The simple joy of having a hobby is one that’s frequently taken for granted.
But there is so much to gain from throwing oneself into a new skill or discipline, and there’s no better time to do it than now. The pandemic lockdowns of 2020-21 saw a humongous uptake in hobby crafts, partially as a sanity-saving measure and partially as a route to self-improvement. Today, though, society feels to have bounced back fully from the isolation and quietude of the lockdowns, leaving us with very little time to indulge in the things that make us happy.
This then, is the sign you need to create time for your hobby again. Putting a home workshop together can be the perfect way to create a welcoming environment for renewed practice. If your hobby is on the practical side, whatever it may be, there are some essential pieces of kit you should ensure you have to hand – to make your life easier, to make your work safer, and to make your creative development smoother.
Cordless Drill
The first tool here is the most versatile, and probably the most ubiquitous: the humble cordless drill. A trusty Milwaukee drill can be used for numerous different things, from the obvious drilling of holes and driving of screws to less-obvious, craft-specific use cases.
Cordless drills can be used, for example, for wrapping twine or yarn, as well as twisting materials to create fixtures or fittings. The truly enterprising craftsman can also use a drill as a makeshift Dremel tool, though this is an essential tool of its own – as we are about to discover.
Dremel Tool
Dremel tools are multi-function rotary tools, that allow the user to undertake fine and precise work – from sanding and detailing to routing, drilling and more. Dremel tools are handheld pieces of powered equipment, that come with a wide range of different attachments for different use cases.
One of their most common use cases is engraving; diamond-tipped bits are spun at extremely high rpms to carve into wood, plastic, stone and metal. These tools can also be equipped with discs for free-form precision cutting, or routing bits for carving larger grooves into wood. As such, these rotary tools lend themselves to practically every practical craft.
Vacuum Cleaner
The last entry here is a surprising one, but one of the most important utility pieces you can install in your home workshop. Having a dedicated vacuum cleaner on hand can help keep your work environment, work surfaces and projects clean and clear of debris. This minimises the risk of scratches to works in progress and removes particles that could otherwise get in the lungs. Woodworkers will commonly pipe a vacuum cleaner nozzle directly through their worktop, to easily remove sawdust and wood chippings!
