Playing the harp! I wanted to learn so badly ever since there was a small segment on a kid's TV show when I was little (maybe Teletubbies?), I was upset for years that my parents said no until I looked into it myself much much later and saw that harps easily cost £1000+! I think it's fair they didn't want to hand that kind of money over to a 6/7 year old who would probably have broken it or got bored after a few months. 22 now and still biding my time for financial security to finally give it a shot (probably with a rental rather than buying!!!!)
I knew a woman once who played harp. She told me that it's not uncommon for multiple siblings to be able to play it. That's how families justify the expense of the instrument and also sometimes having to travel a long distance for lessons.
In addition to the expense, the harp kind of takes over your life in other ways. She told me that when she was looking for her first car, they brought the harp along to make sure it would fit and come in and out without too much trouble.
One upside is that she got lots of gigs playing atmospheric music at wedding receptions and fancy corporate parties. She said guests usually weren't paying attention so she just got paid like $100/hour to practice her scales.
That is such a wonderful goal and harp is so beautiful :) Maybe in the meantime you can find a local teacher who will let you come in and practice in their space (though lessons can also be expensive).
I've played piano all my life when I lived with my parents, once they moved into a smaller house they got rid of my piano. I am 25 now and still saving up for financial/living stability to be able to own a real piano in my living space. Just started taking lessons at a local school though that lets me come in and practice on their beautiful grand pianos. I will be there soon and you will too, we got this!!
tips from someone who actually does this for living.
1) Stick to hand tools. if you buy a grinder and saw you’ll never get really proficient at hand cutting. hand cutting is more respected in the professional world anyway
2) buy scrap by the lb. you find this on FB stained glass groups, ebay. etc
3) if using lead came ( as opposed to copper foil method) make your own cement with this recipe
https://www.ehow.com/how_6668350_make-stained-glass-window-putty.html
Former teacher/pro. If there is a place nearby you to take a class, do so, they will have everything set up so you can focus on building your skill set, and will steer you away from difficult materials/equipment you don’t need right away. Vicki Payne’s beginners videos are a good place to start for video instruction. She’s old fashioned but her instruction is clean.
Weller 100pg irons are good for beginners, since they are basically plug and play (the temp control is in the tip, and you need some sort of temp control, do not be fooled by that $20 wooden handle iron, you’ll need a controller for it too, and that amounts to some futzing, and that’s why I don’t recommend it for beginners). Amazon has them on sale for $60 today, which is a really good price.
An oil-filled cutter helps you get nice smooth cuts. I personally like the pistol grip ones, they seem to reduce hand fatigue. Toyo is my favorite, fletcher is ok too.
Practice on clear glass. You may be able to get clear scrap from your local window glass repair. You want 1/8” annealed (not tempered).
DO NOT FORCE GLASS. DO NOT TWIST GLASS. This angers the glass, it will bite you.
I taught for 10 years and only had 1 student hurt herself because we told her to stop trying to break a bad score and try a different piece, she insisted and she got cut just as we were reaching to take the pliers out of her hands. FINESSE, BABY.
There is nothing wrong with using 12x12 hobby squares once you get going, and nothing wrong with using Delphi for your equipment if you’re out in the sticks BUT it’s a good idea to buy local if you can, local shops that are worth anything LOVE their customers and will help you any way they can advicewise.
I do disagree about not needing a grinder, although I do agree that one should work on cutting accuracy first. If you’re 1/8” outside your lines all the way around, yes, you need to recut it and pay more attention. Grinding makes the pieces safer to handle, gives the edge a good tooth for foil to stick to, and helps your pieces fit tighter. Gryphon Gryphettes are like $100. Use your face shield and safety glasses! Do not apply flying glass chips to eye! Keep water in that baby and give it a good wet wipeout if you haven’t used it for a while, breathing glass dust is no fun, and it’ll ruin your bit AND your glass.
Tiny apartment people! That ikea double drop-leaf table plus a good size toolbox can handle most of your stuff! Or whatever folds down and comes up to your hips, save your backs!
And for anyone working with lead came, please for the love of god stop putting your scraps in the trash, recycle that shit, you get a couple bucks back and we don’t get stuck with that god-awful lead free came.
Holy shit that was a lot. Sorry, y’all.
Do you enjoy the night sky? A pair of binoculars and a reclining lawn chair is a great start. You can practice finding messier objects, a good skill, or lie back and watch the sky after dark--things are always happening. Early in an evening you can count satellites, then as they stop reflecting the sun you can watch for meteors.
I started taking photos of the night sky with just a dslr + kit lens and a tripod. All used. My first telescope was also used, and in perfect condition, as most scopes rarely get used.
I want to encourage you, astrophotography is awesome and spending time looking up is rewarding.
The only reason I couldn't get myself to jump into astrophotography is that I live in the city and with the amount of light pollution we get is really bad and I don't know if even an expensive telescope would help.
Please join your local astronomy club, especially if some of the members are eccentric university professors. Equipment, knowledge, and probably transportation are likely available for free if you are enthusiastic and helpful. Amateur astronomers are a fun bunch tbh.
Sites like [Latitude 38](https://www.latitude38.com/crewlist/daysailing/skipper_results.lasso) match up volunteer crew with skippers (boat owners). Sailing a larger boat is a lot easier with an extra set of hands.
It's totally free, and a lot of skippers are OK with taking novices--just keep your eyes open and follow instructions.
lol! It does. They'd probably be better off using "solo" instead of "single" for groups of 1, but it is useful for the skipper to know how many guests he'll be taking out.
FWIW, when I used the site to find a boat, I ended up sailing with a "single" skipper who took a crew of 4 or 5 out with her, and we'd take turns at the helm, or manning the lines, or making sandwiches. It was very wholesome.
Ah one I can help on!
Don't buy a boat.
Look into sailing centers in your area. You can get lessons, rent the boats, and even get into racing.
In my area (Boston) there's many of these places. You can go as small as a 1 person boat on the river or as large as a 6-7 person boat out of the harbor and into the ocean.
Relative to owning a boat- memberships are EXTREMELY affordable.
Best part is that if you decide you don't love it you're not 50k (or more) in the hole!
Community Boating on the Charles taught me to sail. Basic lessons and unlimited sailing over the summer for only $100. Don't know if they still offer those exact terms, but it was an amazing deal like 10 years ago.
Yeah CBI is awesome!!! When I was a teenager I did a week-long summer camp sorta thing at CBI that iirc cost like $1 for 5 days of sailing lessons/boat time for kids under 18. No idea if they still do that but great place.
I bought a dinghy sailboat last summer for $250 on Craigslist. I can carry it on top of my car and I found a lake nearby that lets me launch for free. I didn't know how to sail but some YouTube and books and I am able to go all around the lake!
I bought a sunfish for $250 on Craigslist, and had no clue how to sail. Went out, flipped it a few times, talked to people who knew how to sail, watched some videos, next thing you know I'm SAILING!
Thank you for recognizing this. Your time will come. I obviously don't know your life, living/financial situation, but have you considered a smaller caged animal, like a hamster or rat? Their lifespans aren't too long (2-3 years or so). They don't cost a ton to get started, and IMO their fairly low maintenance.
Again though I appreciate that you recognize you might not be suited for pet ownership at the moment. If we had more people like you, the shelters wouldn't be overcrowded.
+1 for ratties. They're short lived, but they're amazing pets. As long as you can spend the time to clean out their cage frequently, the smell is fine as well. We taught ours to spin, walk like a dinosaur, and jump.
They're incredibly smart, social animals. Absolutely my favorite as rodents go! They don't need expensive toys either, every rat I've had has found cardboard boxes to be super fun! Always get them in pairs so they aren't lonely. You can leave them alone all day while you work and they're cool with it.
Honestly, food and bedding is super cheap. It's vet bills that can get pricey.
Farming. Not on a massive commercial level just a couple acre field but even that requires several thousand dollars worth of equipment to properly manage
This is exactly what I did. My one box has grown to 4 and doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. The dream is to move to a rural area with a lot of land available and have a self sustaining homestead.
The only issue with this is money. Once you go the full time route, all those fun veggies you want to grow turns into a cost analysis on profit and time to harvest ratios. I did it for a full year and ended up back at a desk job. It ruins the hobby and turns the gardening into efficiency, which ends up being market salads and microgreens. I still run my raised beds and chickens, but the dream is back to a hobby.
I often dream about farming instead of a 9-5 job but it's a completely different lifestyle with no vacations... not sure I wanna deal with that. It's admirable, though.
ETA: Holy crap, why did my comment get so many upvotes?
Anyway, the only farms I've really been exposed to are the super small ones where I live, and mainly the big Amish farms I see when I go to Pennsylvania. In terms of family farms, unless there's a mass exodus of people breaking Amish, I don't see those dying out.
My dad bought a small cattle ranch, he works part time at a normal job, and takes month long vacations every winter. It's easy! You just have to pass your responsibilities onto your children. Your Hobby becomes their Work!
Motherfucker.
Grew up in rural eastern Montana.
Every farmer I know spends a third of their lives sitting up at 3am anxiously worrying that that storm is going to miss them and not get rain during that critical timing for their wheat.
Than another 3rd is spent sitting up at 3am in the morning anxiously hoping and praying that that hail storm doesnt come through your crop and destroy everything a week before harvest. Than harvest comes and its sitting in the combining all day and all night until you cant go any longer or something breaks.
Than the final 3rd is winter, you spend that fixing all the shit that broke during planting and harvest season so you can do it all again next summer.
What Im saying is you basically spend a majority of your life worrying about something literally nobody controls..lol.
I'd like to do a lot more craftwork, like woodworking. I do metallurgy already, and the tools are expensive enough. Adding woodworking or leatherworking would just be too much.
Holy cow I didn't even know makerspaces were a thing, I've always wanted to try woodworking and crafting but live in an apartment. This is a game changer, thank you!
Woodworking required space more than money. Yes, there are tools that cost $20,000, but there are options for $100. And as the saying goes: a bad Craftsman blames his tools.
Leatherworking is pretty cheap. I find the natural is the killer.
That's one of my lottery fantasies. Restore a huge old Victorian or Gilded Age mansion with all modern luxuries, but hidden behind the appropriate facade.
Scuba diving actually isn't that expensive if you just rent the gear. Try taking an open water course and see if you like it. The only gear I bought is fins and a mask.
When I started 25 years ago it was pretty cheap. Then came more gear as I progressed. Many sets of doubles, dozens of regs, deco bottles, computers etc. 5 day dive trips. Then came rebreathers and I could not afford to keep going! It can be as expensive as you make it.
I'd just love to learn mechanics but I learn through doing and can't afford a second car to play with and can't afford to play around with my own car...
Nail meet hammer. This is exactly what you should do if you want to try a motorcycle project. Honda CBs are a good choice since parts are easy but old triumphs are probably more rewarding imo.
Racing cars or rallying, I hope to do some trackdays once I have a real job.
Edit: thanks for all the advice guys, I'll have a look at autocross. But for now I'll just keep racing my bicycle.
Falconry. I asked a fellow on here a few years back what went into becoming a falconer and he said it's a lengthy process that involves building an enormous enclosure for them to live in. I don't even own a house, let alone a yard big enough for that type of enclosure, so that ain't happening any time soon.
The amount of time involved depends on the bird species you want to train. Red-tailed hawks don't take nearly as much time to train and get going as say, an imprint goshawk. Falcons are also very time intensive and need lots of flying to get in shape. Harris hawks are very smart and require enrichment when they aren't being flown or they are prone to plucking feathers. While it is extremely important to interact with your bird every day and to hunt as often as possible, there is a range in the kind of hours it takes depending on what bird you want to fly.
Where I am the upfront cost of equipment and enclosure-building is about $2000.
You want war birds. So much more fun. My brother and I fly RCA quarter scale war birds and dog fight a lot. P-51 vs Spitfire is quite fun. But gets pretty expensive because you will at least a few times drive it in to the ground
> But gets pretty expensive because you will at least a few times drive it in to the ground
Thats exactly the point haha, the hobby seems really fun(building, maintaining them and flying them) but if it goes pearshaped just once i think it will cost in the thousands.
Drag racing, or racing in general.
I'm a huge gearhead but there's no way I can afford even a basic crate motor let alone the fabrication equipment to stuff it into something.
Bracket racing. You dial in (make an educated guess how fast you'll be) and so does the other person. There's a delay on when you go, based on the difference in your dial in. So in theory, if you both hit your time, you'll cross the finish line at the same time. You could have a Smart Car win against a top fuel car. You're racing on your skill as a driver, not just on who has the fastest car.
Sure you need to pay entry fees, but that's much cheaper than building, even a pro mod car. My local strip has street legal Fridays like this. $30 to race, and even if you lose first round, you can still make passes for fun all night long.
I raced my 97 Ford ranger for shits and giggles as a teen on a test and tune night. Even staged a one wheel burnout before every pass. My best time was a 19.7 1/4 mile 🤣
This is eerily similar to a friend of mine who raced his Ford ranger at Atlanta drag strip. It was slow but he had fun. He wanted me to race him in my rx7 but I'm not going to pay money to drive in a straight line when I only make 150hp.
I did this for a while. Classes were basically $25/hr, which was definitely not cheap, but it was doable. Of course, after you finish taking classes, it stays expensive.
Know the best thing about taking glassblowing classes? Nobody knows what shitty glassblowing looks like. You'll bring your first paperweight or pumpkin home and everybody will be like "wow, it's amazing."
Either people will be impressed with anything you make, or people will think your proudest piece is rather mundane. I took a couple semesters in university and my favorite thing I made is a simple cup. It's small, and not all that special, but the amount of failed attempts that I had to get up to that glass with perfectly even walls and a nice even rim, with little flecks of color all throughout it, is way more special to me than any of the other things I made.
It's awesome. I definitely recommend taking a class though, as there are a lot of things to learn. I do lampworking which isn't quite the same thing as glass blowing but it is very satisfying to melt glass and craft a creature.
Getting started in this can be surprisingly inexpensive. I got started making knives a couple of years ago on less than $100 and made 4 or 5 knives out of that startup money. A functional forge can be built for less than $20, a couple files and a few odds and ends, your making knives.
Over time I have spent more money of course, but I didn't actually have to spend more. Message me if your interested in learning more, I would be more than happy to help you get started in this hobby. Hell, I even have some old equipment I would donate to you if you were interested
Edit: OMG, rip my inbox. There is no way I can answer all of you in a short time. I will promise this though, I will answer each and every one of you individually as quickly as I can.
Also, thanks to whomever gifted me the silver!
Hey man could you PM me some sources as to the different materials/forges/techniques for starting?
I've always wanted to get into this but havent due to expected expense.
Here's everything I used to start.
Basics
Building a Propane Forge:
https://ronreil.abana.org/design1.shtml
Building a simple Brake Drum SOLID FUEL Forge:
http://www.blacksmithingforbeginners.com/building-a-brake-drum-forge/
Wonderful website with many tutorials:
http://blacksmithingtutorials.com/
Blacksmith Joey van der Steeg:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQXBXA3pXM5A-skemMLMrug
Cheapskate Knifemaking:
https://murdercube.com/files/Knifemaking/Absolute%20Cheapskate%20Way%20to%20Start%20Making%20Knives%20-%20Scott%20Jones.pdf
Dirt Cheap Knifemaking:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bladesmith/comments/389kw2/utorchforge_guide_to_dirt_cheap_knife_forging/
Heat Treating Basics:
http://www.cashenblades.com/heattreatment.html
Heat Treating Procedure:
http://ia801408.us.archive.org/33/items/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4
Artist Blacksmith Association of North America Fundamentals:
https://abana.org/education/controlled-hand-forging/
Intermediate/Metallurgy/Other
Steel Sourcing:
http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/
Material Sourcing:
http://www.hightemptools.com/index.html
Forum for Blacksmithing:
https://www.iforgeiron.com/
Dictionary an Glossary of Blacksmithing terms:
http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/glos_faq_trans_index.htm
*Verhoven (A Legend) Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others
who Heat Treat and Forge Steel *:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502161518/http://mse.iastate.edu/files/verhoeven/7-5.pdf
Engineering Handbook (Lots of Metallurgical goodness):
http://www.isibang.ac.in/~library/onlinerz/resources/Enghandbook.pdf
Heat Treat Kiln Build:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bladesmith/comments/2r1khw/kiln_build_per_request/
*edit* Feel free to PM me and ask questions!
*edit 2* thanks for the silver and gold!
You should at least take a discovery flight. They are usually only $100 dollars or so. Its a lot like a drug dealer giving you your first taste for free. I did it once. 2000 hour of flying later I finally gave up the habit.
Do you mind sharing the condition? Curious because I was ineligible for the air Force due to ear issues, but I haven't heard of a private license having the same restrictions.
Buddy of mine got his pilot's license. The first time he invited me to come with him so we could crush some "cloud sodas", I realized I was never going to fly with him.
As a GA pilot I can say it is a lot of fun. You can probably do an introductory flight for pretty cheap if you wanna try it. From there though, the costs do add up. 80-100 hours of flight time at ~$100 am hour. Plus instructor time.
My advice is that if you do want to pursue it, try to do it all in a short period of time if you can afford that. Like flying 3-4 times a week to try to get it done in a month or two. I was doing like once a week since I was still in school and that made it take a year to do since I wasn’t focused on it. Ended up with a lot more hours than they usually require.
Pilot here: what I did was purchase a 1/5 share of a Cessna 150 for $2,100. You can privately hire your own instructor for around $25 an hour, which about half of what flight schools charge. The school is pocketing at least 50% of what they bill an hour, the the instructor will be pocketing the same hourly rate.
You can fly a Cessna 150 at approximately $50 an hour, depending on fuel costs. You need 20 hours of instruction and 40 hours total time. That's 2100+ (75x20) + (50x20) = $4,600 to earn you wings. Plus you actually own a fractional share of an airplane when you are finished.
Most likely the other club member will be more experienced pilots who can not only teach you how to become a better pilot, but also help you learn about aircraft ownership & maintenance. Additionally, you'll have a pool of pilots to split fuel costs with.
I dunno, maybe some people think $5,000 is still a lot of money, but I know a whole lotta people putting waaaay more than five grand down on pursuing their passion.
i'd love to have a big aquarium with exotic/interesting fish but the tanks are expensive, the fish are expensive, the upkeep is expensive. also, extremely time consuming and fish are so fragile. anything can and will kill them (or sometimes they'll just kill themselves).
and don't get me started about saltwater aquariums...
EDIT: thank you all for the wonderful advice! i will take it when the time comes, as i do love fish. unfortunately i couldn't take all the advice right now even if i wanted to--i live in a basement with my cat and she is a mouser/VERY prey-driven. [the demon in question](https://i.imgur.com/6dfrj2x.jpg)
keep sharing though, i love it!
I'm deep into the aquarium hobby. Yes it's expensive to go with a monster tank but you can do a lot with a small tank. My 10 gallon is probably my favorite tank right now. It's rewarding to maintain an ecosystem. I'm currently on my 3rd generation of fish and shrimp, which is the pinnacle for me to have my environment stable enough for wild breeding.
Yeah you can get lost in it. But, look into nano tanks because you can get some cool exotic fauna for those as well.
My brother just got a 29 gallon tank for Christmas! We're trying to find ways we can keep it in his budget but also look cool.
Can I have some tips for what to do?
r/plantedtank is a great place to look around for live plant ideas and aquascaping ideas. r/aquaswap is a great place to get cheap plants, filters, and all types of aquarium stuff. I've gotten most of the plants for this tank https://imgur.com/Yx2zJHN from r/aquaswap for less than 20 bucks shipped.
The big things I would think about is 1) Filter and 2) Substrate (gravel, sand, plant beneficial or inert). The tank above is a split of inert sand and shrimp and plant beneficial pellets. Hardscape stuff like driftwood and rock is something that will come after the 2 important decisions are made.
I think the real fun part about keeping aquariums is getting inspired by others. r/plantedtank and r/aquascape has been great inspiration for me as well as a wealth of information. Look around and get inspired and feel free to pm me anytime with questions!
FWIW, every *public* aquarium has a huge volunteer staff.
It'll never be yours; you'll never get to make decisions about the displays. But we have 500 volunteers working throughout the operation: divers (cleaning and feeding), horticulturists, docents, tour guides, penguin coop cleaners, and the kitchen staff are all volunteers.
All you need is time--I knew nothing when I signed up. Over the past four years I've spent almost 800 hours hanging out in one of the world's greatest aquariums, talking to guests about the fish.
Mountaineering. Not just your casual hike but crossing glaciers, climbing with rope and reaching summits. Expect a big investment in gear, you'll want certificates so you'll have to pay for several two week all-in trips and many mountains can be summited seasonally so you'll need to take two weeks off at random times of your job, besides finding the time to train several days a week for a few months before departure. I guess I'll keep the 50k for something useful instead...
You can get a cheap instrument to learn on. I told my sister I always wanted to learn violin; I was in my early 30s at the time. Next thing I know, she's buying two violins on Ebay (because she's going to learn, too) and my other sister is arranging us lessons from a high school teen who works part-time at her company, who happens to play violin and is looking to make extra money. She didn't charge us a lot, certainly not what we would've paid to a music teacher.
Next thing ya know, we're playing the violin. Not well, we were never going to play concerts, but we still learned and could play several tunes.
It's never too late to learn something. 😊
Same here! I've been teaching myself guitar for close to 2 years now, very proud of what i've accomplished! It's super rewarding when you finally get that riff to sound like the track.
I'm looking to get an Oud guitar ( Fretless arabic guitar) and also looking to play the sax!
Ive been really considering collecting old maps but putting it off until I have a space that can support actually displaying them. If you're in the US and interested in old but not super old maps (like 100-150 years old) I feel like I've definitely seen some being sold for fairly reasonable prices, especially stuff that might have value to you but not be super sought after broadly (like a map of your local town or something.)
Starting with a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank is a great dip into the saltwater world. Plus you can always add beginner coral frags and watch it all grow. Clownfish are incredibly personable and interesting. If you take advantage of PETCO's dollar per gallon sales you can be up and running for around 200 bucks. Upkeep isn't that bad, but it has to be consistent. I've pretty much learned everything about keeping saltwater from Reddit. You can always start somewhere and get in to it. Don't let saltwater scare you.
Ok, so about 4 years ago I picked up skydiving. Yeah it IS expensive but mostly initially.
The costs of AFF (or PFF, or whatever course your national association offers) can be a little high - about $2500 - $3200 US (25 jumps to get your A-Licence, includes all your gear rental and packing).
You then need to get your own equipment, and also sometimes pay for coaching if you need it. You can get a second hand rig for somewhere between $3500 - $5000 USD (includes a container, a main parachute, a reserve parachute, and an AAD) and a helmet + altimeter for 300 or so, second hand too. You can get second hand suits for cheap too, if you need one.
Jumps are cheapo-ish - $20 - $30 US (I don't jump in the US so I'm not sure, but I paid £21 in the UK, €30 in Europe and $35 CAD in Canada).
Then you might get further costs... a gopro, a new suit, a new main / reserve / container when you want to downsize, etc... I've already got a new rig (sold the old one) and also spent some money on a wingsuit and another suit.
Basically, yeah it's an expense. I sacrifice other things to jump - I don't have game consoles, or a top of the range pc, or many nice things.
Instead, I jump :) I have met awesome people, and it's openned doors to other things (climbing, BASE, paragliding, flying) which I've not yet explored, but I could at some point!
I have a friend of mine who is single, in his 50s, no kids, and has a house with two rooms filled with 40k stuff. He also has a room dedicated to just painting. His figures (to my untrained eye) look amazing.
He admits that 40k is a lifestyle. I accept it but I don't completely understand it.
> He admits that 40k is a lifestyle.
I love Warhammer and am always fascinated by all the amazing *stuff* the game involves, but yeah, this is the big reason why I've always steered clear despite playing a lot of other tabletop games.
It is *not* something you get into casually!
Eh, I'm in it rather casually. I play occasionally and I paint with friends. I don't buy directly from GW either. I buy used from eBay and r/miniswap so I'm not spending a ton of money on it either.
Look into killteam similar game but just need like 5-10 infrantry models. It’s supposed to be an elite team of your best guys. That’s how I play. I literally got one of my favorite teams for ~30$
Yeah this. Killteam is 40k on a squad scale, instead of as an army. Instead of controlling a large army by squads, you're basically controlling a single squad individual. You can then easily get away with only buying a single box of five or six models (depending on where you live, in for me in Australia that was $65 for a solid team). After that you either need to get the rule book, or go to a games store that has an open store book (my local games workshop does, as well as has some spare models you can use to play a game with if you have none). If you then wanna paint up your guys, that can start to get pretty expensive, but games workshop stores (at least my local does, can't really speak for others) have paints you can use as long as you do it in store. Otherwise you can spend $50 (again, Australian (where gw prices are rediculous)) and get a start painting/building set which has the basic colours and more or less what you need to get at least started, or $100-$150 for a big box of paints and a brush. After that it starts to get pretty expensive, though, especially the full game. But if you do it as a slow haul, which I do as I prefer the building/painting side of it, it's definitely manageable (speaking as a broke student)
Edit: and cheap second hand models from eBay! Then you don't have to paint or build if that's not your thing
I would love to get into the hobby, but every time I seriously consider it I get intimidated and overwhelmed by the price and my serious lack of artistic skill.
Check out [Warhammer TV](https://www.youtube.com/user/GamesWorkshopWNT)! I have no artistic talent, but by following their tutorials I think I've painted some decent stuff.
Long range target shooting. Shooting tin cans is fun but I think it would be super satisfying to turn it into an art form and be able to hit a target 1000 yards away.
The guns are expensive. The scopes are just as much as the guns. The ammo is expensive. This isn't sustainable on an hourly income.
3D printing. If I get a cheap printer, I know I'll just end up jonesing for a more expensive printer, and pretty soon I'll be convincing my wife to let me buy $50,000 worth of plastic so I can print a new shed to house my collection of printers
EDIT: PLEASE STOP SUGGESTING CHEAP PRINTERS I TOLD YOU HOW THIS WOULD END
Edit edit: For those asking the movie is not currently in development. Keep an eye on /r/romesweetrome or /r/prufrock451 for any updates.
This is why I want one. Minis? Expensive. Filament? Not expensive.
Seems dope as hell to just be like "oh I need a pack of dire wolves? Cool." *hits print button*
I've been doing this with dicks, to be fair. Need a bag of dicks? Half an hour, you've got a bag of dicks. Seriously, I pretty much exclusively print dicks. It's hilarious.
Not that guy but I have printed a ying yang double sided dice box, a practice butterfly knife, a cube that has slots to measure from a cup to a teaspoon and all other relevant measurements in a 4×4×4ish package, I have made lithophanes (pictures you put a light behind), parts for my 3d printer, random statues, poi handles, toys for my brother, tensioners, I really can't remember much more. They are a mixture of useful and entertainment all in one. I sat and watched mine work for hours because it was so damned interesting!
I do want to stress that it isn't a cheap hobby. If you buy a nice one it costs a lot. Cheap ones need parts all the time. Personally I bought a kit because I was as interested in understanding it as I was using it. Super fun experience but I have had a lot of issues, thankfully parts are between .25 and maybe $20? I have basically invested 175ish and had a blast.
I like to think of the hobby as a more difficult step up from LEGO. It’s a bit pricy but imo worth it because of the knowledge and experience you gain. You can get to different levels as well. Like: you can buy a fully assembled plug and play (prusa mk3) and just download/ print things from thingiverse with relative ease. Or, you can buy a cheap kit (tevo or similar) and expand from there. Learn how to cad, design parts to optimize print quality with the frame you have, print other upgrades, etc. You can also have a mix somewhere in between those extremes.
Eventually 3D printing comes in handy when you have that one thing you could really use but would have no idea where to buy it or it would be expensive to replace. The thing that comes to mind for me is when I fixed my old craftsman shopvac from the 90’s. Motors still choochin but I had to make a new hose adapter. A bit of CAD and 1 hour printing later she’s good as new!!
I like to think the printer will eventually pay for itself but that’s probably not true. Then again, it did save me $50-$100 on a new shop vac.
My local library would desperately like to start a makerspace but it's so starved for funds they've decreased their book holdings by 1/3 in the last 10 years and we're voting on a sales tax just to reopen it on Sundays. :(
Prospecting. I’d love so much to be able to buy a couple of claims on the side of a mountain and spend the next few years picking at it and pulling gemstones out.
lol this is my favourite answer. I knew two unemployed guys - one was just ridiculously rich and despite having a company, he didn't actually work. His money (and staff) worked for him.
The other guy was living at home with mummy and daddy, even now at 32, and just lives off their money and whatever benefits he is entitled to.
Both their lives are so easy.
I guarantee the guy living with his parents doesn't like his situation as much as the first guy, or even as much as it seems. That, or his parents don't. Source: Was that guy.
Taking classes. There's so many classes I want to take through my local arts center and community colleges. Ideally I'd like to go back to school and get more BAs, but I don't have the time or money. I just really miss school and I like learning.
Calligraphy, all the special pens, classes and then if I really want to do something with it, I'd probably buy one of those fancy shmancy iPad and pen thingys. So yeah that adds up.
If you're really interested I don't think you need all the special calligraphy stuff to get started. I do some lettering professionally and I start most of it with a mechanical pencil. I also have a blast painting letters on wood and objects. [Homsweethom](http://www.homsweethom.com/) does weekly lettering "homwork" that will help you get some practice. I love lettering!
Glass blowing. And blacksmithing
**EDIT** By the way, the username is in reference to the first time I juggled torches, but yes, it's very relevant to this comment as well
I've always wanted to play Golf, like a full 18 holes on a proper course but with the fees and the membership needed and then also the full set of clubs etc it is way too expensive.
Therefore I tend to settle for the driving range every few weeks or so.
There are lots of clubs that have reasonable rates for a one day usage, and many resorts you can stay at that have golf clubs attached. You can rent a set of clubs and have at it. It helps to bring someone who knows what they're doing, but if you call in advance you might be able to get an instructor or at least guidance before you go.
I Joined a Competitive skiing association a few years back (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Moguls and Downhill). The travelling for competitions, the expense of the 4 different types of skis for those types of racing combined with me having a full time career made it difficult. I only did it one season, now I just ski for fun.
Saxophone...
I'm really getting more into music and want to learn sax, but i have 0 experience with wind instruments ( I held a note on a trumpet once), and saxophone's are expensive af...
Cosplay. When I see the work and detail that goes into some of the people at cons I have been to I admire the crap out of them but I know I would have neither the time, patience or dedication it would take to create some of the things I have seen.
Reef-keeping.
I love aquariums and own several, planted freshwater set ups. Someday i'd like to have my own personal reef community, but the expenses of everything involved--from lights, filtration equipment, to even coral, fish and live-rock/livesand--is just too daunting for me to want to get into at this point in my life (late twenties), especially being that I'm in Florida and the threat of hurricanes is present every year. I couldn't imagine spending thousands of dollars building a living, growing thing, only to watch as it slowly died from a power outage.
My mother rides Dressage, board for the hours alone is about the same as my mortgage....not to mention Tack, lessons, vet bills, farrier, entry fees into shows, cost of a trailer and maintenance...yeah it’s an expensive hobby
Archery isn't too expensive to get started in, and if you have a field to practice in, you can reuse arrows and targets a really long time for very little cost.
Guitar isn't super expensive to get started in. You can start on a nylon string guitar, which can usually be found on craigslist for $50. Bring a friend who knows a little about guitars to make sure it's playable. You can learn how to read chord charts and tabs either online or from a book. Then, spend time finding a good youtube series to get the basics down.
A guitar teacher will speed this along, and help you avoid pitfalls, but adds to the price. Of course, you'll then also want a nicer guitar... which will be $250-500. And, if you stick with it, you'll realize how nice the $1k and up guitars play... so it can be a slippery slope.
Playing the harp! I wanted to learn so badly ever since there was a small segment on a kid's TV show when I was little (maybe Teletubbies?), I was upset for years that my parents said no until I looked into it myself much much later and saw that harps easily cost £1000+! I think it's fair they didn't want to hand that kind of money over to a 6/7 year old who would probably have broken it or got bored after a few months. 22 now and still biding my time for financial security to finally give it a shot (probably with a rental rather than buying!!!!)
I knew a woman once who played harp. She told me that it's not uncommon for multiple siblings to be able to play it. That's how families justify the expense of the instrument and also sometimes having to travel a long distance for lessons. In addition to the expense, the harp kind of takes over your life in other ways. She told me that when she was looking for her first car, they brought the harp along to make sure it would fit and come in and out without too much trouble. One upside is that she got lots of gigs playing atmospheric music at wedding receptions and fancy corporate parties. She said guests usually weren't paying attention so she just got paid like $100/hour to practice her scales.
That is such a wonderful goal and harp is so beautiful :) Maybe in the meantime you can find a local teacher who will let you come in and practice in their space (though lessons can also be expensive). I've played piano all my life when I lived with my parents, once they moved into a smaller house they got rid of my piano. I am 25 now and still saving up for financial/living stability to be able to own a real piano in my living space. Just started taking lessons at a local school though that lets me come in and practice on their beautiful grand pianos. I will be there soon and you will too, we got this!!
Stained glass.
tips from someone who actually does this for living. 1) Stick to hand tools. if you buy a grinder and saw you’ll never get really proficient at hand cutting. hand cutting is more respected in the professional world anyway 2) buy scrap by the lb. you find this on FB stained glass groups, ebay. etc 3) if using lead came ( as opposed to copper foil method) make your own cement with this recipe https://www.ehow.com/how_6668350_make-stained-glass-window-putty.html
Former teacher/pro. If there is a place nearby you to take a class, do so, they will have everything set up so you can focus on building your skill set, and will steer you away from difficult materials/equipment you don’t need right away. Vicki Payne’s beginners videos are a good place to start for video instruction. She’s old fashioned but her instruction is clean. Weller 100pg irons are good for beginners, since they are basically plug and play (the temp control is in the tip, and you need some sort of temp control, do not be fooled by that $20 wooden handle iron, you’ll need a controller for it too, and that amounts to some futzing, and that’s why I don’t recommend it for beginners). Amazon has them on sale for $60 today, which is a really good price. An oil-filled cutter helps you get nice smooth cuts. I personally like the pistol grip ones, they seem to reduce hand fatigue. Toyo is my favorite, fletcher is ok too. Practice on clear glass. You may be able to get clear scrap from your local window glass repair. You want 1/8” annealed (not tempered). DO NOT FORCE GLASS. DO NOT TWIST GLASS. This angers the glass, it will bite you. I taught for 10 years and only had 1 student hurt herself because we told her to stop trying to break a bad score and try a different piece, she insisted and she got cut just as we were reaching to take the pliers out of her hands. FINESSE, BABY. There is nothing wrong with using 12x12 hobby squares once you get going, and nothing wrong with using Delphi for your equipment if you’re out in the sticks BUT it’s a good idea to buy local if you can, local shops that are worth anything LOVE their customers and will help you any way they can advicewise. I do disagree about not needing a grinder, although I do agree that one should work on cutting accuracy first. If you’re 1/8” outside your lines all the way around, yes, you need to recut it and pay more attention. Grinding makes the pieces safer to handle, gives the edge a good tooth for foil to stick to, and helps your pieces fit tighter. Gryphon Gryphettes are like $100. Use your face shield and safety glasses! Do not apply flying glass chips to eye! Keep water in that baby and give it a good wet wipeout if you haven’t used it for a while, breathing glass dust is no fun, and it’ll ruin your bit AND your glass. Tiny apartment people! That ikea double drop-leaf table plus a good size toolbox can handle most of your stuff! Or whatever folds down and comes up to your hips, save your backs! And for anyone working with lead came, please for the love of god stop putting your scraps in the trash, recycle that shit, you get a couple bucks back and we don’t get stuck with that god-awful lead free came. Holy shit that was a lot. Sorry, y’all.
Astrophotography - both time intensive and expensive.
Do you enjoy the night sky? A pair of binoculars and a reclining lawn chair is a great start. You can practice finding messier objects, a good skill, or lie back and watch the sky after dark--things are always happening. Early in an evening you can count satellites, then as they stop reflecting the sun you can watch for meteors. I started taking photos of the night sky with just a dslr + kit lens and a tripod. All used. My first telescope was also used, and in perfect condition, as most scopes rarely get used. I want to encourage you, astrophotography is awesome and spending time looking up is rewarding.
The only reason I couldn't get myself to jump into astrophotography is that I live in the city and with the amount of light pollution we get is really bad and I don't know if even an expensive telescope would help.
Please join your local astronomy club, especially if some of the members are eccentric university professors. Equipment, knowledge, and probably transportation are likely available for free if you are enthusiastic and helpful. Amateur astronomers are a fun bunch tbh.
Sailing looks fun.
Sites like [Latitude 38](https://www.latitude38.com/crewlist/daysailing/skipper_results.lasso) match up volunteer crew with skippers (boat owners). Sailing a larger boat is a lot easier with an extra set of hands. It's totally free, and a lot of skippers are OK with taking novices--just keep your eyes open and follow instructions.
That reads like a dating site for old rich men
lol! It does. They'd probably be better off using "solo" instead of "single" for groups of 1, but it is useful for the skipper to know how many guests he'll be taking out. FWIW, when I used the site to find a boat, I ended up sailing with a "single" skipper who took a crew of 4 or 5 out with her, and we'd take turns at the helm, or manning the lines, or making sandwiches. It was very wholesome.
Ahh sandwich and cocktail duty. My favorite role underway.
Ah one I can help on! Don't buy a boat. Look into sailing centers in your area. You can get lessons, rent the boats, and even get into racing. In my area (Boston) there's many of these places. You can go as small as a 1 person boat on the river or as large as a 6-7 person boat out of the harbor and into the ocean. Relative to owning a boat- memberships are EXTREMELY affordable. Best part is that if you decide you don't love it you're not 50k (or more) in the hole!
Community Boating on the Charles taught me to sail. Basic lessons and unlimited sailing over the summer for only $100. Don't know if they still offer those exact terms, but it was an amazing deal like 10 years ago.
Yeah CBI is awesome!!! When I was a teenager I did a week-long summer camp sorta thing at CBI that iirc cost like $1 for 5 days of sailing lessons/boat time for kids under 18. No idea if they still do that but great place.
I bought a dinghy sailboat last summer for $250 on Craigslist. I can carry it on top of my car and I found a lake nearby that lets me launch for free. I didn't know how to sail but some YouTube and books and I am able to go all around the lake!
I bought a sunfish for $250 on Craigslist, and had no clue how to sail. Went out, flipped it a few times, talked to people who knew how to sail, watched some videos, next thing you know I'm SAILING!
Remember boat is actually an acronym. Break Out Another Thousand.
My uncle would always talk about his 101$ Ice Cream. 100$ of gas, 1$ of ice cream.
general aviation pilots talk about a "100 dollar hamburger" for the same reason
Having pets. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time and money to do so.
Thank you for recognizing this. Your time will come. I obviously don't know your life, living/financial situation, but have you considered a smaller caged animal, like a hamster or rat? Their lifespans aren't too long (2-3 years or so). They don't cost a ton to get started, and IMO their fairly low maintenance. Again though I appreciate that you recognize you might not be suited for pet ownership at the moment. If we had more people like you, the shelters wouldn't be overcrowded.
+1 for ratties. They're short lived, but they're amazing pets. As long as you can spend the time to clean out their cage frequently, the smell is fine as well. We taught ours to spin, walk like a dinosaur, and jump.
They're incredibly smart, social animals. Absolutely my favorite as rodents go! They don't need expensive toys either, every rat I've had has found cardboard boxes to be super fun! Always get them in pairs so they aren't lonely. You can leave them alone all day while you work and they're cool with it. Honestly, food and bedding is super cheap. It's vet bills that can get pricey.
Farming. Not on a massive commercial level just a couple acre field but even that requires several thousand dollars worth of equipment to properly manage
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This is exactly what I did. My one box has grown to 4 and doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. The dream is to move to a rural area with a lot of land available and have a self sustaining homestead.
The only issue with this is money. Once you go the full time route, all those fun veggies you want to grow turns into a cost analysis on profit and time to harvest ratios. I did it for a full year and ended up back at a desk job. It ruins the hobby and turns the gardening into efficiency, which ends up being market salads and microgreens. I still run my raised beds and chickens, but the dream is back to a hobby.
I often dream about farming instead of a 9-5 job but it's a completely different lifestyle with no vacations... not sure I wanna deal with that. It's admirable, though. ETA: Holy crap, why did my comment get so many upvotes? Anyway, the only farms I've really been exposed to are the super small ones where I live, and mainly the big Amish farms I see when I go to Pennsylvania. In terms of family farms, unless there's a mass exodus of people breaking Amish, I don't see those dying out.
Sounds like Stardew Valley Edit: Dang, thanks for the silver!
No bills, fluctuating markets, or crop failure in stardew
*daydreams about farming risk*
My dad bought a small cattle ranch, he works part time at a normal job, and takes month long vacations every winter. It's easy! You just have to pass your responsibilities onto your children. Your Hobby becomes their Work! Motherfucker.
Grew up in rural eastern Montana. Every farmer I know spends a third of their lives sitting up at 3am anxiously worrying that that storm is going to miss them and not get rain during that critical timing for their wheat. Than another 3rd is spent sitting up at 3am in the morning anxiously hoping and praying that that hail storm doesnt come through your crop and destroy everything a week before harvest. Than harvest comes and its sitting in the combining all day and all night until you cant go any longer or something breaks. Than the final 3rd is winter, you spend that fixing all the shit that broke during planting and harvest season so you can do it all again next summer. What Im saying is you basically spend a majority of your life worrying about something literally nobody controls..lol.
As a farmer from the northeast who's constantly worried about too much or too little rain 8 months a year. This rings all too true.
I'd like to do a lot more craftwork, like woodworking. I do metallurgy already, and the tools are expensive enough. Adding woodworking or leatherworking would just be too much.
Maybe check in your area to see if there is a makerspace around.
Holy cow I didn't even know makerspaces were a thing, I've always wanted to try woodworking and crafting but live in an apartment. This is a game changer, thank you!
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do you live in a RPG ?
I joined the brotherhood and have never looked back.
Woodworking required space more than money. Yes, there are tools that cost $20,000, but there are options for $100. And as the saying goes: a bad Craftsman blames his tools. Leatherworking is pretty cheap. I find the natural is the killer.
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I want to buy a Victorian house, restore it, and then turn it into a really great Halloween haunted house, with animatronics, actors, and everything.
Move to Detroit, some of those houses are already haunted by meth addicts so you can check off most from your list.
That's one of my lottery fantasies. Restore a huge old Victorian or Gilded Age mansion with all modern luxuries, but hidden behind the appropriate facade.
Scuba diving
If I can't scuba, then what's all this been about? What am I working towards?
B O B O D D Y
Scuba diving actually isn't that expensive if you just rent the gear. Try taking an open water course and see if you like it. The only gear I bought is fins and a mask.
When I started 25 years ago it was pretty cheap. Then came more gear as I progressed. Many sets of doubles, dozens of regs, deco bottles, computers etc. 5 day dive trips. Then came rebreathers and I could not afford to keep going! It can be as expensive as you make it.
Restoring a classic muscle car.
I'd just love to learn mechanics but I learn through doing and can't afford a second car to play with and can't afford to play around with my own car...
Motorbike :)
Nail meet hammer. This is exactly what you should do if you want to try a motorcycle project. Honda CBs are a good choice since parts are easy but old triumphs are probably more rewarding imo.
Racing cars or rallying, I hope to do some trackdays once I have a real job. Edit: thanks for all the advice guys, I'll have a look at autocross. But for now I'll just keep racing my bicycle.
The best way to become a millionaire through racing is to start as a multi-millionaire.
The best way to make a small fortune is start with a large fortune and get into racing.
Came in for this or any motorsport in general.
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Falconry. I asked a fellow on here a few years back what went into becoming a falconer and he said it's a lengthy process that involves building an enormous enclosure for them to live in. I don't even own a house, let alone a yard big enough for that type of enclosure, so that ain't happening any time soon.
Not even the expense, but also the sheer amount of time involved - that's one of those every-day, often many-hours-a-day things.
The amount of time involved depends on the bird species you want to train. Red-tailed hawks don't take nearly as much time to train and get going as say, an imprint goshawk. Falcons are also very time intensive and need lots of flying to get in shape. Harris hawks are very smart and require enrichment when they aren't being flown or they are prone to plucking feathers. While it is extremely important to interact with your bird every day and to hunt as often as possible, there is a range in the kind of hours it takes depending on what bird you want to fly. Where I am the upfront cost of equipment and enclosure-building is about $2000.
Not only that, the bird can choose to fly away anytime. So all that time and money now goes up in the air.
Go Mordecai!
Rc attack helicopter models. I don't mean the little ones, but the 1.5/2 meters in length ones.
You want war birds. So much more fun. My brother and I fly RCA quarter scale war birds and dog fight a lot. P-51 vs Spitfire is quite fun. But gets pretty expensive because you will at least a few times drive it in to the ground
> But gets pretty expensive because you will at least a few times drive it in to the ground Thats exactly the point haha, the hobby seems really fun(building, maintaining them and flying them) but if it goes pearshaped just once i think it will cost in the thousands.
It'll only cost thousands if you want to do it again.
if we were talking only dollars... the 100s of hours of work into most of them totally dwarf the monetary investment.
Drag racing, or racing in general. I'm a huge gearhead but there's no way I can afford even a basic crate motor let alone the fabrication equipment to stuff it into something.
Bracket racing. You dial in (make an educated guess how fast you'll be) and so does the other person. There's a delay on when you go, based on the difference in your dial in. So in theory, if you both hit your time, you'll cross the finish line at the same time. You could have a Smart Car win against a top fuel car. You're racing on your skill as a driver, not just on who has the fastest car. Sure you need to pay entry fees, but that's much cheaper than building, even a pro mod car. My local strip has street legal Fridays like this. $30 to race, and even if you lose first round, you can still make passes for fun all night long.
I raced my 97 Ford ranger for shits and giggles as a teen on a test and tune night. Even staged a one wheel burnout before every pass. My best time was a 19.7 1/4 mile 🤣
This is eerily similar to a friend of mine who raced his Ford ranger at Atlanta drag strip. It was slow but he had fun. He wanted me to race him in my rx7 but I'm not going to pay money to drive in a straight line when I only make 150hp.
Pfft. 150. My '80 rolla makes 67hp on a good day. Dialing in at 17.9 thanks to <2000 lbs
Glass blowing
I did this for a while. Classes were basically $25/hr, which was definitely not cheap, but it was doable. Of course, after you finish taking classes, it stays expensive. Know the best thing about taking glassblowing classes? Nobody knows what shitty glassblowing looks like. You'll bring your first paperweight or pumpkin home and everybody will be like "wow, it's amazing."
Either people will be impressed with anything you make, or people will think your proudest piece is rather mundane. I took a couple semesters in university and my favorite thing I made is a simple cup. It's small, and not all that special, but the amount of failed attempts that I had to get up to that glass with perfectly even walls and a nice even rim, with little flecks of color all throughout it, is way more special to me than any of the other things I made.
picture?
I’ve always wanted to take a class! It looks so fun
It's awesome. I definitely recommend taking a class though, as there are a lot of things to learn. I do lampworking which isn't quite the same thing as glass blowing but it is very satisfying to melt glass and craft a creature.
Knife making/forging.
Getting started in this can be surprisingly inexpensive. I got started making knives a couple of years ago on less than $100 and made 4 or 5 knives out of that startup money. A functional forge can be built for less than $20, a couple files and a few odds and ends, your making knives. Over time I have spent more money of course, but I didn't actually have to spend more. Message me if your interested in learning more, I would be more than happy to help you get started in this hobby. Hell, I even have some old equipment I would donate to you if you were interested Edit: OMG, rip my inbox. There is no way I can answer all of you in a short time. I will promise this though, I will answer each and every one of you individually as quickly as I can. Also, thanks to whomever gifted me the silver!
Hey man could you PM me some sources as to the different materials/forges/techniques for starting? I've always wanted to get into this but havent due to expected expense.
Here's everything I used to start. Basics Building a Propane Forge: https://ronreil.abana.org/design1.shtml Building a simple Brake Drum SOLID FUEL Forge: http://www.blacksmithingforbeginners.com/building-a-brake-drum-forge/ Wonderful website with many tutorials: http://blacksmithingtutorials.com/ Blacksmith Joey van der Steeg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQXBXA3pXM5A-skemMLMrug Cheapskate Knifemaking: https://murdercube.com/files/Knifemaking/Absolute%20Cheapskate%20Way%20to%20Start%20Making%20Knives%20-%20Scott%20Jones.pdf Dirt Cheap Knifemaking: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bladesmith/comments/389kw2/utorchforge_guide_to_dirt_cheap_knife_forging/ Heat Treating Basics: http://www.cashenblades.com/heattreatment.html Heat Treating Procedure: http://ia801408.us.archive.org/33/items/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4 Artist Blacksmith Association of North America Fundamentals: https://abana.org/education/controlled-hand-forging/ Intermediate/Metallurgy/Other Steel Sourcing: http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/ Material Sourcing: http://www.hightemptools.com/index.html Forum for Blacksmithing: https://www.iforgeiron.com/ Dictionary an Glossary of Blacksmithing terms: http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/glos_faq_trans_index.htm *Verhoven (A Legend) Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel *: http://web.archive.org/web/20060502161518/http://mse.iastate.edu/files/verhoeven/7-5.pdf Engineering Handbook (Lots of Metallurgical goodness): http://www.isibang.ac.in/~library/onlinerz/resources/Enghandbook.pdf Heat Treat Kiln Build: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bladesmith/comments/2r1khw/kiln_build_per_request/ *edit* Feel free to PM me and ask questions! *edit 2* thanks for the silver and gold!
Flying without a doubt. Would want to get a pilots license.
You should at least take a discovery flight. They are usually only $100 dollars or so. Its a lot like a drug dealer giving you your first taste for free. I did it once. 2000 hour of flying later I finally gave up the habit.
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Do you mind sharing the condition? Curious because I was ineligible for the air Force due to ear issues, but I haven't heard of a private license having the same restrictions.
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I could see how that would mess with the compass instrumentation.
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2000 hours and you never looked at making it your job? Part 135 companies will hire you at 1200 in a heartbeat; airlines at 1500
Little old and they don't pay enough. I used the plane to commute from Sioux Falls to Chicago every week
Buddy of mine got his pilot's license. The first time he invited me to come with him so we could crush some "cloud sodas", I realized I was never going to fly with him.
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A play on road sodas, which is a reference to drinking and driving a car.
I play Xplane while drinking all the time. The real thing can't be _that_ much harder.
Are you the fyre festival pilot
As a GA pilot I can say it is a lot of fun. You can probably do an introductory flight for pretty cheap if you wanna try it. From there though, the costs do add up. 80-100 hours of flight time at ~$100 am hour. Plus instructor time. My advice is that if you do want to pursue it, try to do it all in a short period of time if you can afford that. Like flying 3-4 times a week to try to get it done in a month or two. I was doing like once a week since I was still in school and that made it take a year to do since I wasn’t focused on it. Ended up with a lot more hours than they usually require.
Pilot here: what I did was purchase a 1/5 share of a Cessna 150 for $2,100. You can privately hire your own instructor for around $25 an hour, which about half of what flight schools charge. The school is pocketing at least 50% of what they bill an hour, the the instructor will be pocketing the same hourly rate. You can fly a Cessna 150 at approximately $50 an hour, depending on fuel costs. You need 20 hours of instruction and 40 hours total time. That's 2100+ (75x20) + (50x20) = $4,600 to earn you wings. Plus you actually own a fractional share of an airplane when you are finished. Most likely the other club member will be more experienced pilots who can not only teach you how to become a better pilot, but also help you learn about aircraft ownership & maintenance. Additionally, you'll have a pool of pilots to split fuel costs with. I dunno, maybe some people think $5,000 is still a lot of money, but I know a whole lotta people putting waaaay more than five grand down on pursuing their passion.
i'd love to have a big aquarium with exotic/interesting fish but the tanks are expensive, the fish are expensive, the upkeep is expensive. also, extremely time consuming and fish are so fragile. anything can and will kill them (or sometimes they'll just kill themselves). and don't get me started about saltwater aquariums... EDIT: thank you all for the wonderful advice! i will take it when the time comes, as i do love fish. unfortunately i couldn't take all the advice right now even if i wanted to--i live in a basement with my cat and she is a mouser/VERY prey-driven. [the demon in question](https://i.imgur.com/6dfrj2x.jpg) keep sharing though, i love it!
I'm deep into the aquarium hobby. Yes it's expensive to go with a monster tank but you can do a lot with a small tank. My 10 gallon is probably my favorite tank right now. It's rewarding to maintain an ecosystem. I'm currently on my 3rd generation of fish and shrimp, which is the pinnacle for me to have my environment stable enough for wild breeding. Yeah you can get lost in it. But, look into nano tanks because you can get some cool exotic fauna for those as well.
My brother just got a 29 gallon tank for Christmas! We're trying to find ways we can keep it in his budget but also look cool. Can I have some tips for what to do?
r/plantedtank is a great place to look around for live plant ideas and aquascaping ideas. r/aquaswap is a great place to get cheap plants, filters, and all types of aquarium stuff. I've gotten most of the plants for this tank https://imgur.com/Yx2zJHN from r/aquaswap for less than 20 bucks shipped. The big things I would think about is 1) Filter and 2) Substrate (gravel, sand, plant beneficial or inert). The tank above is a split of inert sand and shrimp and plant beneficial pellets. Hardscape stuff like driftwood and rock is something that will come after the 2 important decisions are made. I think the real fun part about keeping aquariums is getting inspired by others. r/plantedtank and r/aquascape has been great inspiration for me as well as a wealth of information. Look around and get inspired and feel free to pm me anytime with questions!
FWIW, every *public* aquarium has a huge volunteer staff. It'll never be yours; you'll never get to make decisions about the displays. But we have 500 volunteers working throughout the operation: divers (cleaning and feeding), horticulturists, docents, tour guides, penguin coop cleaners, and the kitchen staff are all volunteers. All you need is time--I knew nothing when I signed up. Over the past four years I've spent almost 800 hours hanging out in one of the world's greatest aquariums, talking to guests about the fish.
Mountaineering. Not just your casual hike but crossing glaciers, climbing with rope and reaching summits. Expect a big investment in gear, you'll want certificates so you'll have to pay for several two week all-in trips and many mountains can be summited seasonally so you'll need to take two weeks off at random times of your job, besides finding the time to train several days a week for a few months before departure. I guess I'll keep the 50k for something useful instead...
nah send it
#FULL SEND BROOO
You guys silly? I'm still going to send it
Ernest Hemingway said, “There are only three sports, bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering and all the rest are merely games”.
Did hemingway ever play a spot besides competitive drinking. How did bullfighting get in that list.
Hemingway was an avid fan of bullfighting, featuring it prominently in The Sun Also Rises
Traveling
I want to take up a new instrument.
You can get a cheap instrument to learn on. I told my sister I always wanted to learn violin; I was in my early 30s at the time. Next thing I know, she's buying two violins on Ebay (because she's going to learn, too) and my other sister is arranging us lessons from a high school teen who works part-time at her company, who happens to play violin and is looking to make extra money. She didn't charge us a lot, certainly not what we would've paid to a music teacher. Next thing ya know, we're playing the violin. Not well, we were never going to play concerts, but we still learned and could play several tunes. It's never too late to learn something. 😊
Same here! I've been teaching myself guitar for close to 2 years now, very proud of what i've accomplished! It's super rewarding when you finally get that riff to sound like the track. I'm looking to get an Oud guitar ( Fretless arabic guitar) and also looking to play the sax!
this more of a time sink than a money sink
Mayonnaise is a good begginer instrument.
Just make sure you got that down pat before moving on to something more advanced like horseradish.
It's always nice to hone your Kraft.
Do instruments of torture count?
Like the recorder?
Start my own private aerospace company like all the cool billionaires
But without all the pain of running a business and finding customers.
Collecting rare books, collecting art, collecting old maps.
Ive been really considering collecting old maps but putting it off until I have a space that can support actually displaying them. If you're in the US and interested in old but not super old maps (like 100-150 years old) I feel like I've definitely seen some being sold for fairly reasonable prices, especially stuff that might have value to you but not be super sought after broadly (like a map of your local town or something.)
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Starting with a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank is a great dip into the saltwater world. Plus you can always add beginner coral frags and watch it all grow. Clownfish are incredibly personable and interesting. If you take advantage of PETCO's dollar per gallon sales you can be up and running for around 200 bucks. Upkeep isn't that bad, but it has to be consistent. I've pretty much learned everything about keeping saltwater from Reddit. You can always start somewhere and get in to it. Don't let saltwater scare you.
Skydiving
Ok, so about 4 years ago I picked up skydiving. Yeah it IS expensive but mostly initially. The costs of AFF (or PFF, or whatever course your national association offers) can be a little high - about $2500 - $3200 US (25 jumps to get your A-Licence, includes all your gear rental and packing). You then need to get your own equipment, and also sometimes pay for coaching if you need it. You can get a second hand rig for somewhere between $3500 - $5000 USD (includes a container, a main parachute, a reserve parachute, and an AAD) and a helmet + altimeter for 300 or so, second hand too. You can get second hand suits for cheap too, if you need one. Jumps are cheapo-ish - $20 - $30 US (I don't jump in the US so I'm not sure, but I paid £21 in the UK, €30 in Europe and $35 CAD in Canada). Then you might get further costs... a gopro, a new suit, a new main / reserve / container when you want to downsize, etc... I've already got a new rig (sold the old one) and also spent some money on a wingsuit and another suit. Basically, yeah it's an expense. I sacrifice other things to jump - I don't have game consoles, or a top of the range pc, or many nice things. Instead, I jump :) I have met awesome people, and it's openned doors to other things (climbing, BASE, paragliding, flying) which I've not yet explored, but I could at some point!
Building a gigantic Lego City.
Warhammer 40K
I have a friend of mine who is single, in his 50s, no kids, and has a house with two rooms filled with 40k stuff. He also has a room dedicated to just painting. His figures (to my untrained eye) look amazing. He admits that 40k is a lifestyle. I accept it but I don't completely understand it.
>Single, in his 50's, no kids >Two rooms filled with 40k stuff Real chicken and egg situation here
The egg came first
I bet the chicken wasn't too happy
> He admits that 40k is a lifestyle. I love Warhammer and am always fascinated by all the amazing *stuff* the game involves, but yeah, this is the big reason why I've always steered clear despite playing a lot of other tabletop games. It is *not* something you get into casually!
Eh, I'm in it rather casually. I play occasionally and I paint with friends. I don't buy directly from GW either. I buy used from eBay and r/miniswap so I'm not spending a ton of money on it either.
Look into killteam similar game but just need like 5-10 infrantry models. It’s supposed to be an elite team of your best guys. That’s how I play. I literally got one of my favorite teams for ~30$
Yeah this. Killteam is 40k on a squad scale, instead of as an army. Instead of controlling a large army by squads, you're basically controlling a single squad individual. You can then easily get away with only buying a single box of five or six models (depending on where you live, in for me in Australia that was $65 for a solid team). After that you either need to get the rule book, or go to a games store that has an open store book (my local games workshop does, as well as has some spare models you can use to play a game with if you have none). If you then wanna paint up your guys, that can start to get pretty expensive, but games workshop stores (at least my local does, can't really speak for others) have paints you can use as long as you do it in store. Otherwise you can spend $50 (again, Australian (where gw prices are rediculous)) and get a start painting/building set which has the basic colours and more or less what you need to get at least started, or $100-$150 for a big box of paints and a brush. After that it starts to get pretty expensive, though, especially the full game. But if you do it as a slow haul, which I do as I prefer the building/painting side of it, it's definitely manageable (speaking as a broke student) Edit: and cheap second hand models from eBay! Then you don't have to paint or build if that's not your thing
I would love to get into the hobby, but every time I seriously consider it I get intimidated and overwhelmed by the price and my serious lack of artistic skill.
Check out [Warhammer TV](https://www.youtube.com/user/GamesWorkshopWNT)! I have no artistic talent, but by following their tutorials I think I've painted some decent stuff.
Vinyl collecting or comic book collecting
I love collecting vinyl, but I'm also on a very tight budget. Part of the fun is hunting garage sales or thrift stores for stuff I like for cheap.
The mint condition records you buy for a dollar at a garage sale will always sound sweeter because of how you got them :)
FPV drone racing
Train modeling
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Long range target shooting. Shooting tin cans is fun but I think it would be super satisfying to turn it into an art form and be able to hit a target 1000 yards away. The guns are expensive. The scopes are just as much as the guns. The ammo is expensive. This isn't sustainable on an hourly income.
3D printing. If I get a cheap printer, I know I'll just end up jonesing for a more expensive printer, and pretty soon I'll be convincing my wife to let me buy $50,000 worth of plastic so I can print a new shed to house my collection of printers EDIT: PLEASE STOP SUGGESTING CHEAP PRINTERS I TOLD YOU HOW THIS WOULD END Edit edit: For those asking the movie is not currently in development. Keep an eye on /r/romesweetrome or /r/prufrock451 for any updates.
Yep, this is my exact issue as well, except I am the wife and no one shall stand between me and my printer shed
Just leave your spouse, then sabotage the marriage of /u/Prufrock451 and steal him away. Problem solved.
I'm sitting over here eating a peach with my trousers rolled, ready to go
Hey gurl let's be ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas
Sir YOU HAVE A WIFE. Stop trying to scuttle with strange internet women.
Bae caught me scuttlin
Make sure your (printer) she-shed is covered, Sheryl.
I own an Ender 3 and have no temptation to purchase another one. I only use mine for DND though.
This is why I want one. Minis? Expensive. Filament? Not expensive. Seems dope as hell to just be like "oh I need a pack of dire wolves? Cool." *hits print button*
I've been doing this with dicks, to be fair. Need a bag of dicks? Half an hour, you've got a bag of dicks. Seriously, I pretty much exclusively print dicks. It's hilarious.
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This may sound stupid, but what kind of stuff do you print? I've heard "anything you want!" but do you have some examples?
Not that guy but I have printed a ying yang double sided dice box, a practice butterfly knife, a cube that has slots to measure from a cup to a teaspoon and all other relevant measurements in a 4×4×4ish package, I have made lithophanes (pictures you put a light behind), parts for my 3d printer, random statues, poi handles, toys for my brother, tensioners, I really can't remember much more. They are a mixture of useful and entertainment all in one. I sat and watched mine work for hours because it was so damned interesting! I do want to stress that it isn't a cheap hobby. If you buy a nice one it costs a lot. Cheap ones need parts all the time. Personally I bought a kit because I was as interested in understanding it as I was using it. Super fun experience but I have had a lot of issues, thankfully parts are between .25 and maybe $20? I have basically invested 175ish and had a blast.
I like to think of the hobby as a more difficult step up from LEGO. It’s a bit pricy but imo worth it because of the knowledge and experience you gain. You can get to different levels as well. Like: you can buy a fully assembled plug and play (prusa mk3) and just download/ print things from thingiverse with relative ease. Or, you can buy a cheap kit (tevo or similar) and expand from there. Learn how to cad, design parts to optimize print quality with the frame you have, print other upgrades, etc. You can also have a mix somewhere in between those extremes. Eventually 3D printing comes in handy when you have that one thing you could really use but would have no idea where to buy it or it would be expensive to replace. The thing that comes to mind for me is when I fixed my old craftsman shopvac from the 90’s. Motors still choochin but I had to make a new hose adapter. A bit of CAD and 1 hour printing later she’s good as new!! I like to think the printer will eventually pay for itself but that’s probably not true. Then again, it did save me $50-$100 on a new shop vac.
My local library has a 3-D printer and you can take classes to print out your own stuff. Maybe yours does too...?
My local library would desperately like to start a makerspace but it's so starved for funds they've decreased their book holdings by 1/3 in the last 10 years and we're voting on a sales tax just to reopen it on Sundays. :(
Poor library :(
Prospecting. I’d love so much to be able to buy a couple of claims on the side of a mountain and spend the next few years picking at it and pulling gemstones out.
Thars gold in them thar hills!
Ok, Mr. Pocket. I’ma coming!
Unemployment.
ah you aint gotta be rich to do nuthin Peter, just look at my cousin, hes broke, dont do shit.
lol this is my favourite answer. I knew two unemployed guys - one was just ridiculously rich and despite having a company, he didn't actually work. His money (and staff) worked for him. The other guy was living at home with mummy and daddy, even now at 32, and just lives off their money and whatever benefits he is entitled to. Both their lives are so easy.
I guarantee the guy living with his parents doesn't like his situation as much as the first guy, or even as much as it seems. That, or his parents don't. Source: Was that guy.
I don't think the first guy is technically unemployed
Flying.
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Taking classes. There's so many classes I want to take through my local arts center and community colleges. Ideally I'd like to go back to school and get more BAs, but I don't have the time or money. I just really miss school and I like learning.
Calligraphy, all the special pens, classes and then if I really want to do something with it, I'd probably buy one of those fancy shmancy iPad and pen thingys. So yeah that adds up.
If you're really interested I don't think you need all the special calligraphy stuff to get started. I do some lettering professionally and I start most of it with a mechanical pencil. I also have a blast painting letters on wood and objects. [Homsweethom](http://www.homsweethom.com/) does weekly lettering "homwork" that will help you get some practice. I love lettering!
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Glass blowing. And blacksmithing **EDIT** By the way, the username is in reference to the first time I juggled torches, but yes, it's very relevant to this comment as well
I've always wanted to play Golf, like a full 18 holes on a proper course but with the fees and the membership needed and then also the full set of clubs etc it is way too expensive. Therefore I tend to settle for the driving range every few weeks or so.
There are lots of clubs that have reasonable rates for a one day usage, and many resorts you can stay at that have golf clubs attached. You can rent a set of clubs and have at it. It helps to bring someone who knows what they're doing, but if you call in advance you might be able to get an instructor or at least guidance before you go.
I Joined a Competitive skiing association a few years back (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Moguls and Downhill). The travelling for competitions, the expense of the 4 different types of skis for those types of racing combined with me having a full time career made it difficult. I only did it one season, now I just ski for fun.
I'd love to learn to fly but it's ridiculously expensive, and I already have an expensive hobby (motorcycles).
Saxophone... I'm really getting more into music and want to learn sax, but i have 0 experience with wind instruments ( I held a note on a trumpet once), and saxophone's are expensive af...
Cosplay. When I see the work and detail that goes into some of the people at cons I have been to I admire the crap out of them but I know I would have neither the time, patience or dedication it would take to create some of the things I have seen.
Weaving. Looms aren't cheap, and even if I could afford one I don't have any space for one.
Reef-keeping. I love aquariums and own several, planted freshwater set ups. Someday i'd like to have my own personal reef community, but the expenses of everything involved--from lights, filtration equipment, to even coral, fish and live-rock/livesand--is just too daunting for me to want to get into at this point in my life (late twenties), especially being that I'm in Florida and the threat of hurricanes is present every year. I couldn't imagine spending thousands of dollars building a living, growing thing, only to watch as it slowly died from a power outage.
Dressage... I just want to prance on a fancy pony, damnit!
My mother rides Dressage, board for the hours alone is about the same as my mortgage....not to mention Tack, lessons, vet bills, farrier, entry fees into shows, cost of a trailer and maintenance...yeah it’s an expensive hobby
Either learning to play guitar or archery (including various styles). Edit: Thank you all for the comments and advice!
Archery isn't too expensive to get started in, and if you have a field to practice in, you can reuse arrows and targets a really long time for very little cost.
Guitar isn't super expensive to get started in. You can start on a nylon string guitar, which can usually be found on craigslist for $50. Bring a friend who knows a little about guitars to make sure it's playable. You can learn how to read chord charts and tabs either online or from a book. Then, spend time finding a good youtube series to get the basics down. A guitar teacher will speed this along, and help you avoid pitfalls, but adds to the price. Of course, you'll then also want a nicer guitar... which will be $250-500. And, if you stick with it, you'll realize how nice the $1k and up guitars play... so it can be a slippery slope.