Turning a Passion into a Hobby into a Profit

I am always looking for new hobbies that give me pleasure plus could earn me a few dollars.

Last night I found a few shoe-boxes of semi-polished rocks I collected at various beaches around Australia. They reminded me of a passion I have had for many years: To carve rocks into intricate shapes. Somehow this activates a part of my mind that loves meticulous design and results.

This morning I searched for tools that would make this hobby happen in the near future. I was surprised to find it would take just a few tools. Now to designate a space in my mancave to start this hobby-business!

Dremel Rotary Tool Kit 4000 ~ AUS $233.00
Before we left Adelaide to move to Kangaroo Island in 2016, I purchased a Dremel tool thinking I was getting this one. When I finally opened the box, it was too late and I couldn’t return it. Thankfully I was able to sell at a profit. THIS is the tool I actually wanted – and will buy very soon!

Dremel Flex Shaft Direct Drive Attachment 225 ~ AUS $58.00
Wow, this idea is giving me goose-bumps! This attachment will lighten the load in my hand, keep my wrists from getting RSI plus enable me to perform the intriciate carving easily!

Diamond Point Burrs. Set of 5 Assorted Sizes ~ AUS $35.00
Diamond Coated Point Burs give very fine line engraving. … Ideal for using as a bead reamer for enlarging holes .
Seeing so many great ideas straight away. I anticipate making a few very artistic jewellery pieces. Yes, I realise it won’t happen on the first try – but I will have fun learning through trial and error and consistent practice.

Pebble Carving Burrs ~ $$ – $$$$
Carving small pebbles and stones for jewellery and craft work is done mainly with two types of burrs, Small Diamond Ball Burrs (remove material but are finer and will give a smoother cut) and Small Carbide Ball Burrs (remove material and produce a coarse cut).
Doesn’t this make you smile at what’s possible? It does me. Every bit of information is making me realise this hobby is going to be fun and the results could be awesome.

Small Diamond Slitting Discs ~ AUS $30.00
… can be used for slitting as well as grinding.
Straight away I am having new ideas how to make art pieces for viewing pleasure. Can’t explain easy, but I can already see art when I imagine using these tools.

Two tools required to use the slitting discs on the end of my Dremel 4000 :
Screw Mandrel ~ AUS $6.00
Dremel 4486 Multi Chuck ~ AUS $27
Ensure you have approximately 15mm of Mandrel protruding from your collet for good working performance.
The Multi Chuck allows you to easily change bits on the Dremel without changing collets.

Total Expenses (at this stage!): $350 – 400

(Prices on each item rounded up to allow for variations in currency conversion )

That’s pretty much all that I need. No doubt there will be a few more tools as time goes by. For now, it’s a hobby to produce art that I can sell locally. Watch this space – but not too closely; I have to wash a few more windows to buy these tools.