Is it strong tasting? Like a string tea?
As for hobbies, picked up fishing at the beginning of 2021, and itâs definitely a keeper hobby.
When not fishing, Iâve gotten interested in making my own hard baits.
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Covid 19 is when II began playing with yo-yos
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Itâs been quite a while, here are both objects with a little more integration time and experience. 
Aside from a better camera and loads of small equipment, the basic scope is the same.
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@crackout Spectacular!!!
@stevejspins It tastes like juice that has fermented a bit. When I use mango, it tastes a lot like apple juice, but has a sour smell. Itâs really delicious!
The fresh mint takes it to a whole new level, and if you donât like the sour smell, it hides it.
I also ferment it a second time to make âsodasâ. Mint tea soda is my favorite out of everything Iâve made, but coffee and ginger are fantastic too.
During COVID my friend convinced me to pick up learning the guitar since Iâve always loved it but never gave it a try.
I picked up a really cheap squire locally, then got the itch to build my own after falling way too in love with them. I wanted some very specific colors and the vision I had in my head wasnât obtainable from anywhere else so I had to make it. For me, thereâs something about yoyos, cars, and guitars, etc⌠functional art pieces that are used as tools to let artists express themselves are very interesting to me. While drawing and painting are fun artforms, I find more âfulfillmentâ when I make things like this.
My main reason for wanting to make my own guitar was two things. I wanted deeper contour curves on my body and a specific âtranslucentâ pink color.
First up was a b-grade super messed up ebay special Jazzcaster Telemaster Offset tele clone. But it had a ton of problems and I used it as my âtest bedâ for learning how to rebuild a guitar. The main issue was the neck pocket was completely mis cut- so the neck was angled down when you were holding it. I fixed everything, sanded back the finish to wood, and carved in body contours.I painted in Lacquer and all of the electronics were replaced.
Second was a full on partscaster that I picked out all the parts for and then built and painted. This one was dyed with a red acrylic wash, then I hand painted the Akira stickers and covered it with clear lacquer. I gave it to my friend who pushed me to learn guitar for his birthday last year.
Third was my personal strat project. I felt more confident after the first two. This oneâs my âbabyâ itâs nothing special, and the total of it ran me around $250 in parts. The goal was a âmary kayeâ sort of theme, but with a âsakura pink blondeâ finish instead. Yep, itâs a basswood body.
Next up was a wonky project that I wanted to prove to myself I could make. I had the idea to make a 24" scale length strat made for a girl in mind. The issue is that, a lot of things just simply donât line up and work out with intonation. You canât just slap a 24" neck and call it a day, so there were a lot of modifications done to this one to get the intonation correct. It also weighs about 5lbs fully assembled because I used Paulownia wood for the body. I also pushed myself for this paint job, it has a stencil of Sailor Moon on it, with a mixed up mash of sparkle blue lacquer. Also all three strats have their tone knobs set to roll off Bass/Treble individually instead of controlling each pickupâs overall tone. I think this gives way more versatility and sound shaping.
Next up was rebuilding my squire duo sonic I picked up for $100 locally. It was beat up and had a lot of âissuesâ but I simply rebuilt and replaced most of it, while also adding contour curves and as close as I could get to a Desert Sand finish.
Lastly was this Mustang clone I traded my first Strat clone for. I really liked the end result of this one, but the fact is , I hate the way a mustang sits in my lap. I tried to fix the problem by adding a Bigsby to the mustang to help it from neck diving on me, but that only made things worse cause now the sucker is so heavy I donât really enjoy playing it at all.
Since last year I havenât made or rebuilt any more guitars. Iâd like to, but only if someone was interested in buying it because I donât need any more guitars, infact i need to get rid of some. Itâs a fun hobby, and it really made last year go by quick.
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Nice catch man!
Iâm more of a spoon guy personally, but definitely got respect for those who create their own hard baits.
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Honestly for me Yoyoing is that hobby. I played with them as a kid, but it wasnât ever a big deal and I could never do anything cool.
Had a random thought one day around Christmas of 2020 like âI kinda want a yoyoâ, told my little brother and he bought me a Yoyo King Double Agent as my christmas gift off Amazon and I was instantly hooked.
A year and a little more later, Iâm still throwing every day, Iâve built a nice little collection of 27 yoyos, and Iâm constantly trying to learn new tricks. I cant imagine not having a yoyo near me at all times now. Kudos to all you community members and new friends whoâve made this even more enjoyable.
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Sounds like they will be very fit hamsters. You will have cleaning to do I think.