6 Hobbies That Involve Building Stuff (For Fun And Function)

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to get hands-on or start building stuff from scratch to satisfy a creative passion?

Do you like watching things come together over time to know how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together?

If you answered yes then you may enjoy taking up a hobby that involves building stuff for fun, and to help scratch that practical itch that you can’t scratch in your normal day-to-day life.

Why Construction Hobbies Are Great

Many people are bound to an office job which means it’s hard to realize your true potential when it comes to creating practical or fun objects; in this case, only a hobby that involves building stuff can really sate your appetite in your spare time.

Building stuff isn’t always just for fun, though, and taking up a hobby that involves making things can eventually help inspire you out of a boring job and into something that you thrive on as a passion.

As an example, many craftspeople or hobbyists sell their goods on websites like Etsy and eBay that can help you make a decent side income or to replace your current income altogether.

On the flip side, you may enjoy your office job but want to balance it out with some practical craftsmanship.

Whatever your reasons for being here we’re sure you’ll find a fun hobby that involves building stuff.

Fun or Function? 6 Hobbies That Involve Building Stuff

1. Meccano

Perhaps more of a hobby for fun, Meccano is a great way to flex your creative side and to build something that reveals how things come together, and ultimately, how they function afterward.

Meccano, unlike Lego, uses a plethora of different options to build and operate your finished Meccano product. This includes things like magnets, nuts, bolts, screws, cogs, and gears, to name a few, that can result in beautifully synchronized functional (and fun) objects.

Many people often start with building miniature bridges, lifting mechanisms, rollercoasters, and other specific Meccano selections because it’s practical to mimic something that already exists in real life.

You can also get pre-made Meccano kits that involve building cranes, motorized cars, and robots that use real artificial intelligence to interact with you.

Alternatively, you can get a bucket that includes a variety of Meccano pieces for you to get inventive with that may allow for more creative freedom.

Arguably, Meccano is advertised as a kids product but we can assure you that there are many budding Meccano hobbyists out there who are well into their seniority so don’t let age be a factor in your decision.

2. Woodworking

Woodworking is something we’ve mentioned time and time again and that’s because its practical uses are far-reaching.

Woodworking allows you to take natural materials to be used in constructing beautiful dining tables, chopping boards, chairs, sheds, and all other manners of amazing products for personal use or to sell for money-making purposes.

It’s also an area of interest that has many niche specialties such as woodturning, pyrography, and wood carving that allow you to hone your skills in a more focused manner.

It’s worth mentioning that woodworking doesn’t have to be expensive to get started in and you’ll be able to start crafting something in no time.

We recommend starting with wood carving first to get an idea of how some of the basic tools work such as planers or chisels as it’s usually the cheapest area of woodworking to get started in.

Woodworking is arguably one of the best hobbies that involve building stuff as it can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be with projects that can involve spending nothing at all, all the way up to thousands of dollars.

If you’re wanting to get started in a cheap fashion then we recommend picking up a woodcarving kit and going for a hike down the beach or to a nearby woodland to pick up some free wood.

3. Model Building

Model building is another great hobby if you like making stuff from scratch to recreate your favorite examples of aircraft, or perhaps to make a diorama that captures the tragedy of war in a beautifully painted scene.

You can pick up all kinds of model building kits that include all of the pieces you need to finish your project. Alternatively, you can buy kits for dioramas that can be created from scratch that include foliage, trees, soldiers, and other specific mood-setting pieces for your work.

There’s no correct way to do model building but we recommend starting with a kit that includes everything first as this will teach you how to interface with the model in a deliberate manner.

Building models is quite an intricate hobby, and in fact, it’s sometimes hard to find what you need through major outlets like Amazon so you may end up needing to look for a dedicated website to sell you what you need.

Alternatively, you can go to a model store locally to peruse the goods in person which is sometimes easier as you can ask the owners for advice on what you’ll need or what color paint will be best.

4. LEGO

Next up on the list is LEGO which has seen a surge in popularity over the past 20 years thanks to the integration of big franchises like Star Wars and for the fact it’s much easier to access guides or video tutorials for specific LEGO sets via YouTube which help the building process.

LEGO is perhaps simpler as far as construction hobbies go, especially when compared to Meccano, however, don’t let that deceive you into thinking it’s not for adults as you can be just as creative provided you’re using your imagination.

You can buy pre-made LEGO kits that will give you everything you need to make a specific model such as this LEGO Yoda Kit which is totally awesome; alternatively, you can pick up the LEGO bricks independently that will allow you to put something together at your own pace.

5. Gardening

Gardening is not the most obvious hobby when you think of building stuff but it’s actually a very hands-on process that will have you constantly optimizing and rearranging stuff to make it look better every time.

To produce a good garden that synchronizes with the surroundings is quite a task and often involves either making novel solutions or implementing permanent fixtures that guide the eye of the observer.

Gardening is an iterative process and is something you can keep coming back to forever as you’ll always be able to change it.

Similar to other building hobbies, gardening requires a good imagination and even better planning to pull off something that holds together properly.

6. Clay Sculpting

Clay sculpting is another great hobby that involves building and shaping the clay material into beautiful structures or ornaments that can be mounted on your wall or stood on a dedicated shelf to enhance your home.

It’s perhaps the most “hands-on” hobby we can think of as it requires you to actively shape and smooth the materials specifically with your hands during the forming process.

It’s thought that clay was first used around 14000 B.C. in China and Japan which was mostly for functional objects like pots or jars to store things in.

And this brings us to our next point which is that you can use clay to make and sell beautiful functional objects that can net you a decent bit of income on the side if you wish to do so.

Clay sculpting doesn’t just require your hands though and you’ll want to pick up a clay sculpting kit that includes chisels, scoops, and scrapers to form your piece of clay into the dedicated object or ornament you want to produce.

You’ll also need specific clay that you can work with for sculpting as it will make the process easier and also has important features like air drying.

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Conclusion

Getting hands-on with hobbies that involve building can be done for fun, or for the function to implement fixtures around the home or to sell for money.

Our last point is that building hobbies don’t have to be expensive and they can often be started for a relatively low cost that yields a highly satisfactory experience for yourself.