A New Chapter: Early Retirement, Hobbies, Making, and Sharing the Journey

After many years of working, learning, solving problems, and collecting far too many tools along the way, I have now taken early retirement. It feels like the right time to begin a new chapter, and I am looking forward to spending more time on the things I enjoy most: making, designing, experimenting, repairing, learning new software, and sharing the results with others.

My name is Mike Edmonston, and this website will now become a place where I can document my projects, ideas, mistakes, improvements, and finished creations. I have always enjoyed practical work and technical problem solving, so retirement does not mean stopping. In many ways, it means I now have more time to properly explore the hobbies and creative interests that have been waiting patiently in the background.

One of the main areas I am currently exploring is CNC milling. I am interested in using CNC not only for practical workshop parts, but also for decorative craft pieces, signs, inlays, relief carvings, small product ideas, jigs, templates, and custom components. CNC opens up a very interesting space between engineering and art. It allows a design to start as an idea on a screen and then become a real object in wood, plastic, aluminium, acrylic, or other materials.

As I learn more, I intend to post articles covering the complete process: choosing software, creating designs, selecting cutters, setting feeds and speeds, holding work securely, testing materials, finishing parts, and learning from the inevitable mistakes. CNC can appear intimidating at first, especially when you are faced with unfamiliar terms, toolpaths, post processors, bits, collets, work zero, tabs, pockets, profiles, V-carving, and relief machining. My aim is to explain things in a practical and friendly way, based on real experience rather than theory alone.

I am also interested in craft pieces and small product-style creations. These may include wooden signs, decorative panels, engraved items, inlays, workshop accessories, storage solutions, display pieces, and possibly more artistic relief work as my skills develop. I like the idea of combining traditional making with modern digital tools. There is something very satisfying about designing a part carefully, machining it accurately, sanding it, finishing it, and ending up with something useful or attractive that did not exist before.

Software will be another regular subject. Like many makers, I use a mixture of tools depending on the job. Some software is better for mechanical design, some for artistic layouts, some for CNC toolpaths, some for 3D printing, and some for editing photos or preparing website content. I plan to write about the software I use, what I find easy, what I find confusing, and which packages seem worth the investment for hobby and prosumer use.

This will include design software, CNC software, 3D printing tools, photo and graphics applications, and possibly website tools as well. I do not want the site to become overly technical, but I do want it to be useful. When I find a workflow that makes sense, I will write it up. When something causes frustration, I will write that up too. Often, the most useful information comes from the parts that went wrong and had to be fixed.

I have always found that hobbies are more enjoyable when they involve learning. Sometimes that learning is smooth and sometimes it involves broken cutters, poor finishes, wrong settings, failed prints, awkward software, or a design that looked perfect on screen but did not work in real life. That is all part of the process. I want this website to reflect that honestly. It will not just be a polished gallery of finished items. It will also show the testing, the thinking, the trial runs, and the improvements along the way.

There will also be articles on equipment and tools. I enjoy comparing options and working out what is good enough for a hobby workshop, what is worth upgrading, and what can wait until later. Not every tool needs to be the most expensive one available, but some tools are worth buying properly the first time. I hope to share balanced thoughts on the equipment I use, including CNC machines, cutters, compressors, airbrushes, 3D printers, scanners, electronics, workshop accessories, and finishing supplies.

Another area I expect to continue writing about is small electronics and practical workshop automation. Over time, I have worked on projects involving microcontrollers, displays, sensors, buttons, motors, cameras, and data logging. These projects often begin as a simple idea and gradually become more refined as problems are solved. I enjoy the process of turning a rough concept into something usable, and I will continue to share those builds where they may be useful to others.

Photography and macro work may also appear from time to time. I have an interest in precision movement, macro stacking, and the mechanics behind capturing detailed images. This overlaps nicely with CNC, 3D printing, and electronics, because many useful photography tools can be designed and made rather than bought ready-made. That is one of the things I enjoy most: when several hobbies connect together and one project supports another.

The purpose of this website is not to present myself as an expert in everything I write about. It is more about sharing the journey. I will be learning, testing, improving, and documenting as I go. Some posts will be simple notes. Others may be detailed guides. Some may include downloadable files, drawings, settings, parts lists, software notes, or step-by-step build information.

I hope the articles will be useful to people who are interested in similar hobbies, especially those who are starting out and want straightforward explanations without unnecessary jargon. I know how frustrating it can be to search for an answer and find only half the information needed. Where possible, I will try to include the missing practical details: the settings used, the mistakes made, the part numbers, the material sizes, the software choices, and the reason behind each decision.

Early retirement gives me the opportunity to slow down a little, but also to spend more time doing the things I genuinely enjoy. I am looking forward to making more, learning more, and sharing more. This website will be my place to record that process.

So, welcome to this new chapter. There will be CNC projects, craft pieces, software notes, workshop experiments, practical builds, and probably a few unexpected diversions along the way.

I am looking forward to seeing where it leads.

Mike Edmonston