works for me. And by the way, i also sell paintings to. I play the guitar which is relaxing, i use to play in nightclubs in the 70's and 80's but that was more like work.

just some hobbies i have,

jim
 
wood canoe, street legal sandrail, sculpting, making my intarsia stuff, working on my truck, making walking staffs, harassing the cats, rebuilding 2 rototillers and 3 garden tractors, fixing stuff around the house, turning pens and if i get enough time.......full time factory job......and as to where does the white of the snow go when it melts...........oh great...another pointless point to ponder....LOL!
 
Now with my wife retired and no schedules, we are starting to travel. We have trips to Shawnee, OK and KC coming up this month. Next month a drive to the Hudson Valley in NY. Following that we are gonna trailer our boat to the FL Keys for 2-3 weeks of fishing for Tarpon and Snook. Then in the Fall, it's trips to visit old friends in Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Peru. Our hobbies now are traveling, fishing and working on my Bonsai trees. Hardly leaves much time for penturning but that's in there somewhere.
 
OKLAHOMAN said:
What makes you think that those of us that do Shows, and make deadlines are not enjoying what we do. Granted the excitement is a different excitement, now we get excited about finding a new venue to sell our "hobby-works" at. I still go out to the shop for relaxation and consider pen turning a hobby that also makes MONEY so my new terminology "Hobby-Works" fits me. Are their others out there that do shows that still consider pen turning relaxing?
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I'm not exclusively a pen turner, but there's not much else that I enjoy as much as I do spinning wood on my lathe. I like to make a little money at it, but I think I would turn whether I do or not.
 
I wish I knew what has happened to me?!?! Since back surgery in Aug. I have become quite the couchpotato:frown: Seems I can't get motivated to do anything but spend time with my grandkids (gained 3 since surgery:eek::smile-big:). I cruise around IAP, ebay and spend time with gk. I do laundry, straighten house, dishes and spend time with gk. take care of LOML, 4 dogs, 7 cats and spend time with gk.......now, what was the question:confused:
 
For me, pen making is one of several hobbies. I also tie flies and fly fish (I live on a 50 acre lake), I do other woodworking projects as well as gardening. Then there's the kids and grandchildren which is not a hobby but loads of fun and oh yeah my job has to fit in there somewhere as well.

Jim Smith
 
bitshird said:
When I'm not making turning tools or actually turning a pen or bowl, I guess my hobby is building Volkswagen's, I've got a 70 Baja body setting on a 74 IRS pan with about 95hp and the other day a 1971 sedan followed me home from the Doctor, I had to get the neighbors sons to get it off my trailer <LOL> it will be a Cal Style Low Rider for my wife. I've been talking to a farmer that has a 67 Micro busin a field, he might be willing to sell, I have to find some place to put it though.
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Cool. I did VWs for a while, myself. Had 2 different buses, both split window. Several bugs, a squareback, fastback. Last one was a '63. Had it lowered, dash filled and ready to paint when someone pulled out in front of me. That was about 20 years ago. Been thinking of getting another someday.....
For fun now.........building, or thinking about building my next wonder widget:cool:
 
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Paul in OKC said:
Been thinking of getting another someday.....
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Don't think too long. With this down economy there are some deals. Now that ACVWs are considered collector cars, the values have been skyrocketing. As soon as the economy picks up they'll be stupid expensive.

I bought my 78 bus a few years ago for $3k. I've had offers up to $8k for it. As soon as the mortgage meltdown started I stopped getting offers. Sigh.
 
My second passion is bowfishing. I have a boat with bright light and a generator. We go out at night and shoot fish with a bow and arrow. Lots of Talapia here in Central Texas that we can shoot. They eat real good too! I hold the Bowfishing World Record for Plecostomous (algea eaters in fish aquariums). They were released into our lakes and rivers and have no real predators. They destroy the river bank with borrowing for dens and reproduce like crazy.
 
I enjoy several things. Gardening, Golf, Camping, Penturning in the basement shop, Music, I play a few instruments. And just plain retirement. I have a steel lathe with the mini wood lathe along with several tools. Being a former Die Maker the steel lathe is the best. Wood is more of a challenge because it cracks and moves a lot more then steel.
 
I've been playing guitar since I was eight years old so when I'm not in the shop I love to sit down and play for my own enjoyment. I can play for hours on end and it takes my mind off EVERYTHING!:wink::cool::cool::cool:
 
juteck said:
Turning is still a hobby, but aside from that, geocaching, family camping, yardwork, home renovation projects.......
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I also enjoy geocaching. Also, I like to tinker with my Allante and Cathy & I like to visit Disney World as often as possible, usually three to five times per year.

Lately, however, our primary 'hobby' has been preparing for the new baby.
 
Golf, target shooting, rifles and handguns, skeet every now and then, Golf, bowling, Golf, Napping, smoking cigars, did I mention golf :)
 
Well I'm basically obsessed with pens. I have several staples that tend to sell, but for me, the hobby part is trying all the new stuff. Casting, laminations, dyeing, and so on. I sell what people have paid for, but the hobby part is making things that haven't sold yet, so I try new techniques and then list them to eventually sell. Oh, and I religiously check IAP, I guess that's my biggest 'hobby'.

I'm also currently making long bows. I completed my first one which was a total FLOP, but it's part of the learning process. I like archery and of course shooting, but the range is pretty far for me. The hobbies I have really consist of other types of wood working like the bows, turning bowls, etc.
 
I started out scrollsawing and always will have that as my main hobby. But also like shooting billiards. Not much time for more than that. 5 more years to go and will have alot more free time hopefully. Retirement is around the corner.
 
Well,
This question doesn't really apply to me, as turning pens is sometimes the only physical exercise I can get, when I'm in pain. That and cutting blanks for sale are my spare time activities. When I'm really feeling good, I get into my veneering shop in hopes to start building veneered furniture. It's been 6 months since that's happened though.
Rob
 
I build guitar amps like these as a side,side,,side business and play in couple bands that gig a couple times a month. We have a pretty nice recording studio and tend to spend a lot of time hanging out there.

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A few of the many others..
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My spare time these days is pretty much taken up with family. But we all have similar interests. We've been spending a fair amount of time at the shooting range and I'm teaching my oldest grandson to shoot rifles and pistols. May take him to an Appleseed this summer. Plus there's a trap/skeet range next door to my subdivision that has rekindled my shotshell fever.

And, like Anthony, I too enjoy the ocassional fine cigar... my brother's fault... he started selling them.
 
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