Hobby Thread - August 23, 2025 [Crafty Rex]

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. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it landed on musical instruments.

I have faith that you can either find something in the content that resonates or contribute your own hobbying interests.

You might be tempted to say "I have no hobbies or interests." Bah. Dig around in the content and soak in the comments. Be curious. Glad you're here.

What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Pants are optional. Puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Last week's Hobby Thread led to a discussion of musical instruments. So here we are... TRex has zero musical ability. At best, I'd bang on the drums all day. A small brain and short arms is not conducive to making music out of random sounds. If there was a dinosaur orchestra, they'd ask me to stay out of the way and sell popcorn in the lobby.

Many among the Horde, however, are more musically blessed. This thread is for you. Even if you're not musically inclined, there is knowledge in the construction and care of musical instruments.

This is not a music thread. There are other times and places for that. Let's focus on the instruments themselves. After all, every instrument tells a story...

What musical instrument do or did you play?

Can you play multiple instruments? If so, what is your weapon of choice?

What is the most unusual instrument you can play (no, the armpit fart engine does not qualify)?

Where and how did you obtain your instruments?

Have you ever built an instrument from scratch?

Have you restored an instrument?

What instrument do you wish you knew how to play?

I am a sucker for YouTube videos (1) showing people making cool stuff out of pallets and (2) without voiceovers. Even better if both.

English Manufacturing in the 1960s:

The voice over is gold. Electric Guitars for the first two minutes ("All this to make a bedlam of adolescent noise," "No wonder, the guitar boys have to pay so much for their guitars that they have no money left for a haircut."). Harps at 8:24. Watch the whole thing to see how the Brits made wall paper, spectacles, cricket bats, wedgewood pottery, parking meters, spoon and model cars.

Good uses for newspaper:

Good, but long video. Save for later.

Making saxophones in Paris:

I love that YouTube and the interwebs provide space for people with passion like Olaf the Violin maker. I also love this because it gets deep into wood and what makes good wood for violins. Some guy named Stradivarius shopped in the same forest a few years earlier.

Something can only be original once: State of Being: Restoration or Conservation?

Most musicians in the early-music world play on reproductions, modern instruments that have been carefully patterned on originals from past centuries. The reasons are simple.

First, in most families of Baroque instrument, extant originals are hard to find, excessively fragile, wildly expensive, or all of the above

Second, original instruments come with all kinds of inherent issues that can be big hurdles for professional musicians who need a high level of dependability and have to play a vast range of early music with multiple ensembles.

Third, there are more skilled instrument makers than ever before, and the quality of the resulting instruments is better than ever, making them a more enticing option.

Fourth, playing an original instrument can be detrimental, maybe even irresponsible.

More interesting nuggets in the article. Read the whole thing as the blogfather would say.

Randomly spotted in our local Hobby Lobby:

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a small scale restorations theme. 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).

Would TRex include a mystery click behind every single photo in a Hobby Thread? You betcha. If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your hobbying. 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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