Machine hobbyists don’t get much airtime in the hobby world, but their creativity and technical know-how deserve recognition. Here is how to tell if you are a machine hobbyist.
Hobbies know no boundaries. When it wants to manifest, it will, and there is very little someone else can do to stop it.
Most people love sketching, painting, and random doodles in their notebooks. Some prefer music, and some are for cycling, running, or hitting the gym.
But there is a unique group of people called machine hobbyists. They are largely misunderstood as they are among the few people who find machines fascinating, from CNC milling machines to lathe machines.
How can you tell you are a machine hobbyist? Keep reading to find out.
5 Ways to Tell You’re a Machine Hobbyist
Who is a machine hobbyist?
Just as the name sounds, a machine hobbyist is someone who loves to study, build, and use machinery. Get ready to sit for a while when you ask a machine hobbyist about machines, such as woodworking machines, sewing machines, and milling machines!
Note that there is a difference between a hobbyist and a professional. As a machine hobbyist, you will typically engage in activities associated with machines that interest you in your spare time. You constantly find yourself doing it because it gives you pleasure.
On the other hand, a professional would likely be paid for their activities associated with the machines and even showcase great skill or expertise. Even if they aren’t paid, machine hobbyists can build great skills after spending time tinkering with their equipment.
How to tell you are a machine hobbyist
There are some tell-tale signs that you can look at to reveal that you are a machine hobbyist. These include:
- You can’t help but inspect every big machine you see.
The regular person often gets intimidated by big machines. In most cases, they have little reason to look at it more than once. However, the case is different for a machine hobbyist. You will find yourself keenly assessing the smallest of all details of these big machines. In particular, you may want to know details such as whether it is new or used, its market price, power requirements, among others.
- You come up with projects just to use your equipment.
A machine hobbyist will always create reasons to use their machine. You can tell you are one when you start coming up with projects that require more engagement with the machine. There are several woodworking and metalworking projects that you can consider. They include floating shelves, ice cream makers, homemade knives, and basic brackets.
- Your family wonders why the CNC lathe gets a spot in the garage instead of the car.
As a machine hobbyist, you will always want your precious equipment to have the best spot at the expense of other items. For instance, you may choose to allocate space meant for car parking to the CNC lathe just to give you peace of mind that it is well-kept, to the chagrin of your significant other.
- You think about and read many blogs on machines in your free time.
Your hobby for machines will get you researching intrinsic pieces of equipment. You will always want to learn more to have something to discuss with others. There are many good machine blogs that you can consider reading, including Practical Machinist and, of course, HGR’s blog.
- You always experiment with assembling different machine parts.
Whereas some people feel worried about handling a machine, it brings you joy. After all, this is something that you love using as part of your free time. You may even buy industrial equipment solely to try to disassemble and re-assemble it.
Do machine hobbyists make money?
Even though you may use your machine hobby to pass the time, make friends, and develop skills, it can be quite appealing if you could make money from it. The ability for machine hobbyists to make money from it can prove useful in setting them up financially. But do they?
A study done on hobby CNC’ers had a surprising finding. Most of those who engaged in the hobby were professionals. They either had a plan for using the CNC machines to make money, or they were doing it.
The survey findings were as follows:
- Custom machining (27%)
- Making and selling a product (22%)
- Planning to make money (3%)
- Facilitating other work (3%)
- CNC software or hardware (1%)
- Just for fun (43%)
As a machine hobbyist, you can never fall short of ideas of experimenting with your equipment.
Comment down below with your favorite machines to use and what you use them for!
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Table saw, drill press, radial arm saw and planer. I use these to either make furniture, decorating accessories or parts for other machines. Currently working on a shop-built jointer and a router flattening bed.
Love that, Richard! If you are on social media, please feel free to tag us in any creations you make and we’ll be happy to share them on our platforms!