[gregpawin]

Watching Monster Garage the other day (does anyone else here watch it?), it made me wonder about the regulars on the forums, since there seems to be much enthusiasm in making stuff.  

Since I'm just another PChem troll, I've had to learn how to fabricate a variety of things on and off for a few years now.  I know how to machine most things but my welding skills are awful especially since I have such little experience.  I also dabble in putting together some electronic circuits.  By no means do I even consider myself at an intermediate level at any of these things.

What kind of experience/skills does everybody else have?  Any little garage/machine shops out there?

[Scratch-]

I have done some mechanical projects using parts from the local hard ware store and I wouldn't call any of the things I've made "good". I do manage to get by with my usual project like vacuum pumps, Van de Graf generators etc. But I have had some nice experience with electronics thanks to those people who will donate their broken electronics junk for me to disassemble. I have been working with electronics people give me for about ten years now off and on, but I wouldn’t really call myself experienced.

[gregpawin]

So, do you just jump into stuff and learn along the way?  Did you have anyone who taught you how to do anything or did you read any guides on building stuff?

[Scratch-]

My father had some knowledge of electronics as he has a degree in computer science. He mostly does programming but some of the troubleshooting he did was hardware. I have several books on electronics but I have not finished reading the majority, mostly because it is very dry and technical reading. Most of my knowledge is from kits and a long history of disassembling anything in sight, but I also like to fix things and if I cant fix it goes to the scrap pile (and I get to take it apart, hee hee  ).

[Corvettaholic]

All my experience comes from reading a tiny bit about something, and jumping right into it. Most of my projects involve a lot of duct tape and bits of spare wire. My tool collection is about zip, so I do a lot of improvising... You'd be surprised what you can actually accomplish with a bent spoon.