Hobby Thread - June 28, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. As previewed last week, we gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it came up with lighthouses.

Why are we talking lighthouses in a Hobby Thread? Anything that captures the imagination is fertile ground for all kinds of hobbying.

Lighthouses are great destinations on road trips. If you just mapped out a trip based on lighthouses, you'd inevitably trace spectacular coastal roads. Lighthouses also are shrouded in history and legend as they keep watch over jagged coastlines. Lightkeepers, shipwrecks amid turbulent weather, and tales of hauntings spur the imagination. They come with age and patina from a pats before electricity and computers.

Lighthouses beg for photos, paintings, drawings, sculpture and crafting. They typically keep vigil on prominent real estate along the coastline. They share similar attributes of hoisting a bright light in the air, but the builds and architecture vary from there. Some are square and some are round. Some are painted and some are bare stone or brick.

They are perfect for hobbying. I have faith in the Horde, so come forth with your lighthouse stories, experiences and hobbying.

Companion photo from Mike Seeley of the top photo:

Point Reyes Lighthouse, California (built 1870, photo credit: tankascribe)

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Maine (built 1827):

Beavertail Lighthouse in Rhode Island (originally built in 1749 but rebuilt once after a fire and then again after the British torched it. The current building dates to 1856):

Hat tip: Jack Straw

Portland Head Light (built 1791):

Horde lighthouse history!

From Keith Marston: Great grandfather was Coast Guard station chief at Two Lights in Portland. He lived in the lighthouse. Edward Hopper painted this lighthouse. Gary Merrill lived there in the 1960s.

Thank you!

Cape Hatteras - overseeing the Graveyard of the Atlantic:

Cape Hatteras also has the distinction of moving (which is pretty rare for lighthouses).

In 1999, the Cape Hatteras Light Station, which consists of seven historic structures, was successfully relocated 2,900 feet from the spot on which it had stood since 1870. Because of the threat of shoreline erosion, a natural process, the entire light station was safely moved to a new site where the historic buildings and cisterns were placed in spatial and elevational relationship to each other, exactly as they had been at the original site. NPS Site

Lighthouse glass art by Ben Young. Wow.

Point Arenas in California (originally 1870, but rebuilt after 1906 earthquake):

Split Rock Minnesota (near Duluth, built in 1910):

Bass Harbor Light in Maine (built 1858):

Want to buy your own lighthouse? The US Government has one up for auction in Fairfield, CT right now:

Penfield Reef Lighthouse

The Penfield Reef Lighthouse (the Property) is an 1874 Second Empire Style historic structure located one mile off Bridgeport's Black Rock Harbor and is accessible only by boat. The property features a 51-foot octagonal light tower atop a two-story keeper's quarters (1,568 sf), set on a concrete foundation with rip-rap, a pier, and a boat landing. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1990, with reference number 89001473.

The Property remains an active Federal Aid to Navigation (ATON) with red flashing lights for both emergency and primary use, and fog horns that have a range of one nautical mile.

Starting bid is $100k. Auction ends August 12. Let us know if you win the auction. Would be a unique MoMe location!

Random crafting with a lighthouse theme. Good use of driftwood!

Fresnel lens history and manufacturing:

Modern Marvels - History of Lighthouses:

A Lego rolling mill? Yes, please.

Can you make a 3D printer from your treadmill? Apparently so.

Horde Hobbying - another wonderful painting from polynikes. This one keeps the theme of last week's Hobby Thread going. It is called The Vineyard. It is an oil painting and measures 16x24.

Very nice. Thank you!

What are you hobbying these days?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Your participation does not need to limited to the theme. All hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked home brewing and winemaking. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

TRex wouldn't put a mystery click in a Hobby Thread would he? He just might. If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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