What do you call what you do in the shed?

[Michael G]

Normally I find the forum by using a short cut or a link in the history tab but as no.1 son has been looking at things I had to find the link I have hidden away. I had it filed under "Model Engineering". Now I don't really build models, although I admire some of those that have been produced. At one stage when I subscribed to HSM I considered that as a descriptor but "Home Shop machinist" has a US tinge to it. I've mulled over "amateur machinist" but apart from always getting the spelling wrong, the amateur implies a lesser standard. In the case of some that may be true but if you look at some of Josh's or BT's work that is arguably not the case
Has anyone invented or stumbled across a good description of what it is we do? ("Book machinist" was once suggested but we won't go there). Shedologist? Backyard machinist? Swarfy?

Michael

[robbo37]

Swarfy sounds good:D

[bwal74]

Hi,

I call Man Time. Half the time all I do is put away tools that I used last time or simply switch on the shaper and watch it go.

Cheers Ben.

[Ueee]

Ben you sound like you need some immediate shaper support group help.....at least you clean up after each job. I normally get to the stage of not being able to find anything and not having a single mm of bench space left before cleaning up......

I like swarfy, often if the other half ask and I dont want to try to explain I use either tinkering or making a mess.....

Cheers,
Ew

[Grahame Collins]

Therapy!

[tanii51]

i call it tinkering
john

[RedShirtGuy]

Depends who I'm talking to.
Mates = friggin' around
SWMBO = important work
Behind SWMBO's back = escape ;P

[BobL]

SWMBO cheekily calls it "changing the oil on the toaster" - ie there is no oil and no toaster!

At least 50% of what I do is loosely directed or free flow problem solving. I start out with a general aim in mind (fix the flywire door) and then set about finding ways of doing it within the range of skills, tools and materials I have on hand. Before long I'm off solving another problem and then another and often forget what problem I was dealing with in the first place. My other obsession is understanding what is happening and that often requires some side measurements which leads to more side measurements etc.

[Scott]

Depends who I'm talking to.
Mates = friggin' around
SWMBO = important work
Behind SWMBO's back = escape ;P

+1 for me.

[morrisman]

The day goes before you know it



When something needs fixing, more often than not, I find that the tool I need is lost, and after looking for a few hours , when I find the lost tool , it is , of course, broken :C, and I spend the rest of the day repairing the tool in order to fix whatever is broken in the first place

Mike

[wbleeker]

Work- but I love it!
Will

[Gerbilsquasher]

"Mission Critical Maintenance of Plant and Equipment" :wink:

[rogerbaker]

I spend a lot of time looking for the tool that I need for a job when sons numbered 1, 2 or 3 have borrowed it.

Roger

[welder]

"Tinkering in the shed "

[RayG]

Depends who's asking..

If it's someone who i think might be interested, I'll talk about whatever project I'm working on, just now it's repairing robotic flowers.. :) and helping Josh with the shaper rebuild ..
If it's just a general enquiry, then I generally say, "mucking about, making stuff" or something along those lines.
If it's an annoying relative wanting a job done, I'll say "doing a couple of urgent repair jobs, sorry, can't talk now... gotta go"... If it's the same rellie carrying a 6 pack, then it's "what's up, got something needs doing? Pass the beer.."

Regards
Ray

[j.ashburn]

Ben you sound like you need some immediate shaper support group help.....at least you clean up after each job. I normally get to the stage of not being able to find anything and not having a single mm of bench space left before cleaning up......

I like swarfy, often if the other half ask and I dont want to try to explain I use either tinkering or making a mess.....

Cheers,
Ew
Better still I crank up one of the shapers with a job set it going and then pick up items hanging on the floor.Killing couple birds one stone.My storage area has always been the floor after a job,bad habit I know but normally is a rush to get the job done and out the door.of late have been doing a clean up at end of day gives me a bit more ''play time'' John. Bench barely has vice space,guess if no vice it would be ''chokka''.

[j.ashburn]

Depends who's asking..

If it's someone who i think might be interested, I'll talk about whatever project I'm working on, just now it's repairing robotic flowers.. :) and helping Josh with the shaper rebuild ..
If it's just a general enquiry, then I generally say, "mucking about, making stuff" or something along those lines.
If it's an annoying relative wanting a job done, I'll say "doing a couple of urgent repair jobs, sorry, can't talk now... gotta go"... If it's the same rellie carrying a 6 pack, then it's "what's up, got something needs doing? Pass the beer.."

Regards
Ray

nothing like ''fridge currency'' to motivate. czech rebublican currency here small job ''sixpac of vic'' bigger job ''slab o vic''

[simonl]

Man cave time! :D

[BobL]

. . . here small job ''sixpac of vic'' bigger job ''slab o vic''

It depends on your taste in beer.
These days I'd be more impressed by a bottle with a bit of taste, as apposed to a carton of the usual ho-hum, blonde, bland and watery.

[Sawdust Maker]

Making Sawdust

[matthew_g]

Chief Mess Maker.......
Matt

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I'm s'posed to be "working" but all I've done lately is "fiddles 'n twiddles."

Mind you, since moving house it's the "fiddles 'n twiddles" that are contributing to the treasury while "work..." well... :rolleyes:

[Bryan]

In my own head I call it whatever I'm working on at the time, but 'tinkering' is a general term I have used and like.
'Fooling about with machines' also describes it pretty well to the uninitiated, since I rarely actually make anything. :-

[BobL]

I'm s'posed to be "working" but all I've done lately is "fiddles 'n twiddles." . . . .

This sounds very familiar especially recently. I've been trying to get back to my projects for a couple of days but have been doing mind numbing stuff like fixing a toilet and a couple of fly wire doors, trying to clean up the dogs mess and a few other things around the place, and just for fun solving the tricky puzzle of taking apart (and putting it back together) a Nilfisk vacuum cleaner to fix the on-off switch. There are no screws on this thing. The whole thing is held together by a plastic belt that is cleverly hidden under a hard plastic band that runs all the way around. Of course when I finally got it apart the cord rewind mechanism when SPROING and do you think I could work out how to get it back together. I finally managed to fix it but I should really toss that VC out. It's supposed to be a high quality HEPA filter cleaner and while it does pick up dog hair, leaves and chunky bits, my particle detector says using it makes the house dirtier.

[Brobdingnagian]

I don' have a good answer to this one.....

Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame would calls himself a Maker see Wikipedia article on Maker Culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture), although I identify with some of the activities I don't think I like the term much it somehow feels inadequate.

-Josh

[tdrumnut]

When I get asked I am simply "jobbing another job that needs jobbing".

[Pat]

I enter the rip in time/space continuum or friggin in the riggin or playing in the shed. Depends on who's asking and what they want.

[KBs PensNmore]

I call it P&Q (Piece and Quiet) or staying out of trouble.:D
Kryn

[Jekyll and Hyde]

If it's in reference to the mill or lathe, I usually tend to go with "Making large useful bits of metal into small useless bits." Seems pretty accurate most of the time...

Otherwise it's 'Faffing about', or as others have said 'making a mess'. Or occasionally something more left field, maybe along the lines of 'Building a flux capacitor.' or 'Working out the question to go with the answer 42.'

[gallegos]

I just call it 'shedtime' which covers anything from sitting on the couch in the shed to building a new shed. If you are speaking to anyone who is vagely interested they always ask questions.

[Auskart]

Secret Men's Business :oo:

[Ashore]

'Therapy' in the sanity module