# Time spent on your hobbies?



## kranker1450 (Apr 12, 2019)

Good afternoon all,

I was just curious as to how much time you spend on the average in a week on your machining hobby or other hobbies total? For those of us who it is a hobby. I don't get to spend very much and I think the time I would want to spend would be considered to much by my spouse. Just wandering what the rest are doing.

Thanks for your time

Tom


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## matthewsx (Apr 12, 2019)

Show her the answers to this post, then see what she has to say....


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## alloy (Apr 12, 2019)

My hobby has become a business. But it's still my hobby.  

With everything involved I spend at least 20 hours a week, sometime 30 plus hours.  This is after a regular job and driving 108 miles a day to work and back 4 days per week. I guess sometimes you can be too successful.  I guess I'm lucky, my hobby more than supports itself and then some.

I've become a slave to my "hobby".  I can't complain, I'm the one that started this


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## bhigdog (Apr 12, 2019)

I don't have a job. It's all play....................Bob


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## macardoso (Apr 12, 2019)

I work full time, so does my SO. We split the chores and have a unspoken agreement that we each get a little time to ourselves so long as we also are spending time together. Depending how late she works I get an hour or two a night in the shop maybe 3 days a week, then if we are home usually a half day on the weekend.

So total maybe 6-12 hours a week. There have been times where it is more and times when there hasn't been time at all. I try to be respectful of her thoughts about it since she is incredibly supportive of the time that I want to take.


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## wrmiller (Apr 12, 2019)

Since retiring, all I do is my hobbies of maching, gunsmithing, shooting, and whatever else comes to mind. 

Well except for during the monsoon season when I have to cut the grass/weeds in the back yard.


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## jwmay (Apr 12, 2019)

I try my best to get an hour per day, and 2-8 hours on the weekend. It all depends on what the family has planned.


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## markba633csi (Apr 12, 2019)

Currently in an espresso phase, but I still make machine parts regularly for various projects, I have about 3 going on now
including getting some seedling plants in the ground
Machining specifically: couple hours a week at the moment


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## jbobb1 (Apr 12, 2019)

Being self employed, it really depends on my work load. I try to get an hour or two a day, but that's hit or miss. I'm currently working on a tool project that I should/could have had done a few weeks ago!


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## dulltool17 (Apr 12, 2019)

I average an hour per day.


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## John TV (Apr 12, 2019)

I'm quite new to the hobby but I'm coming to it later in life so not quite so many family duties. I still work but my wife is retired so that too changes the family dynamic a bit. She has been very supportive and really sees how it is a type of therapy for me. That said I try to spend 6 to 8 hours on one of the weekend days usually works out about 3 out of 4 weeks. Still wish I could do more but I just don't seem to have the energy after work. Hoping life lets me retire and then hope to spend a little time each day making chips and learning. John. Minnesota. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## FOMOGO (Apr 12, 2019)

Not nearly as much as I would like. Maybe 4-8 hrs a week, and that is generally connected to some chore that needs to be done. Hoping  to up that significantly in the next year or two. Mike


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## rwm (Apr 12, 2019)

I have started telling people that metal working is my profession and my "job" is my hobby. That really confuses them. 
I guess if you include internet time and planning time I spend about 4 hours a day on metal working. Then I have to find time for kayaking, skiing, and drinking craft beer.
Robert


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## savarin (Apr 12, 2019)

My wife and I are both retired so I thought I would have plenty of time.
No such luck.
If I'm lucky I average about 3 hours 4 times a week.


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## JohnG (Apr 12, 2019)

I'm retired.  I spend 2-5 hours every day in my hobby workshop.  I feel like I'm staying on top of my game with that amount of time.  I also don't have the stamina I used to have, so more time would be counterproductive--I'd just do something wrong.  This is the most time I can spend each day doing the best "work" I possibly can.


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## mmcmdl (Apr 13, 2019)

Whatever time is not spent at work or sleeping , I'm doing one of my hobbies . The dismantling of my shop , 2 houses , 3 kids , 3 Shelties , college basketball team , cutting grass , maintaining all cars and trucks , tractors , 4 wheelers , 45 acres up in the Adirondacks etc . I still enjoy them all but sometimes the mind says go , the body says whoa .  I'm hitting the big six o this Monday , I wish I had more time for my favorite hobby which is being up in NY in the mountains and enjoying the woods !  Hopefully , one day soon .


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## alloy (Apr 13, 2019)

mmcmdl said:


> I still enjoy them all but sometimes the mind says go , the body says whoa .



I resemble that comment 

I'm 61 now and today I was in my shop and after about 7 hours got tired and had to take a break. Sat down and closed my eyes for a few and was going give it up and go into the house, but pushed through it and got all my customer work done. Now tomorrow it's time to play with my CNC mill and not worry if I'm going to get my customer stuff shipped on Monday since it's all done.


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## savarin (Apr 13, 2019)

I had thought of procrastinating a bit more but the more I thought of it the more I decided to put it off till tomorrow.


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## jdedmon91 (Apr 13, 2019)

I put together my small shop as my retirement hobby. Been retired over a year now, it depends on what my week looks like, most I spend 4 hours in the shop at least 3 days a week. However it can vary according to life. 


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## Firstgear (Apr 14, 2019)

I have been retired for a while now (retired at 59 after 34 years at the same company).  My wife just retired at 57.  Her thing is travel and photography.  Mine is photography, our cars and now machining.  I actually bought the mill and lathe first because I always wanted to do machining (degreed mechanical engineer) and second because I am building a custom 63 Corvette Split Window Coupe Restomod and want a number of custom parts and the machines will help facilitate that.  I havent had the motor built yet, its a LS7 and will have Mast do the work.  I spend about 6 to 8 hours everyday on one of them.  Right now I am spending a bunch of time on the machines making things for the various tooling that I have bought.  I blew up the garage getting ready for the machines and now slowly but surely it's getting put back together.


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## Z2V (Apr 14, 2019)

A Mast built LS7 will be a blast in a 63 Vette with out a doubt. Major overkill but what the heck, go for it!


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## Firstgear (Apr 14, 2019)

Z2V said:


> A Mast built LS7 will be a blast in a 63 Vette with out a doubt. Major overkill but what the heck, go for it!


With a Kinsler cross ram injection unit sitting on top.  Car has a SRIII Motorsports chassis with C5 front and C4 rear suspension coupled to a T56 6 speed transmission.  You can never have too much horsepower or torque!


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## uncle harry (Apr 14, 2019)

I'm retired and am staying about 20 miles from my shops (on my property) so my "rent-a-grunt" (& very good friend) and I spend an average of 4 hours a week "organizing" stuff & making chips. I spend a serious amount of time arm chair machining when I watch my many U Tube heroes and accessing this forum for continued education efforts. The rest of the time I'm seasonally maintaining nearly 4 acres of grass and other property up keep. Then there's always enjoying various craft beers in the famous city of Milwaukee!


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## hman (Apr 14, 2019)

My normal shop time is midnight to 4AM.  Usual sleep hours are 4AM to noon.  Between breakfast and dinner, I'm either out running errands or doing house stuff.  After dinner it's relaxing, reading, etc.  Did I mention I'm retired?


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## rwm (Apr 14, 2019)

hman said:


> My normal shop time is midnight to 4AM.  Usual sleep hours are 4AM to noon.  Between breakfast and dinner, I'm either out running errands or doing house stuff.  After dinner it's relaxing, reading, etc.  Did I mention I'm retired?



Those sound like my college days! 
Robert


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## Cr23484 (Apr 14, 2019)

rwm said:


> Those sound like my college days!
> Robert


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## Cr23484 (Apr 14, 2019)

I retired 1 1/2 years ago.  My wife retired 1 Year ago.
I am 63 and spend an hour or two each night between 11-1 am or 11-12 midnight.
My shop is in the basement for all woodworking and metalworking, except for welding and forging, which is in our shed.
I have a lot of interests, so I do have many hobbies.
C


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## Littlebriar (Apr 15, 2019)

I'm 69, retired and a widower. I have nothing but time and everyday is Saturday, except Sunday. My friends like to say I have no adult supervision. 
My problem is I have many hobbies that compete for my time. Metal fab, woodworking, home renovation, fishing, and motorcycling. 
Usually, my metal fab time is spent making things for my other hobbies which turns out to be a couple hours a week on average. Like others, my stamina and time utilization isn't what it used to be so I'm not nearly as productive as when I worked for a living. Fortunately I've got lots of time.
So to answer the original question, I spent all my time on my hobbies except time spent with family and friends and chores. I thank God every day for my health and my good fortune.


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## tjb (Apr 15, 2019)

Just turned the big SEVEN - o yesterday.  Since retiring about ten years ago, I often ask myself, how in the world I ever found time to work.  My bride of 47 years and I have five children, thirteen grandchildren, live on a farm and each have several hobbies.  I took up machining fairly recently (and love it).  Some weeks, I'm able to spend 15 or 20 hours in the shop; others: zero.  Depends on what's going on with family, farm and other commitments.  Even now, there are a couple of projects that have been on hold for weeks because of other priorities.  Farming, cattle and some other activities don't 'get in line' regardless of how much you'd prefer to be doing something else - especially when bad weather narrows the window even further.  It's all fun, though.

Regards,
Terry


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## Buffalo21 (Apr 15, 2019)

Between “my” time and the time spend for the employer, making items for work, I’m somewhere between 30-40 hrs a week. The good part is the company usually “provides” most of the materials and consumable for my projects also,


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## mmcmdl (Apr 15, 2019)

tjb said:


> Just turned the big SEVEN - o yesterday.



I hit 60 today so you have 10 years on me .  I have more projects than years left most likely and I've come to realize it's time to move on to the one hobby most looked forward to , spending more time up in the mountains . My physical belongings are holding me back . They gotta go and I have to move on .


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## Ken from ontario (Apr 15, 2019)

I have a few hobbies,I have found out one thing about myself, if I want to stay content I need to keep myself mentally and physically busy,  the best way to achieve that is to change/ rotate hobbies , jump from one to another  and another, and back to the first one if it still tickles my fancy.
Staying in one hobby gets too boring mainly because I run out of projects to build or loose my creativity due to lack of interest., that's when I try to find a new hobby.
So far I have done freshwater fishkeeping, auto detailing(for a short time) woodworking, metal working,  machining, and now I'm into stained glass hobby full time, find it very rewarding and it still requires some  machining and woodworking depending on the project , so far it seems to be a perfect fit for me .


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## mmcmdl (Apr 15, 2019)

Ken from ontario said:


> I'm into stained glass hobby full time, find it very creative and rewarding and it still requires some machining and woodworking depending on the project , so far it seems to be a perfect fit for me .



That's one I thought about as well as neon lights .


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## starr256 (Apr 15, 2019)

Hobby time, eh? Two hours in the morning (4:30AM - 6:30) and a couple of hours through out the rest of the day during the weekdays. Weekends are more flexible, any where between zip and 16 hours.


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## cjtoombs (Apr 15, 2019)

My shop time is a bit spotty.  I may go several weeks spending 20+ hours a week in the shop, then weeks I don't even go out at all.  Depends on the weather and what else is going on.  We don't have winter here to speak of, but summer, even with the cooler running in the shop, can be less than comfortable.


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## tmenyc (Apr 15, 2019)

alloy said:


> My hobby has become a business. But it's still my hobby.
> I've become a slave to my "hobby".  I can't complain, I'm the one that started this



As Alloy said...
My hobby of restoring vintage fountain pens also became a business, and my learning machining is part of that.  I'm still working full-time, running a specialty graduate school, so evenings and the occasional weekend day are my time.  Happily, this last career for me, after 25 as a hospital administrator and 15 in the nonprofit world, means that the work day ends when I leave the office.  Also happily, my wife is an avid dancer, so generally when I'm in the shop she's out, although these aren't connected.   Whole weekends, once/twice a month, are out of town with my 90+ year old mother-in-law.  Dawns I'm in the gym.  What's left? 
Count me in for 12-15 hours a week.
Tim


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## uncle harry (Apr 15, 2019)

mmcmdl said:


> That's one I thought about as well as neon lights .



Neon lights are a "hobby" that can be fraught with danger as well as expense. My experience with them has been on a very high volume corporate production level.  If you are seriously interested in following this hobby, I would suggest visiting several "ally shops" (known in the old days before LED technology) where people are producing art neon or commercial signage. That would be a way to appreciate the fun AND the dangers of that hobby.


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## mmcmdl (Apr 15, 2019)

uncle harry said:


> Neon lights are a "hobby" that can be fraught with danger as well as expense. My experience with them has been on a very high volume corporate production level. If you are seriously interested in following this hobby, I would suggest visiting several "ally shops" (known in the old days before LED technology) where people are producing art neon or commercial signage. That would be a way to appreciate the fun AND the dangers of that hobby.



Thanks uncle harry , I will do just that . Tonight I am going to start the final parting out of the machine shop . Everything is going other than what is used in at work . It will take another 2 years or so on the Bay but it will be finally be categorized and accounted for . We took stained glass courses years ago and the wife and I both enjoyed it . The neon hobby comes to mind I think cuz I spent much of my 60 years under them !


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## Aaron_W (Apr 15, 2019)

mmcmdl said:


> Whatever time is not spent at work or sleeping , I'm doing one of my hobbies . The dismantling of my shop , 2 houses , 3 kids , 3 Shelties , college basketball team , cutting grass , maintaining all cars and trucks , tractors , 4 wheelers , 45 acres up in the Adirondacks etc . I still enjoy them all but sometimes the mind says go , the body says whoa .  I'm hitting the big six o this Monday , I wish I had more time for my favorite hobby which is being up in NY in the mountains and enjoying the woods !  Hopefully , one day soon .




This is more of my problem, too much stuff not enough time for all of it. Lately all of my hobbies are suffering because all of my hobbies have received a boost and I'm spread thin. I'm pretty much the poster child for first world problems right now.


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## hman (Apr 15, 2019)

tjb said:


> Just turned the big SEVEN - o yesterday.  Since retiring about ten years ago, I often ask myself, how in the world I ever found time to work.
> Regards,  Terry


Oh, sing me a song about wondering how I ever had time for work!!!  I was offered a "golden handshake" before I was even old enough for SS, and my biggest concern was that I might turn into a couch potato.  So happy to have been wrong about that.  Congats on the big sven-O!  I'm almost 2 ahead of ya!


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## savarin (Apr 15, 2019)

I know exactly where your coming from John.
I nearly dislocated my shoulder throwing up my hand for voluntary early retirement.
Loved every second since.


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