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    >> It's tangible.

    > You have 300 operations to step through and if you mess one up you probably need to start over.

This, but ;)

I really like that you don't have undo but you still don't have to start over. You have to learn how to build things and what to do when you inevitably eff up and how to cover it up! And then you go around the house and check how the builders/tradespeople covered up their mistakes or how they were simply never as perfect to begin with as you think you need to be.

The difference being that unfortunately you will know forever where you effed up and even if you cover it up so that nobody will ever notice unless you tell them, you will be able to see it.

I can still see the tile in the bathroom being siliconed in instead of grouted where we opened it up to allow access when re-piping the house vs. the regular grout even though objectively it's exactly the same color and even the texture is close enough. I siliconed it just in case because this was the second to last extra tile, so if we ever need to open it up again, I want to be able to just cut the silicone vs. destroying the tile like the contractor did to gain access the first time.

Same when I do woodworking. I will always remember/see the gap that was too wide after I cut it incorrectly and filled it in with sawdust and glue from the exact same wood. I keep a bunch of containers w/ the different wood types' sawdust for just these cases.

I like that it forces me to really be smart about planning out those 300 operations, plan around constraints like tool/material availability, and then sometimes even re-evaluate mid stream when you realize your plan was off a little

I do 'model engineering' which is mostly metalwork, and it's about the same.

You end up with something tangible but it really hurts when you make a mistake many hours into a part and have to scrap it and start again. Especially if it's not plain old steel, so just cost a lot. You do learn to save a part from some types of mistakes but it's not always possible.

I think it's great that software lets you build castles in the air and mistakes generally only cost time, and fixes or improvements can be incremental but it does get old when many projects are scrapped before being used so you feel like you're just wasting time.

I find the 'no undo' and a perfectionistic streak add immeasureably to the stress of my 'hobby' but now I have finally finished my steam loco after 10 years I do like looking at it and driving it.

> ... I have finally finished my steam loco after 10 years I do like looking at it and driving it.

That sounds fascinating! Could you share some more about your project?

"Blondyhacks" on YouTube is currently in the process of build model steam locomotive. You might want to check that out.

Or one of their previous projects if you'd like to binge start-to-finish.

It's about 1/11 scale of the real one, so the next size up from what Blondiehacks is building, and a bit more complicated and detailed. But essentially the same thing, a steam loco that runs on coal & water and works just like the real thing in every respect. See https://i.imgur.com/GuHR2j6.jpg

It can haul me and about 8 or 10 other people. It's a pretty popular hobby - look for live steam on YouTube.

I got bitten with the metalwork bug during lockdown.

I spend most of my time making imperfect tools that I could buy cheaper. It's just so satisfying to build something yourself from a design though.

Being able to take soft silver-steel, machine a point, then harden it with a blowtorch is just magic.

Even just staring at commercially made parts and reverse engineering how/if I could make it on my little hobby lathe with the bar stock I have is really fun.

My favourite projects have been small custom parts for my bikes. Nothing is perfect but it all works and you can save loads of money[1].

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1. Such lies! I haven't saved any money because it's always "if I just had this 200 quid tool I could make this one time 20 quid part". Best to acknowledge it's just a fun hobby. :D

I hate making tools rather than models but I know tools is the hobby for many people and enjoy watching other people make them on YouTube.

I agree, being able to harden steel or anneal copper or cut threads is awesome :)

I love having the machines & tools. It's nice to know I can make something, and it's even come in handy for work a few times despite the fact I'm a software developer - brackets or adapters that must be metal and not 3D printed.

You will have saved money at some point... perhaps 40 years from now!

I'll never recoup what I spent on the machines, but other people spend that much on travel and hobbies (like motorcycles) every couple of years so it's not an outlandishly expensive hobby.

> You have 300 operations to step through and if you mess one up you probably need to start over.

Only if you’re a perfectionist. You can always adjust the plan or do some annoying work with glueing. And usually it’s one part of a bigger thing that can be redone individually. Unless you’re sculpting a giant piece of wood like marble

> The down side of this is that there's no undo. You have 300 operations to step through and if you mess one up you probably need to start over.

This is why I love ceramics and wheel throwing in particular. It's relatively quick, but at any step something can go wrong, especially at my skill level. Sometimes you throw the same piece, apply the same glaze and it comes out quite different. It prevents you from getting too attached to any one piece and forces me towards a zen-like attitude. In some way it makes it even more a balanced to software engineering.

I really like this aspect of ceramics.

Plus, before the clay goes into the kiln and is glazed it can always be recycled, so no guilt.

Yes, the recycling aspect really helps with how viable it is to not get attached to a piece till it's done.

Now I want to see a YouTube series where they show how to the same task with different tools. Here is how we use a planer. Now we will do the same thing using a router sled. Now the same thing with some hand planes. And so forth.

Jonathan Katz Moses, Stumpy Nubs, and The Wood Whisperer all have different videos like that. And then there's all kinds of channels that do pro, journeyman, novice builds of the same idea, sometimes as competition.

> You have 300 operations to step through and if you mess one up you probably need to start over.

I’ve heard a couple of people say that the #1 skill of master woodworkers is fixing mistakes. Keep at it and you (usually) won’t have to start over.

I help teach woodworking and there is a lot of truth in this. There are very few mistakes in wood that cannot be fixed.

> You have 300 operations to step through and if you mess one up you probably need to start over.

As long as this is a hobby and not a job, you don't "need" to start over. If you mess up you got a lot of very useful scrap wood for the next project.

How did you build drawers without a planer or atleast a jointer? Did to buy pre surfaced wood or spend hours with a bench plane?

I actually built the frame from crappy construction 2x4s milled down to 3/4 x 3 because this is mostly a proof of concept and learning project.

You can use a table saw to do a decent approximation of what a planer or a jointer does by fixing the work pice to a sled. This worked kind of poorly for me, but that was my fault, and next time I'll do a better job. I spend a lot of time sanding out saw marks and never got a great result.

Tamar uses a planer in this video for the first side, but I think you can see how you could do it just with a table saw, for small pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWOB-WIDkOs

You could do maybe 3.5 inch pieces max on the table saw (blade height). Surely the front face of the drawer is bigger than that?

That's exactly right. Only works for small pieces. My drawer is a pull-out tray type drawer that I am adding to a big cabinet.