# How long do you work on your projects



## V 45 (Jun 5, 2012)

I was wandering how often you work on your projects ? For me I have a full time job and get to my dungen shop (wife calls it that) a couple nights during the week and maybe a few hours on weekends. To much to do around house plus have a little fun as well !! So my projects don't get a full time attention that they deserve. I'm very excited about having my machines even tho I'm very new to this...still strive to learn all I can...and so far on this site it hasn't let me down !!
Thanx again... V45


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## ttrikalin (Jun 5, 2012)

I get much less than that
Tom


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## steamer (Jun 5, 2012)

ttrikalin  said:
			
		

> I get much less than that
> Tom



Ditto!!!

Dave


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## rkepler (Jun 5, 2012)

When I'm heavy into a project I can put in 8-10 hours on a weekend day (leaving some for honeydo's and yard work) and a couple of hours after work. Most of the time I'm not that much into things, I have had months on end where all I do is go into the shop and rearrange piles that are project shaped. Then I'll go full-bore on something again for a couple of months.

I sure couldn't do this if I was travelling as I used to - 80% travel meant that I was home Saturday night and sometimes Sunday night as well.


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## rebush (Jun 6, 2012)

I'm lucky. When the shop was built there's a 450 sq. ft. apartment at the back. Originally for guests but now that Mom needs assistance she lives there. I'm semi-retired and need to be around to help her, installed a flashing light system in the shop when I'm needed in the apartment. So fortunately I can spend a good part of every day in the shop. Roger


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## b.lindsey (Jun 6, 2012)

For me it varies a lot with workload and time of year. Fortunately I can often get in some timeat work before the work day begins, or during lunch. Evenings at home usually don't bring much shop time though I do try to plan things for weekends that can be done on the smaller benchtop machines at home. As others have also said, can depend on how much I am "into" a particular project... things always pick up in the home stretch and when a project is close to running. One thing I try to do (though not always successfully) is to get even just one thing done per day...it doesn't have to be something big, just something to keep the progress going and I find that helps. Unlike some, its very rare that I have more than one engine project going at a time...partly due to space, but I like to keep focused on one thing, then when its done, on to the next.

Bill


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## Dr Jo (Jun 6, 2012)

I also am young enough to have to work :-\ and am normally too tired to be able to safely use my machines in the evenings but I might make the odd bolt on the "house lathe" if I get the urge, so most of my workshop time is at the weekends, when if I am lucky I can get 10 hours in.

When I am on holiday I spend 8+ hours a day, 7 days a week in the workshop woohoo1. 

Jo


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## Blogwitch (Jun 6, 2012)

In my heyday a few years back, 12 to 14 hours a day, now it seems about the same number of hours a year.

As you get older and more wise, you tend to slow down on your builds, that way you can get maximum enjoyment for the buck.

I had enough projects in stock to complete in about a year, those same projects will now last me until I snuff it.

You will find it isn't a race for the finish, but the enjoyment you can get out of the journey


John


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## pkastagehand (Jun 6, 2012)

Between work, house maintenance/repair, honey-do lists and occasional fun stuff it is not uncommon to go weeks without switching on the lathe or mill. Shop is mostly in the basement which is not heated and gets quite cool in the winter so when I should be having more time I don't want to work down there. Plus, I think the winters depress me a bit. SW Michigan doesn't get a lot of sun in the winter and I may have a touch Seasonal Affective Disorder which makes a cold shop even less appealing.

But as John just said, it's the journey. I am not trying to win the most-projects-in-least-time award. But as my A3 gets closer it is hard not to start thinking about seeing it run. Until I look at the list of what's left to do. 

I like that I have the project there waiting for when I can work on it and try not to worry about it when I can't.

Paul


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## V 45 (Jun 6, 2012)

I'm still new and like going to my basement when I can...still very excited about making all parts correctly !! I have had to make some over with a different approach to how to make them without messing them up. I wasn't trying to say it was a race, just curious as to how much time spent working your machines...I really do enjoy the time on my machines. I have projects in the back of my noddle and some scrap papers lying around. I work on one at a time. Plus I have to pick up new tooling once the part dictates it's use. So, I'm in no rush...quality not quanity !!
Again, thanx for the replies !!
V 45


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## 90LX_Notch (Jun 6, 2012)

It depends. 

There are times when I manage to squeeze in a decent amount of time. Other times, life just gets in the way. Anymore, when the day is all said and done, I can't get up enough "steam" to get into the shop. I just kind of "plop" and watch TV. :'(


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## Don1966 (Jun 6, 2012)

Since this is a hobby my job gets first place and when I get time I have to see what my prioritys are and if I have enough steam left in me I will work on my project. I love my hobby but I have to be in the mode and not tired from work. I have to enjoy my time machining and if I am tired it is not enjoyable. So it is hard to say how long I work on my project depending mostly on day job.

Don


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## blighty (Jun 6, 2012)

i guess im a bit lucky when it comes to time in the shed. 

as i work nights i get up about mid day have a bit of toast etc then down to the shed. then stop about 5pm to put the dinner on, spend a few hours with the family then back in the shed for half an hour or so and then its off to work. weekends i get even longer....... thing is, i don't have a lot to show for all the time i spend in there ??? still haven't done the eurofighter or the V8's or the 2" burrel, but saying that... the YAK54 is ready for it's maiden ;D ;D it's only been 9 month since i bought it. 

think i need to go on a "time management" course.


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## ieezitin (Jun 6, 2012)

i am 50 years old. been in this hobby 25 years. wife understands as she has a hobby that takes up as much time as i spend on mine. i have three machines broken at the moment and i need all three to repair each other so i have a dilemma, i dont care tho even fixing machines pleases me. i spend 2 hours a day in the shop and all day Sundays, but saying that my shop is also a small business which funds my hobby at the same time offering a service to a very rural farming community.

social security will not provide me with enough of a income but this will make me ends meat!. i don't know if i answered your question but i think i gave you room for thought.

Anthony.


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## Maryak (Jun 7, 2012)

Since moving out of the city and away from my workshop. I get Fridays to go and play in my shop. Some Fridays see other things get in the way of this. When my workshop was to hand a model took between 3 - 6 months. My current model has been on the go for over 3 years. At the moment I am chasing compression and it's running away faster than I can catch it 

One thing's for sure it will run out of options before I do  The pleasure of just being in an environment I created for my retirement more than makes up for my lesser skills in machining.

Best Regards
Bob


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## cfellows (Jun 7, 2012)

My time in the shop gets interrupted by major house projects. Still, in between projects I seem to have plenty of time for the shop. Being retired I don't have a job to suck up my time. My biggest problem is that I don't have enough energy to spend more than 3 or 4 hours in the shop at a time. My back also begins to bother me if I'm on my feet for several hours. Still, if I don't have a major honey-do project going on, I can usually get 20 or so hours a week in shop time.

Unfotunately, I find it much easier and more comfortable to spend several hours each morning drinking coffee, surfing the internet, and reading the forums... regardless of whether there are other projects needing my attention!

Chuck


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## don-tucker (Jun 8, 2012)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> In my heyday a few years back, 12 to 14 hours a day, now it seems about the same number of hours a year.
> 
> As you get older and more wise, you tend to slow down on your builds, that way you can get maximum enjoyment for the buck.
> 
> ...


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## johnmcc69 (Jun 8, 2012)

no machines yet, working on it though...
I spend quite alot of time on the computer. 
I redraw engine plans from old plans. I recreate them in 3D
 & animate them. My fav was Rudy K's traction engine. I saw a
n old pic in PM of an "exploded" view i want to recreate. I already have 'em modeled up.v
How much time? Never enough time..but...when I'm really into a design project..15 hours a week.


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## pkastagehand (Jun 12, 2012)

Well, it is interesting to see that I'm not alone. A number of us seem to have the same problems that reduce the shop time; Honey do lists, jobs, etc. lack of gumption even at times. I guess we're just human and doing the best we can!

Paul


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## terrywerm (Jun 19, 2012)

Boy, this is a question with many answers!! 

Obviously, the honey-do list gets the most attention, along with home and auto repair issues. Most of my machine time is spent making various parts for odd projects here and there, like special tools for automotive work. I get a little shop time here and there mostly during the spring and fall, as my machines are currently out in the garage. Too cold in the winter, and often too hot during the midday in the summer. I have the most free time in the winter months, so I hope to create some shop space in my basement before next winter, once my son, daughter in law, and granddaughter get back on their feet and get a place of their own, hopefully in the next couple of months. 

My shop time is important to me, but not as important as my kids and grandkids, so having more shop time will wait for now. But, I have a 5 year old granddaughter that likes to "make parts" with her papa, so I may not get as much shop time now while she is here every day, but what time we do get is especially precious.

Yup, it's the journey, not the destination, that is most important and most cherished.


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## Rayanth (Jun 19, 2012)

well, my agreement with SWMBO is that weekends are mine to work in the shop - but I'm on graveyard shift, and live in a quadplex home. my weekends I stay on the graveyard schedule, so I can't do anything out in the shop for fear of waking up the neighbors. And attracting bugs.

I go to bed around 10am most days, so that leaves about 3 hours each on Friday, Saturday, and occasionally Sunday morning - but I also work lots of overtime on weekends, so many times I lose even one day there.

Of the time I do get, it involves lots of cleaning and figuring things out as I'm still new to all of this, so actual work on a project is minimal 

- Ryan


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## ksor (Jun 20, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> My time in the shop gets interrupted by major house projects. Still, in between projects I seem to have plenty of time for the shop. Being retired I don't have a job to suck up my time. My biggest problem is that I don't have enough energy to spend more than 3 or 4 hours in the shop at a time. My back also begins to bother me if I'm on my feet for several hours. Still, if I don't have a major honey-do project going on, I can usually get 20 or so hours a week in shop time.
> 
> Unfotunately, I find it much easier and more comfortable to spend several hours each morning drinking coffee, surfing the internet, and reading the forums... regardless of whether there are other projects needing my attention!
> 
> Chuck



Do you have a web-cam by me or ... ;D - Chuck, that's exactly my words and situation too !


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## Tin Falcon (Jun 24, 2012)

When I first started this hobby in earnest I was working for the military/DOD. I found myself on active duty. so when repairs were caught up shop was clean and shop stock inventoried and orders up to date etc then spare time could be uses for training projects. My first two engines were started on a Saturday and finished the following weekend. 

At one time I was between jobs I was able to finish an engine in a month. these days I am away for work at least 11 hours a day.Have not compmpleted much of anthing for a while. Maintaining a house a car etc. houshold chores making wedding gifts going to weddings doing engine shows 5 times a year. life happens. 
Tin


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## Sshire (Jun 24, 2012)

Had the week off. In the shop 6-8 hours almost every day. That was wonderful. Closing in on completion of Elmer's Radial. 
Most days I can work a few hours in the morning and (if I'm not too beat) a couple in the evening. Too much fun.
Best
Stan


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## Mainer (Jun 24, 2012)

It has changed for me over the years. When I was young and single I could spend 6-8 hours at a stretch in the shop. As I got older and married with responsibilities, I found that if I was in the shop regularly, my mind was in "shop mode"and I could manage about 4 hours before fatigue bred impatience and I started doing dumb things. As I've gotten older, and developed Parkinson's disease, I find my period of useful shop time to be about an hour at a time.


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## V 45 (Jun 24, 2012)

Seems like everyone has the same sort of reasons for not being in the place of there hobby. I'm 50 years old as well...retired with 26 years in the Army. Now still work as I like my work !! Really !! But I have never had any formal training in machining. Have a few friends that do it for a living but once they get off work really don't want to talk about it much. So I read and learn from places like this. I was asking the questiopn to see how long I would take to complete projects. Since I have not completed any engines, but have made mods to my machines and have a few parts made for an engine. I will continue to learn and be patient with the task I take on. Hopefully not making too mny parts with mistakes or Ooops in them...which I have done a few times already...but the second time goes much smoother.
 V 45


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