[czsummy]

Now we all know riding is a hobby/lifestyle, but what else does everyone do when they can't ride or what do you like to do? do you collect coins, art collector, build models, shop, do wood work, fix up old cars or bikes? we all have one common interest in riding but what else might we have in common, or just what makes us who we are.

i'll start by saying i do collect coins, not a true collector but if i'm at an auction i'll by some. i do collect hot wheels to an extent certain ones of course, i also like to get small wooden model boats, and have a small collection of those.

but what i collect, fix, and sell, and what is my true hobby is.... collecting vintage TYCO r/c cars. I love these older r/c's they were ahead of there time and they aren't made like this today. don't laugh but here are a few picture of my collection.

so please tell us and show us what it is that gets you ticking, we love pictures!!!

 

[Navy Ninja]

WOW!!! That's a lot of stuff!!! Looks like a blast!

I don't have pics, but I love working on cars, trucks and such. Haven't ever had the chance to restore anything yet, but would really like to. I also like to do small wood projects, but haven't done any in a while. Right now I am working on building a fire pit in my back yard.Obviously I love working with my hands.

Also wanting to get into hunting. I love guns! I have a small collection thanks to family, but I am planning on acquiring more, a lot more...lol

 

[FHG2088]

I collect Canadian coins, I have a set from every year I've been alive. I rock climb, play board games and draw things. Need to find something new and exciting though... I'm kinda bored of all those things.

 

[czsummy]

canadian coins, i'd wanna see that!

 

[Fry1024]

Legos! Yes you heard me. I started when I was six and haven't stopped. I don't build those super detailed models like you see on so many web-sites. Most of what I do is very generic but on a large, very large scale. When I was 12 i had a large city that would slide under my bed. When it got too big to fit there I rebuilt part of it so it would split up and slide under different pieces of furniture in my bedroom. Few years later it was too big to do that so I built a 6x12 foot platform in my parents attic and moved the city up there. Working street lights were eventually installed along w/ a subway. The city lived in there until my sophomore year in college when my parents decided to renovate the attic into a livable space. The city reached a maximum size of just over 88sq feet before the tear-down. Oh well, life moves on. I still collect Legos but at a very slow rate. I'm still hoping that someday I'll have the room I need to reconstruct a city.

I'm more into tinkering with anything I can get my hands on. Right now it's mostly refinishing the house. Currently a bedroom and the adjacent bathroom. Should be finished before the holidays *snicker snicker*.

Photography, drawing, computers, mountain biking, running/hiking, tennis and softball are fun past times too. My dogs take up a lot of time too and are usually tagging along in anything outdoorsy.

 

[spooph]

CZ, you make me jealous! You have all the models I ever wanted as a kid....

Navy, we'd get along just fine!

FHG, you just keep getting cooler!

As for my hobbies, I don't really have any that fit particularly in that category. Some of the things I do I prefer to do more than others. I get paid for some of them, so the line between play and work is often blurred...

Photography - was trained as a photo journalist, but am starting to play with lots of artsy things like light painting and other some such nonsense.
guns/target practice - newest "hobby" I'm getting serious about.
outdoors/exercise - rock climbing, snowboarding, hiking, exploring (I really like getting into where I'm not supposed to be....)
Technology/computers - I do this for a living. I also put games and such in this category. I only play video games if I'm still to awake to sleep, but am tired of being awake... I also have a few side projects planned - like turning a HDD into a clock, building my own cradles for an external HDD so I can carry my Virtual work computer around on the HDD instead of having to lug around a complete laptop....
Building stuff - wood, metal, pottery, what ever. I too like to work with my hands. I have 2 project bikes waiting some attention. Currently I'm rebuilding a compressor I got for cheap before turning my attention back to the 250.
Journalism - currently I'm writing for 2 free publications, not having the time to dedicate to an internship, but trying to launch a career in that direction. Essentially, I just want to get paid to ride motorcycles....

I think that's the list - I have a list at home so I don't forget about anything, but yea, I like to stay busy. I'll post up some pics of the various things I do as I go through them. Taking some folks up shooting this coming weekend, so those should be fun pics!

 

[spooph]

How on earth can I forget legos! You don't have a picture of the city, do you? That would be so cool! I also have all my legos of yore - it's a low budget project I want to do, to rebuild all the old sets and hang them around my room....

Also K'nex... Currently we have a ball factory in our apartement which still needs a few replacement parts, and a ferris wheel waiting construction....

Legos! Yes you heard me. I started when I was six and haven't stopped. I don't build those super detailed models like you see on so many web-sites. Most of what I do is very generic but on a large, very large scale. When I was 12 i had a large city that would slide under my bed. When it got too big to fit there I rebuilt part of it so it would split up and slide under different pieces of furniture in my bedroom. Few years later it was too big to do that so I built a 6x12 foot platform in my parents attic and moved the city up there. Working street lights were eventually installed along w/ a subway. The city lived in there until my sophomore year in college when my parents decided to renovate the attic into a livable space. The city reached a maximum size of just over 88sq feet before the tear-down. Oh well, life moves on. I still collect Legos but at a very slow rate. I'm still hoping that someday I'll have the room I need to reconstruct a city.

I'm more into tinkering with anything I can get my hands on. Right now it's mostly refinishing the house. Currently a bedroom and the adjacent bathroom. Should be finished before the holidays *snicker snicker*.

Photography, drawing, computers, mountain biking, running/hiking, tennis and softball are fun past times too. My dogs take up a lot of time too and are usually tagging along in anything outdoorsy.

 

[czsummy]

k'nex! haha, i have the snake roller coaster, fassis wheel, a solar powered set, a remote controller dragster, and other i can't remeber.

spooph--I didn't have them when i was a kid either, but now( muahahahahaha) i do =]

 

[Fry1024]

How on earth can I forget legos! You don't have a picture of the city, do you?

I didn't at the time of the post but I managed to find some in a private directory on a server at a company I use to work for that has now been sold. Guess they never purged the server.

These pics were taken at two different times, maybe 3-5 years apart the newer being on the left and maybe 10 - 12 years ago.

 

[jkv45]

(SNIP)

Photography - was trained as a photo journalist, but am starting to play with lots of artsy things like light painting and other some such nonsense.
guns/target practice - newest "hobby" I'm getting serious about.(SNIP)

Hey spooph - I worked in commercial photography as an assistant and in editorial and stock photography as a freelance photographer for almost 10 years. I did some racing photography, and some of the EAA coverage for FLYING magazine back in the 90s. That industry self-destructed a while back unfortunately.

I am currently in the process of opening a powder coating shop. Before becoming a photographer I fixed auto wrecks for a living, and still enjoy bringing a beat-up part back to life, so running a coating shop is getting back to my roots.

These are a pair of SV forks I repaired and coated -

Before:

After:

Before I moved, about a year ago, I was an active pistol competitor. Both Conventional Pistol (.22/.45) and Olympic air pistol, and was the Range Officer for one of the biggest pistol clubs in the Chicago area. I also started an Olympic-style airgun club, and coached junior athletes in air rifle and air pistol shooting.

The club has had numerous junior and adult competitors and coaches that have received coaching instruction and shot Junior Olympic and Olympic Tryout matches at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in your area (Colorado Springs, CO).

You've seen this before, but this is my idea of having fun (when not riding or shooting a pistol)!

Jay

 

[Fry1024]

These are a pair of SV forks I repaired and coated -

Before:

After:

Holy hole in a donut! That's some incredible work jkv! Heck, that's better then new, that's awesome!

 

[spooph]

That's sweet Jay! Yup, I'm familiar with the OTC thanks to Scouts back in the day...

 

[jkv45]

Holy hole in a donut! That's some incredible work jkv! Heck, that's better then new, that's awesome!

Thanks. That repair was difficult in the fact that it involved building-up and shaping a circular area, and the damage also extended over the edges.

Back-in-the-day, as a Body Man, I worked filler on areas as long as a Ninja - so smaller items like that always seem pretty easy.

The coating is a very high metallic silver with clear. Not the original look, but what he wanted.

Here's a shot of the finished pair -

Jay

 

[FHG2088]

I like your definition of cool spooph. I've never been cool in my whole life! Lol

 

[KURT]

I like your definition of cool spooph. I've never been cool in my whole life! Lol

Signing up here, was a good start. :thumb:

 

[spooph]

so JKV, if I ever need some power coating done, you could help out with that? You do ceramic coating as well?

FHG - hehe, my definitions are a bit off the norm, but I like them too... I completely agree with Kurt, all the cool kids are at NN, so being here is definitely increasing your cool. :dance:

 

[Fry1024]

I like your definition of cool spooph. I've never been cool in my whole life! Lol

You're just hanging out w/ the wrong crowed.

 

[jkv45]

so JKV, if I ever need some power coating done, you could help out with that? You do ceramic coating as well?(SNIP)

I'm not set-up yet, but soon. I'll be doing PC only initially, but will most likely do ceramic after I get rolling. Some of it will depend on the Inspectors, and what they'll require to shoot a "wet" coating like ceramic.

I also have the equipment to do soda blasting and ultrasonic cleaning for items like carbs, pistons, etc, that you don't want blasted with anything that will remove material.

Here's a before/after of an old Superhawk carb. Soda blasted and untrasonic cleaned -

There are a few other things that I may look into doing later as well, like dry film coating and water transfer printing.

Right now it looks like I may have found a location that I can lease starting in Feb or Mar.

I can definitely help you out - just let me know what you need when I get going.


Jay

 

[spooph]

sweet! I will let you know! Also, do you have a link to your ultrasonic cleaner? I've been looking for units big enough to drop an engine block into but haven't been able to find them - thought that an industrial steam cleaner (like the restaurant dish washing type), wouldn't be a bad idea....

 

[jkv45]

sweet! I will let you know! Also, do you have a link to your ultrasonic cleaner? I've been looking for units big enough to drop an engine block into but haven't been able to find them - thought that an industrial steam cleaner (like the restaurant dish washing type), wouldn't be a bad idea....

That would be a huge unit! I bought my ultrasonic cleaner used, and it's about 24" x 12" x 12" deep.

Steam cleaners are going to be pretty pricey also.

How much rebuilding do you do? What type of projects are we talking about?


Jay