Bagpipes
Playing bagpipes is my primary hobby! I play performances, for fun, and for competition.
I’m proud to play in the Wake and District Pipe Band in Raleigh, NC.
When I compete solo, I am at the grade 3 level. I have a list of contests that I have done.
I sometimes upload a bagpipe video to my youtube channel.
I have some notes about products and supplies that I like to use.
Woodworking
I like to do some woodworking in my small garage workshop. Specifically, I like to do the work with hand tools as much as possible. The biggest factors that first got me into hand tools were the dust and noise created by my table saw, router, and other machines. However, I love the intimate feeling of crafting the piece with my own two hands, even if it takes longer. Since this is all a hobby for me anyway, it’s really about the enjoyment of the time put into it, not about output.
I mainly use my Paul Sellers joinery bench, which I made out of construction yellow pine. I like this bench a lot, it is sturdy and has plenty of on board storage. It was also a great learning experience about various hand tool techniques.
Before I got into hand tool work, I built a modified Paulk Workbench. I think it is a great design because it collapses against the wall when I am not working on projects, to allow my car into the garage. I still use it when I need some extra table space, but I’ve modified the leg-sawhorses to allow me to put up the halves independently.
Keyboards
Currently my primary keyboard is a Prime_E.
I got into this hobby because I wanted to program my own layout, and add little tricks and shortcuts for the keys. That is really fun! I am able to have access to have all the keys on a full keyboard, but in a more compact space.
My first keyboard was a fully custom layout, hand wired. Most of the keyboards since then have been kits, and those are much easier. But by jumping in the deep end at the beginning, I learned a lot!
I have some more information on a dedicated page