Ernest P. Checka, a 74-year old metal detector hobby enthusiast, knows the thrill of the hunt and the pleasure of returning long lost treasures to their rightful owners. Recently while seeking a cheerleader’s lost necklace, he stumbled across a buried gift ID bracelet that had been lost for 41-years. The owner nearly fainted when the bracelet was returned to him.

Other metal detector finds include a sterling silver gift bracelet lost just after WWII, a copper penny from the Civil War era, class rings, wedding bands, pendants, coins - the older the better, knickknacks, locks, and buttons. He hasn’t documented his collection, but estimates that he’s made hundreds of metal detector finds. Mr. Checka tracks down the owners of class rings and bracelets through yearbooks from the highschool or town library. He’s considered a walking lost-and-found within his community.

The Metal Detector Hobby

Metal detecting is a hobby enjoyed by all ages, suitable as an exciting adventure for the whole family, whether at the beach, the park, a picnic or on a camping trip. You can go detecting alone, with a mate, or join a club and add the fun of making new friends. Besides the thrill of the hunt, many find detecting to be relaxing - a stress free walk in the great outdoors.

Many Treasures are Less than a Gallon Away

With fuel prices continually high, many metal detector hobby enthusiasts are re-discovering treasures within just a few miles from their home or office. Kevin Hoagland of Minelab, a leading manufacturer of metal detectors, said that he found and recovered a number of valuable items very quickly within five miles of his home, at a location that looked like it used to be a park or meeting place. The most valuable was a man’s gold ring, valued at more than $600, and at least 90-years old. His metal detector finds from that one day in that one location amounted to $800, and cost him about $1 in fuel. It’s a safe bet that there are thousands of spots to go detecting in your hometown.

To learn more about the metal detector hobby, visit Minelab’s Introduction to Detecting.

Article Sources: Telegram.com and Minelab

Photo Credit: Treasure Hunter by Elsie_esq. on flickr

Interest in launching a homemade rocket can start at any age. What’s not to love about this hobby? Launching a homemade rocket is an adrenaline rush. As you watch the rocket rise several thousand feet, it feels like your own mini-NASA launch!

“It’s exciting … It keeps your mind real active.” says Rick VanVoorhis, an electronic forklift mechanic from Pflugerville, Texas, who sent his rocket “HyperGammaSpaces” 17,300 feet with a motor he designed and built himself.

Launching a homemade rocket can be simple or technical.

Advanced rocketry requires a high degree of planning. It’s one thing to launch the rocket, but another to recover it. Some electrical and mechanical engineering skills are required to begin, but real prowess in these areas develops over time with experience. Yet simple starter rockets are easy and fun, with no special skill sets necessary to build and launch.

Many enthusiasts participate in competitive rocketry events, one example being the CanSat rocket competition, recently held in Amarillo, TX, where each launch and recovery was required to meet specific criteria. Each rocket carried an electronic payload about the size of a soda can, which determined altitude and GPS positioning during its descent. It also recorded ground temperature after landing. Teams were awarded bonus points for including an onboard camera or for using solar power.

Rocketry is a fun activity enjoyed not only by advanced hobbyists and engineers, but also grade school students and families who love the thrill and challenge of building, launching and recovering rockets of their own. Whatever your age or skill level, this hobby proves that you can have fun with math and science.

Rocket kits are available at most hobby stores. Visit your local hobby retailer this summer to learn more about the exciting hobby of homemade rocket building.

You can build scales models of just about anything your imagination can come up with. Look at all of the models created to be used as special effects in Hollywood. The Tri-Corder (Star Trek), the advanced enemy stealth fighter (Firefox), and other first-of-their kind models, began in the builders’ imagination before being brought to life as scale models.

As scale modelers, we have the ability to apply our imagination and artistic impressions to our projects. Whether it be a fictional railroad short line, custom street rod or an aircraft with unique modifications or markings, the idea evolving from within our own imagination, can be scratch built and created as a three dimensional scale model. The picture at the right shows a finished model that began as a P-47 Thunderbolt, but was transformed to an Ariel Fire Fighter Director’s plane.

Let your ideas become the reality of tomorrow through scale modeling.

Here’s a peek into last year’s iHobby Expo in Chicago with Actor Michael Gross, who’s grandfather and great-grandfather were railroaders. He worked his way through college as a diesel locomotive fireman on the old Chicago Northwestern. Of course, many of us remember Michael Gross from his starring role on “Family Ties,” and more recently his eccentric character on the daytime drama, “The Young and the Restless.”

For those in the Chicago area, be sure to mark your calendar for the 2009 iHobby Expo on October 24-25. It will again be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. This year is the iHobby Expo’s 25th Anniversary, and it’s sure to be great fun for the whole family.

Looking for a great way to spend a couple of hours with your children that is both fun and educational? Introduce them to the hobby of scale modeling during Revell’s National Make ‘n Take Day at a hobby retailer near you.

Scale modeling helps your child develop fine motor skills and concentration. Depending on the model, it can also provide a fun, hands-on way to learn about history or science. Strategic planning skills come into play, so that parts are prepared and assembled in the right order.

At this year’s Make ‘n Take Day, your child will have the opportunity to build a Revell Snap Tite space shuttle. Maybe best of all … he/she can do so for FREE!

Click here to find a participating hobby retailer near you, then be sure to mark your calendars for June 13, 2009 to attend Revell’s National Make ‘n Take Day.

Each hobby has its own unique tool needs. Today I’ll share with you several tools to make your hobby projects more enjoyable.

A Track Cutter for Model Railroaders

First is one that is a must have for those who find building model railroad layouts a great and relaxing pastime. As with a real railroad, the track which the trains run on is a critically important component. So the model railroader needs a track cutter that is effortless to use and delivers a precise cut each and every time. Xuron’s 2175M Track Cutter does both.

A Bead Stringer’s Tool Kit

If your hobby includes stringing beads together, Xuron also has a tool kit suitable for you. The TK2400 Bead Stringer’s Tool Kit features three tools that are essential for stringing jewelry beads on to flexible stranded bead wire, cord, monofilament and thread. Packaged in a handy canvas pouch with pockets, these ergonomic tools have soft Xuro-Rubber™ hand grips and a Light-Touch™ return spring for cutting, holding, forming and looping tasks.

The tools in Xuron’s TK2400 Bead Stringer’s Tool Kit include the Model 410 Micro-Shear® Flush Cutter for soft wire up to 18 AWG, flexible stranded bead wire, craft wire, cord & monofilament; the Model 450 Tweezernose™ Pliers for bending and forming and holding jump rings, split rings and small beads; and Model 488 Round Nose Pliers for looping and forming wire.

Tools for Cutting Carbon Fiber

If you’re into building RC projects, you’re probably aware that some of the composite materials being used today are lighter and stronger than previously used materials, and that this creates some some challenges when cutting and shaping them. Carbon fiber, for example, is lightweight and very strong, yet is difficult to cut with conventional tools. Not anymore; Xuron answers the challenge with tools for cutting carbon fiber materials.

Their model 9180 Scissor is for cutting strip between .019” and .034” thick and the Model 2193 Shear will cut rod from .20”-.80” diameter and .060” ID tube. These tools create a square cut on strip and rod, but it is recommended users insert a properly sized wire inside the tube before cutting to prevent the thin walls from crushing.

Featuring one serrated edge, the Xuron Model 9180 grips the carbon material for faster and easier cutting. Xuron’s Model 2193 is a full by-pass shear designed specifically for cutting hard materials. Standard features for both tools include ergonomic handles, cushioned Xuro-Rubber™ grips, return springs and precision ground high carbon steel blades.

The right tool for the job makes the project more enjoyable. Visit your local hobby shop for these and other specialized hobby tools from Xuron today.

Hobby ideas are everywhere. Everyone has something they enjoy doing, or an interest of study in one thing or another. Whether you enjoy gardening, stamp collecting, or shining the chrome on that motorcycle you’ve been putting together, chances are you’re not a stranger to the hobby world!

If you don’t think you’ve ever enjoyed a hobby, maybe what you need is a new perspective. All it takes is for you to develop an interest in something that probably already gets your attention. What do you enjoy? What would you enjoy learning about that you could share with your kids, siblings, or neighbors? The list is really endless:

• remote control cars
• kite building
• antique cars
• woodworking
• model planes from different eras
• model train layouts
• bug collecting and display
• native American coins
• baseball cards
• robotics

Some hobby ideas require an investment in time and equipment. Be willing to take time to develop your interest. Most hobby enthusiasts become experts in their particular hobby, and enjoy sharing what they’ve learned over time with a novice. Its fun to have an ongoing learning experience that you can share for entertainment.

Don’t think you’re being selfish spending a small amount of time on a regular basis enjoying a hobby. Hobbies can be an important part of maintaining good mental and emotional health. Life is stressful, and stress comes to us through work, home responsibilities - just being alive! People that cope well with stress have one thing in common, they have an outlet for it. Hobbies are a wonderful distraction, allowing our minds time to just think, without pressure.

You owe it to yourself to develop an interest in a hobby. Take a good browse through this site and see what interests you. We can’t wait to hear about it!

Image Credit: Revell