Ideas for rekindling the love

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

You could do worse than have a go at a workshop equipment kit from Hemmingway. The advantages are that you end up with something useful, ALL the materials and fixings are supplied and the drawings and build guides are excellent so nothing to distract you from just machining all the parts and no delays whilst waiting for deliveries. A short build gives quick gratification of seeing something completed.
I have often used Hemmingway kits or Stuart Turner kits as a short distraction from my long term projects on the basis that a change is as good as a rest.
regards Martin

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

Are you a dedicated fine model builder or a fiddler / just have a go at it type of chap?

There are some who thoroughly enjoy building models to exceptional standards ( and I am in awe of them ) and those who perhaps know there limitations but just enjoy tinkering about. I must admit to being in the latter category.

I recently began building my first clock, to tha end I spent many hours re-purposing a dividing head I inherited (but didn't fit my Mill), making a number of specialist tools and cutters etc all work that was challenging at times but very interesting.

Eventually I got to the point of cutting my first gear (80 tooth) with all this, started very well and cut the first few teeth precisely. I then realised I had to repeat this action another 78 times and for whatever reason the interest and enthusiasm just dissapeared. It's still all sat there and every time I go in the workshop I seem to find ' something else ' to do. The point I am trying to make here in relation to the original question is ' Have you sat back and tried to accuratly identify what you REALLY enjoy doing in the workshop ? Or perhaps its even time to be realistic and admit that nothing does anymore and maybe you would be better doing something else. Just because you have a workshop doesn't mean you are obliged to use it anymore if it is of no benefit?

I know I'm certainly at that stage, and seriously considering if things have run their course. I have had many years of pleasure from the hobby, and learned a massive amount; but never built any top quality exhibition standard models, but I've managed to fix numerous things for myself and many others, built a few so-so models, many tools / accessories for lathe & mill etc but that's pretty much it. Life moves on

Hope things work out OK in the end Andrew. All the best

Mike

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Andrew Evans on 07/05/2023 10:03:07:

I have also noticed that some people have been really affected by the pandemic. I know people who were young(ish), fit and healthy, into sports etc who now barely leave the house and have lost interest in hobbies. I really hope that people get their confidence back in time.

Chris – sounds like who have been through the mill with health issues. Maybe if you need to move house it could be to a smaller place but still with room for a workshop, maybe a downsized workshop that could be easier to use?

Health issues are a serious downer. I get vertigo, which is triggered by tiredness (and getting drunk). It makes holidays a trial, because on arrival I pay big money for being sea-sick in a strange bed rather than having fun. As I get sea-sick again after travelling home, I now avoid tiring travel. Not all vertigo sufferers are so lucky – some get sick just by moving about. Illness that ruins a hobby is a double punishment. The answer is to find alternative fun, but that's easier said than done.

Years ago I worked in an open-plan office with a friend's father, so got to see him at work and at home. He'd inherited a house and chose to stay in a junior low-stress job despite being intelligent – did the Times crossword during the lunch hour. No hobbies or interests. When his youngest son turned 18 his wife left him because he was boring. A few years later, sons had left home too, and then he retired. After he'd done the crossword, he just sat there – wasn't interested in anything. Fell into a deep depression, didn't eat, and died a few years laters. Another colleague put everything into his career, alienated his family by having a late sexual adventure, retired with no outside interests and drank himself to death.

We're lucky to have Model Engineering!

Before retiring I decided to develop a range of hobbies to fit my personality. When enthusiasm wanes on one I switch to another. Doesn't always work! I welcome challenges when I'm in the right mood, at other times they're pure frustration. Doing something simple is often therapeutic, but not always. I hate gardening!

The golden rule is to never beat yourself up!

Dave

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

An awful lot of smart successful folk get bored and turn to the booze then get stuck in a rut

Did all my boozing in my earlier days and got bored of it, so had moved on before it could catch me out

For socialising I drag everyone down to the pub quiz. It can take quite a bit of effort and disturbs the normal routine but no-one ever regrets it

The other biggie is a dog. Having an annoying responsibility to drag you out of yourself is not always appreciated but is very useful for keeping you going over the longer term

I suppose I'm saying one solution is "everything in moderation"

Edited By Ady1 on 07/05/2023 11:42:51

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

My other piece of advice is ‘share’. Model Engineering can be a lonely occupation. Either find a club, a couple of mates locally or join SMEE who do most things in person and on zoom now. I’m a SMEE member and always get the urge to be back in the workshop after a meeting or lecture.

regards Martin

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Buy your Wyvern a big box of chocolates and share them together.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Andrew Evans on 06/05/2023 12:04:37:

…. After I made the Wyvern I couldn't get it to run and got a bit frustrated and since then have struggled to get back into it and keep getting sidetracked onto other projects.

Putting all that work into an engine and then not being able to experience the joy of the first run is enough to make most people lose interest. If you could get it running, your enthusiasm would certainly get a boost out of it. There have been a couple of threads on here in the past with builders having trouble getting ETW's engines to run, particularly the Wyvern and its cousin the Centaur. Might be worth a search of the site to read them. One problem seemed to be confusion between the text and the drawings on the cam lobe positioning. The drawing showed them having massive valve overlap, which would be unusual on a low revving engine. But it could also be as said already spark, mixture or compression.

Sometimes it does take perseverance to get a finished project to run. I know old motorbike restorations ALWAYS take a good few weeks/months of fettling and tinkering to get them running just right, even after a thousand-hours of work restoring them. There are always "teething troubles". Same in industry It takes five years or more to build a traditional power station, then up to a year of commissioning to get it to run well enough to go online full time producing power. So don't feel too bad that your engine does not just start up and run. Bit of fettling and you will get there.

Along the way , if you get to the point where you are sick of looking at it, I am a great believer, like many above, in doing smaller projects for a change and for some quick easy results, instant gratification if you will. +1 on the suggestions above of Hemingway kit workshop equipment etc. They range from a simple fixed steady to a Quorn tool and cutter grinder (not recommended for a quick job!) . I designed and made a lever tailstock attachment last year for this reason. Only took me a couple of weeks and at the end I had a useful workshop tool. Made a welcome break from long drawn out motorbike restoration work that can sometimes seem to go on and on and on. (Several decades in one instance in my shed!)

Other times, often due to weather or health issues etc but sometimes just due to boredom, I leave the workshop alone for weeks maybe months at a time and do other things I enjoy (reading books, drinking beer, listening to music, actually riding motorbikes, travel etc etc) until one day I wake up and go " I think I'll go out in the workshop today" and the madness starts all over again.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Ennui is a fact of life and comes in many forms such as writer's block. I guess it is a mild mental condition (years ago that comment would have been unacceptable). Some manage to work through it, others go and do something different and never return, while more give it a rest and then come back as if nothing happened. Everyone is different. Personally, as a loner, I try to have too many projects and interests. I think it works.

As for post-COVID recovery, about half of those I know of my age have not returned to normal life. Those who replaced their isolation by keep in touch using things like Zoom and not just the phone/mobile have made a better recovery. This also applies to clubs and societies. It is obvious that some will never come back.

JA

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

This is just a suggestion; set yourself a challenge. Join your local Remap panel and take on a case. Some cases are very challenging and seem to be impossible at first. Follow ***THIS*** link and click Volunteering to find the your local panel.

[Chris Pearson 1Participant @chrispearson1]

Posted by Chris Evans 6 on 07/05/2023 08:24:05:

Upshot of this was being diagnosed with Parkinson's, my wife now wants to move house to the town and get a bungalow or apartment but I know once I give up the workshop my life will be over. Recently taking on a few jobs for friends has really helped me.

From one Chris to another, I understand. I did what I set out to do with my Alvis today, though it finished in the evening sun. The only history of the car (which I bought at auction) that I know is that the previous owner had spent many years restoring it, but Parkinson's had taken over and he had had to abandon it. That was evident in several aspects which needed to be finished off or re-done, the most recent being the magneto/off/coil switch.

I thank God that my duff shoulder is the left one – starting handles do not really work with the left arm, and the starter motor is b******d, but that is another story.

I have (as the French say) 64 years, so if I am very very lucky I have the last quarter of my life to come. I am trying not to slow down, but I cannot help it.

Last thought: I feel sure that President Biden has a significant degree of Parkinson's and he is up for a second term!!!

[John Doe 2Participant @johndoe2]

The two main things are :

mix with other people, and

mix with young people.

Both are essential to keep your brain alive and active. Without such stimulation the brain will atrophy, with very bad results.

For those with a workshop who have fallen out of love with making models, I suggest advertising to make things in metal for people.

You might not know or believe how difficult it is to get a metal widget or piece of channel etc made up. Somebody offering such a service would be most welcome, I am sure.

[Chris Pearson 1Participant @chrispearson1]

Posted by John Doe 2 on 07/05/2023 23:21:36:

mix with young people.

Essential!

And I think that they like old folk. I did when I was wee. Problem is that parents get in the way!

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by JA on 07/05/2023 15:24:53:

Ennui is a fact of life and comes in many forms such as writer's block. I guess it is a mild mental condition (years ago that comment would have been unacceptable). Some manage to work through it, others go and do something different and never return, while more give it a rest and then come back as if nothing happened. Everyone is different. Personally, as a loner, I try to have too many projects and interests. I think it works.

As for post-COVID recovery, about half of those I know of my age have not returned to normal life. Those who replaced their isolation by keep in touch using things like Zoom and not just the phone/mobile have made a better recovery. This also applies to clubs and societies. It is obvious that some will never come back.

JA

Yes I have noticed several community groups I am involved with have hugely lost momentum since Covid. A good half to three quarters of pre-Covid members seem to have disappeared and not returned. I noticed myself after a couple of years of being at home alone a lot over the lockdown periods etc, a certain reluctance to getting back out and about. Habit can be a dangerous thing and difficult to change if you are not aware of it. (He says, sitting at home on the couch typing on his laptop….)

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Chris Pearson 1 on 07/05/2023 23:32:26:

Posted by John Doe 2 on 07/05/2023 23:21:36:

mix with young people.

Essential!

And I think that they like old folk. I did when I was wee. Problem is that parents get in the way!

Yes funny how one's parents know nothing when you are a teenager. But other "old" guys of the same age that I worked with and drank at the pub with were regarded as oracles.

[vic francisParticipant @vicfrancis]

Hi Andrew, it is a simple question you ask but the answer is not straight forward. Whatever the answer is that works for you only you will know.The problem could be single or a combination of 1001 things.I do think you have lost confidence in yourself, and can be difficult to regain .Only a suggestion but run something that works then that will lift your spirits , then go back to the Wyvern with a can do approach. It's not far away… you have done most of the work.

I agree with a lot written above a really useful thread,I admit I've gone slack with things, most likely due to experienced trauma, I certainly don't want a NHS happy pill and that route, just have to rekindle your original dream that you started with. So Andrew , don't give in to depression, Just find the answer and what works.As everyone says the World has changed after COVID, and the various tensions at present, sometimes we have to close the ( workshop) door to it all and get back on to the work in hand.

Best Wishes Vic

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Life gets in the way of hobbies, and there's no point beating oneself up about it. I was an international athlete until I qualified and working life didn't allow for training with a team. I took up archery and became very good at that until a forced break due to illness and when i went back, pulled my high poundage bow to full draw and tore all the tendons in my forearm. By the time they had healed I'd lost interest. Next I took up a musical instrument and played with an ensemble group for a few years but that was something I lacked talent for and only hung in with hard work and long practice. Eventually, I was letting the rest of the group down. My next hobby was expensive and thoroughly fun but some years later I was expanding my business and money got tight.. so the hobby had to lapse.
I accept these things as life – learned some skills and about myself along the way.
Hobby metal bashing is similar – I've learned a lot but for anything complicated I'll probably end up with more scrap than parts which can get disheartening, while simple jobs can be weirdly satisfying and completed before enthusiasm wanes. There are some odd-shaped door latches here, and I needed a couple more – a bit of filing and silver solder after thinning some scrap to the right sizes is a good example.
One of the biggest issues is called getting older – bits of me ache, tiredness creeps in and the essential chores of life take so much longer that hobby time ends up reduced.

Find some little jobs is a good start.

pgk

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by vic francis on 08/05/2023 04:49:10:

… I certainly don't want a NHS happy pill … Just find the answer and what works.

Never dismiss options!

In lay terms, "depression" covers anything from temporarily feeling down or blue as a result of some misfortune, to a serious uncontrollable biological malfunction. Deep depression is caused by chemical changes in the brain, a physical issue that does not respond to "don't give in" advice that works well in lesser cases. Serious depression does not respond to will-power or positive experiences. It's a little like diabetes, which in mild form can be managed with diet, but the root cause is a chemical deficiency that may have to be treated with a drug.

My advice – if persistently depressed to the point it affects your well-being, see a doctor. Don't try and tough it out.

Dave

[Andrew EvansParticipant @andrewevans67134]

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions.

[Author]

Posts