Passions outside of woodworking

Messages
156
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Some of the recent posts coupled with some frustration on my part in the shop of late, have started me thinking about hobbies and passions we might have away from the workbench. For me it's music, specifically my trumpet. I've been playing for 30 years and never grow tired of it. Just like with woodworking, I get frustrated at times when I can't do what I see others do or what I want to do but those times when everything comes together more than makes up for it.

My trumpet paid for college (music scholarship), paid my bills for a while, helped me through the military (drum and bugle, honor guard, etc), and helps me keep my sanity now. If I can't toot I'll go make some sawdust and if I don't have an opportunity for sawdust I'll go toot. I still play in my church and for special events for veterans and military events, etc.

So, what are your passions away from the table saw or lathe?
 
Mine's the guitar. Regardless of whatever artistic pursuits I may attempt, I'll always consider myself a guitarist above all other skills. Unfortunately, for the past few years I've not picked one up and played nearly as much as I should. My current home office/studio is pretty cramped, and it's just not real conducive to playing the guitar. So I end up out in the shop instead, using the lathe as my primary creative outlet.
 
I actually write stuff. It's really the only thing I do well. Oh, and I've done some gardening. ;)

Of course, my only true passion is Doorlink, but we won't go there... :rofl:

Oh, and about the trumpet: some of those military musicians are awfully good. There's lots of competition for chairs in their bands round these parts... :thumb:

Thanks,

Bill
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately, for the past few years I've not picked one up and played nearly as much as I should.

That's when you've just got to go and do it. I actually stopped playing for nearly 10 years. When I was younger, and more foolish than now, I'd always said that if I couldn't devote the time to music that it needed, I'd quit cold turkey. I sold all my horns and regretted it before walking out of the store. My wife took pity on me and bought me a trumpet about 8 years ago. I've been loving it ever since.
 
I actually write stuff. It's really the only thing I do well. Oh, and I've done some gardening. ;)

Consider yourself blessed. Creative writing isn't easy to do.

There's lots of competition for chairs in their bands round these parts...

Before joining the Air Force as an electronics guy I made it through several levels of auditions for the Air Force bands. I often wonder how my life would have turned out if I'd joined as a musician and not an electronics guy. :huh:
 
I don't have any. :(

I used to bowl several times a week, but that was it. I seldom get excited about woodworking anymore, either. I'm going to try my hand at some 'fancy' turning to see if that rejuvinates me. :thumb:
 
I actually write stuff

Me too. So I've combined the two and I occasionally write a woodworking article for Canadian Home Workshop magazine - 2-3 a year maybe? It's fun, and helps pay for a few tools.

Last year, long distance cycling qualified, as I put in a ton of km training for a two week bike trip I participated in. We're just getting into spring here, so I'm still not sure if I'll manage to get back out doing long distance cycling or not. Shorter trips I enjoy alone, but longer distances really require other riders to make the ride fun.
 
mine would be bow hunting and fishing and not in any specific order, the fishing has taken a back seat as this wood working thing has taken over more of my time..i have been many places after the critters and have fished in some great places as well.. the thrill and the solitude both are just as appealing.. there is nothing better than watching nature in her grandure, and not on the tube...never was good enough to make money at it but i eat well:) the wood working fills in any voids i have left...
 
I run into burning buildings. i joined the fire department when i turned 40. went to alabama fire college and then became an EMT something i wanted to do my whole life.
 
Good thread Terry!

My passion of late has been Freemasonry, I've 'run the chairs' and am finally the Master of my Lodge, (President). That has really kept me hopping the past 4 months, and should continue to do so until Next June. I love almost every minute of my time invested there.
 
I have always been passionate about forestry and farming. With sheep back on the farm again, I realized I talked a lot about farming but was not really doing anything about it. That was not good.

So I joined the Soil and Water Conservation District. Its an organization that helps farmers and landowners to prevent soil erosion and improve water quality. At 34 I am the youngest person on the board but its been really fun. It gives you a very unique perspective on farming in my community and truly allows you to fight for the small farmer...something I am passionate about.

It may not sound like a big deal, but for the past 30 years the situation here was that mega-farms got every dollar of funding, but now the tide is really changing. Because I am both a mega-farmer and small farmer I appreciate both situations...the mega-farms put an incredible amount of food on the national food chain...but the small farmer does so in hands on sorts of ways. I don't always agree with the ways the small farmers do things, but I think it is important to let them have some funding to help them prove (or disprove) there methods.

All in all its been fun, but it does mean I am busy.
 
The hobby my wife and I participate in together revolves around the dogs...Irish Setters in particular. As I type, I have one under my desk, and another just to the left.
As my sig line says, we do Irish Setter Rescue. We run a 501c3 non profit group that rescues, bring up to speed medically, trains to be good family members, and find new homes for unwanted Irish Setters in the North Texas area. That actually means we take dogs from OK, LA, Colorado, and NM. :huh: :p
It doesn't matter what their age or condition is. We have taken perfectly healthy pups (we have 2 13 week old Irish Setter/Irish Red and White mixes here now) to dogs with broken legs, had been reportedly tied to a car in the back yard for 8 years and had the battery acid burns to prove it, to a young female who barked too much and the owners wrapped the muzzle with wire that became embedded into the skin, and even one who's ear was so infected, it was abscessing out the side of his face. All these are "fixed" both so they can't reproduce, and all of their medical problems. One even had to have open heart surgery at Tex A&M. Luckily the people that adopted her are financially secure and paid for most of the procedure before they were even able to adopt her!
We also show dogs. We have finished Championships on 4 dogs, and bred one litter of 6 that 4 finished from, all owner handled. Haven't had a good one to show in the last 8 years, so that has been on the back burner a little. LOML has done some Agility work with our now 8 year old, completing about 5 or 6 titles on her.
Other than that, I'm learning how to rebuild sprinkler systems in my spare time as the need arises. :rofl::rofl::rofl: Jim.
 
I have so much hobby overload these days ... it's GREAT :D

I'm finally in a position in my life where I'm truly free to explore just about any interest I might have. The challenge these days is choosing which one to focus on for any given span of "free time".

I've been playing guitar since I was 19 ... wow ... comin' up on 15 years ... well I certainly don't play like someone who's been playing for 15 years. It hasn't been an all-out passion for me, but I did try really hard to get to a place where I could improvise a solo or two. I now own four guitars, two of which are in playing condition. It's an idle moment thing for me anymore - i pick it up while reading emails after work and at lunch. I don't think I know one single complete song, though.

Music itself is a big interest for me, too. I'm a big fan of Blues and like to seek out new blues guitarists when I can. I believe a person's mental health is greatly tied to listening to good music. I'm always in a better mood after hearing some really really soulful blues. Music that just hits me to the core - that's the stuff I look for. :)

I just recently got a motor scooter and so did the wife. We take some time here and there to go riding around "Just because". That's been interesting. I find myself having some trouble joining the scooting community. I don't see it quite like most of 'em do. It's a mode of transportation first and fun second. The local scootists are all very cool folks, though, so I go on a ride or two with them.

Around Christmas time, I bought a metal lathe. I've always had a fascination with machined metal and the timing was right for that lathe. It's been kind of my latest focus because it's so new and so interesting to me. There's just something nifty lookin' about machined parts.

Another fascination of mine is RC planes and helicopters. This passion hasn't begun, yet; mostly because I don't think I've got the bandwidth for it. I'd also been turned off a little by the "You will crash your first RC plane." concept. Especially since they're about $400 to start. My frugal gland won't let me spring for that. I have no doubt that one day I will be flying RC planes for fun, too. Maybe after I retire. :D

It's a good problem to have, all these choices. I'm thankful everyday that I have the opportunity to agonize over which super fun activity I want to do next. :D
 
Last edited:
My passion away from wood is Competitive skeet. I am fortunate to live in a part of the country that has some of the worlds greatest Skeet shooters. About 12 years ago they took me under their wing told me I had the talent to be Rookie of the year. I got hooked on the game and made Rookie of the year and Rookie All American. Since that time I have made many other All American and All State Open teams.

Sadly it is a very expensive hobby. Shooting major shoots can run in excess of $1000 a weekend and many shoots are 4+ days. Winnings help offset some expenses but when shooting 20 tournaments a year + practice there is a definite level financial dedication that I cannot stand this year. My business is down so this year I am just woodworking and working on my business so I can get back to it in the near future.

I think what I like about shooting skeet are the people. They are some of the greatest people I have ever met. If anyone of you have a nice gun club with skeet you need to give it a try if you dare. If any of you wood turners think that is a strong Vortex, skeet is worse.


Alan
 
For me it's reading both my wife & I read a lot. When we moved from the apt we were in to our house I brought to the library 21 boxes of books 18" square filled with about 500 books. I wasn't about to bring them to the house now we got about 700 in the basement. :rofl:

I also listen to music although I am kind of anal about the music I listen to.
 
made Rookie of the year and Rookie All American. Since that time I have made many other All American and All State Open teams.

Congratulations!

My boss is into competitive shooting as well though he's more into the hand gun side of it. I don't recall exactly what he calls it but it's where they setup a "stage" with obstacles and they have to figure out what path they want to take through the stage to shot the targets in the least amount of time. He just went to a major match in Wichita Falls, TX a couple of weeks ago. I believe he said he placed 3rd overall. He's getting to get back into 3 gun shooting. I don't know if the shotgun portion of it involves skeet or not but he just dropped a load of money on a new shotgun.
 
I also listen to music although I am kind of anal about the music I listen to.

What kind of music? I'm not too partial to the more modern head banging rock type stuff and definitely not rap. I prefer Jazz. Not the "smooth jazz" stuff but rather the good old fashioned big band jazz. I can't make a day of it but I do like to listen to some classical, mostly just stuff that I played when I was in the Tulsa Philharmonic back in the '80s.
 
I spend a lot of time (really a lot of time) behind the scenes helping out with middle school and high school sports (timing, scoring, transportation and supervision for volleyball, football, basketball and softball). I enjoy being around the kids and seeing them in a different light than I see in the classroom. It keeps me feeling younger than my years. In fact, that passion pretty much shuts down my shop during the school year.:eek:
 
Top