I understand the individual words but you put them together, I cannot comprehend these sentences… ‘hobbies’ ‘not gaming’ ?
Non-gaming hobbies
R_J_K75
Legend
Awesome!! Me too. Theres never too much or enough beer. Which reminds me that I need to get a few 30 packs.
Homicidal_Squirrel
Adventurer
Unfortunately, some of us can't seem to get a gaming group consistently together. I've had to find other things to distract myself from work. If I could get a group together which was able to have more than one consecutive session where everyone was able to show up, I'd probably be starting game related posts. Instead, I now go around taking pictures and have people looking at me weird.I understand the individual words but you put them together, I cannot comprehend these sentences… ‘hobbies’ ‘not gaming’ ?
Mad_Jack
Legend
I've dabbled in metalworking and jewelry a bit - the tools are incredibly useful for other hobby applications as well.
I've posted this before in the miniatures thread, but this is my current project.... Having lost my hobby jigsaw the last time my basement flooded and being on an absolute-zero budget, I'm essentially doing it all by hand - I cut the boards by hand, and cut out all the notches in the shelves and supports with an under-powered hobby-sized Dremel with a cutting bit.
I've posted this before in the miniatures thread, but this is my current project.... Having lost my hobby jigsaw the last time my basement flooded and being on an absolute-zero budget, I'm essentially doing it all by hand - I cut the boards by hand, and cut out all the notches in the shelves and supports with an under-powered hobby-sized Dremel with a cutting bit.
Sacrosanct
Legend
As a fellow woodworker, I know just how hard that was to do with those tools lol.I've dabbled in metalworking and jewelry a bit - the tools are incredibly useful for other hobby applications as well.
I've posted this before in the miniatures thread, but this is my current project.... Having lost my hobby jigsaw the last time my basement flooded and being on an absolute-zero budget, I'm essentially doing it all by hand - I cut the boards by hand, and cut out all the notches in the shelves and supports with an under-powered hobby-sized Dremel with a cutting bit.
View attachment 279594
I know that experience intimately.
First show I went to, I set a $500 budget. Spent $1000.
The next show I set a $1000 budget. Spent $1800.
Yada yada yada…
I’m much better at keeping to my budget these days, but it took going to a show a decade or so ago and spending WAAAAAY too much to knock some sense back into me. Essentially, I had a commitment out of town, and could only attend the first day of the (3 day) show, and was having problems deciding what to buy. So I didn’t decide- I bought everything I liked.
Well, almost everything. On my way out of the show, I passed on one newly discovered stone that was exceedingly rare. The cutter, Bill Vance, had 20+ carats of faceted material for sale, approximately 75% of the world’s supply. He offered to sell me one of the largest for $3000. I could have bought it, but the reality of what I had already spent was starting to sink in. I passed on it.
He sold it about 6 months later for $20k.
If I had bought it, selling it it would have put me back in the black with plenty of room to spare. Thing is, I’m not sure I would/could have sold it then.
To this day, I’ve never sold a piece of my jewelry and only 2 stones I’ve purchased. What little has left my Draconic hoard were gifts to friends and family.
I‘ve only a couple weeks ago cherry-picked some of my best stuff to sell in order to raise funds. I photographed them all (badly) and catalogued them for appraisal & sale with the purpose of replacing the decrepit wooden fence & motorized gate of my parents’ house with a metal one so they don’t have to take out a loan to do the work.m Depending on the job bids and what I can get for my stones, we might even add a solar power & storage setup.
But I can already feel myself second-guessing my own plan because of how cool some are.
Thanks for the link! There's some amazing stuff there. My wife has instructed me to design new wedding rings for our 20th anniversary in a few months, so I think I'll be taking notes.
My downfall was during the first year of the pandemic. Stuck inside for months on end, I just started buying gemstones and diamonds on auction websites, sometimes pieces of jewellery too. And then I thought about things to do with them, so as soon as the country opened up again I wandered down to the goldsmith with a set of designs. You have to support your local economy, after all.
Lately I've been selecting some things to sell. There's not much market over here, though, and people in the Netherlands can be tightfisted. I put a ring up for sale: 1.30 ct natural orange diamond set in white gold with baguette diamonds around it. The first reaction I got was: "Can I see the receipt? I want to know how much you paid for it so I can make an offer." No, here's the valuation. I'm asking less than its value, that's all you really need to know.
That's the problem selling collectibles too here. I have a boxed set of Maps of Middle Earth, on heavy parchment-like paper. You can't find it anywhere anymore. "But you're asking more than the original selling price!" Well yes, it's collectible and no-one else is selling it. "I'll offer you half what you paid for it." Sigh.
My downfall was during the first year of the pandemic. Stuck inside for months on end, I just started buying gemstones and diamonds on auction websites, sometimes pieces of jewellery too. And then I thought about things to do with them, so as soon as the country opened up again I wandered down to the goldsmith with a set of designs. You have to support your local economy, after all.
Lately I've been selecting some things to sell. There's not much market over here, though, and people in the Netherlands can be tightfisted. I put a ring up for sale: 1.30 ct natural orange diamond set in white gold with baguette diamonds around it. The first reaction I got was: "Can I see the receipt? I want to know how much you paid for it so I can make an offer." No, here's the valuation. I'm asking less than its value, that's all you really need to know.
That's the problem selling collectibles too here. I have a boxed set of Maps of Middle Earth, on heavy parchment-like paper. You can't find it anywhere anymore. "But you're asking more than the original selling price!" Well yes, it's collectible and no-one else is selling it. "I'll offer you half what you paid for it." Sigh.
Re: RMS & ring ideas
Take a close look at the mokume gane* offerings- some of it is sold in sheets for inlay for rings, etc.
That’s WAY easier than doing fabrication with mokume gane billets.
This is a ring I designed with lapis, a red-gold based mokume gane, and trimmed in 14k yellow gold. It’s made with a billet, not inlay, and that jeweler hated me for a while after making it…
* mokume gane is “wood-grain metal”. Essentially, artisans use the same drawing & folding techniques with precious metals as used in the steel for Damascus or katana blades.
Take a close look at the mokume gane* offerings- some of it is sold in sheets for inlay for rings, etc.
That’s WAY easier than doing fabrication with mokume gane billets.
This is a ring I designed with lapis, a red-gold based mokume gane, and trimmed in 14k yellow gold. It’s made with a billet, not inlay, and that jeweler hated me for a while after making it…
* mokume gane is “wood-grain metal”. Essentially, artisans use the same drawing & folding techniques with precious metals as used in the steel for Damascus or katana blades.
Gorgeous!
And yes, the wrath of goldsmiths is a hazard I've encountered before. Mine hated me when I asked her to make a heavy silver cuff bracelet with gold leaves soldered onto it. It took her forever, she said, because by the time the silver was hot enough to take the solder the gold was melting. And she'd quoted me a price beforehand. It turned out absolutely lovely, though, so I'm happy.
She also hated me when I asked her to set tiny yellow diamonds individually in a necklace made of three strands of gold. They're so small you don't even see them, but when they catch the sunlight they shine like laser beams.
And yes, the wrath of goldsmiths is a hazard I've encountered before. Mine hated me when I asked her to make a heavy silver cuff bracelet with gold leaves soldered onto it. It took her forever, she said, because by the time the silver was hot enough to take the solder the gold was melting. And she'd quoted me a price beforehand. It turned out absolutely lovely, though, so I'm happy.
She also hated me when I asked her to set tiny yellow diamonds individually in a necklace made of three strands of gold. They're so small you don't even see them, but when they catch the sunlight they shine like laser beams.
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