Help me with a quick cost-comparison: Woodturning vs Bass Fishing

[Brian Kent]

Bass fishing tournament on TV. Which is more expensive - Bass Fishing or Wood Turning?

Woodturning expenses:
Free Craftsman lathe - parts to fix-er up: $150
Upgrade to Harbor Freight Lathe - (the BIG one - the Real Deal): $300
Upgrade to Delta Lathe with stand and extension & Nova church - $1,100
Upgrade to Jet 1440 VSK - $1600
Upgrade to Final Lathe Powermatic (can't wait for the discount) - $4,000
Trip to Woodworking Show - $1,400
Oh Look - a Oneway - (Or Oh Look, American Beauty) $8,000 with tax (free shipping during show.)
Lathe Subtotal - $16,550
Income from sales of a Delta and Jet - $1050 (Look Honey, I made $1,100 today, just from selling old equipment!)
Lathe Total - $15,450

Accessories subtotals for above lathes - $16,550 (since accessories = the cost of the lathe)
(Look Honey, I have a 20% off Harbor Freight coupon so a full set of tools is only $58 with tax.)
Sales of accessories I don't use anymore - $350. (Look honey…)
Accessories Total - $16,200

Chainsaw, Bandsaw, used truck (but I didn't buy a new one), Dust Collection, shop lift after hernia surgery - $23,000

Subtotal Woodworking costs (before extras like wood) - $55,750
Sales of turnings at Craft show for a season - $750 (Look honey…)
Wood - from $0 to Infinity

Total - $55,000 plus $0 to Infinity for wood.

[Al Wasser]

So what does a bass boat etc cost? I figured a long time ago there is more to life than reading books and watching TV.

[Brian Kent]

Bass Fishing (Help me out, Bass Fishermen)

Free aluminum boat with 2 hp engine from the estate of a life-long fisherman.
Cost to hold together free bass boat, fix up the engine and trailer - $1,700
Buy a couple of poles and lure and cheap reels - $300.
Additional trips to Big 5 before first fishing trip - $400. No wait - $800.
New hitch on big car - $200.
Gas (including big car gas to the mountain lake) and docking and beer and snacks - $200.
Sub-Total First fishing trip - $3,800
Market value of 2 bass, a perch, a trout, and a carp - $21 (Look honey - free food!)
Brake job on Big car - $500
Total first fishing trip - $4,279

ButIneedabetter…
Boat. After much research on the best bang for the buck: 2005 Tracker Avalanche 18DC - $18,000 (trailer included)
Gear - $2,500
Used Truck (Beater) $15,000
New hitch on truck - $300.
Gas (including truck gas to the mountain lake) and docking and beer and snacks - $200.
Subtotal second fishing trip - $36,000
Market value of 2 bass, a perch, a trout, and a carp - $21 (Look honey - free food!)
Fishfinder upgrade - $750
Total second fishing trip - $36,729

Trip to Bass Show - $1,400
Bass Fisherman, please help me out now. What is the best fully equipped Bass boat with a full-featured truck to tow it and all of the show-off accessories.

Top Bass Boat I could find = $50,000
Decent Truck = $50,000
Equipment I thought I needed = $10,000

Total for first 2 boats plus ultimate rig - $202,479
"I'll bet I catch more fish today bet" - $0 to Infinity

[Brian Kent]

Life without a good hobby - Boooooooorrrrrring

[Michael Mills]

You need both.

Medium bass rig to catch fish. $36,729
Medium lathe rig to turn some plates to enjoy eating the fish. $16,200
Bonus: You can turn a bowl to hold all those fishing lures which will never get wet and your unused turning tools can be used as an anchor. Free
You will always be just one more lure and turning tool away from a wonderful feast.

[Reed Gray]

Bass pro with all the goodies, $50,000. Kid on the dock with cane pole, string, and worm who catches an 8 pound large mouth, priceless....

Both will sink you equally deep into the vortex. Then if the wife gets into quilting, you go deeper still...

robo hippy

[Prashun Patel]

I am getting my million dollar idea:

A boat with a lathe attachment. I suppose it would be an outboard turning attachment.

Reversible fishing poles that double as gouges. Or at least rods and chisels that share the same switchable handle.

Two for the price of one.

Although I suppose such a device would only be useful for turning.....

Wait for it.....


Basswood!

We will call it the Turna Fish Sandwich

[George Conklin]

Hey Brian,
You have mail

[Brian Kent]

Oh those are excellent, Prashun.

[Roger Chandler]

I am getting my million dollar idea:

A boat with a lathe attachment. I suppose it would be an outboard turning attachment.

Reversible fishing poles that double as gouges. Or at least rods and chisels that share the same switchable handle.

Two for the price of one.

Although I suppose such a device would only be useful for turning.....

Wait for it.....


Basswood!

We will call it the Turna Fish Sandwich

Pontoon boat with Oneway 2436 lathe mounted on the deck and of course overhead canopy, and a sinewave generator on board to power the thing. Hummm........I LIKE where this is going! When the fish aren't biting, you turn, when the fish are biting, then turn the lathe off.......hummm ...;)

[John K Jordan]

A big fish tank under the lathe for ballast would let you enjoy both hobbies even in bad weather.

JKJ

[Thom Sturgill]

Back in the eighties, I was chastised for spending $300 on computer equipment. Using it I taught myself enough to have a good career as a computer tech/network admin. Five minutes later he was telling me about a $5000 reel that he had hanging on his wall. That reel never saw water.... I would be surprised indeed to find that any turner has a $5000 tool ($10,000 in today's dollars) just hanging on his wall not to be used.

[Mark Greenbaum]

With both as hobbies, you might be able to snag a sinker log, and have it slabbed into fine planks for woodturning. Then you'd be all that much richer.

[Michelle Rich]

thanks for the laugh

[Dennis Peacock]

Prashun has a really good idea.....lathe mounted to the boat and if the boat was moving slowly? The dust from turning wouldn't be in your face so it would be a self-paced dust evac system while you were turning. On the other hand, the lathe could help hold your fishing poles while you were taking care of other stuff on the boat AND your tools could come in handy should you need a pry-bar to get a lure or hook out of a rather large sized fish.

AND....when your hooks get dull? Sharpen them up on your live-well mounted slow speed grinder. :D

[Robert Willing]

Never heard of lathing with the family but you sure can go fishing with the family!

[Bill White]

Sounds like Prashun is lookin' for investors. :eek:
Bill

[Brian Kent]

Anything Prashun makes, I'll buy*

*okay, there may be something he makes that I can't afford, but the lathe boats sound great.

[BILL DONAHUE]

You're fortunate that it's bass fishing. Offshore saltwater fishing is much more expensive. Every time I take my boat out the cost for gas runs from $150 to $200 and the bait at least another $30. Bottom line is you need and deserve both; fish when the weather is good and woodturn when it's not. I always tell my wife to consider the alternative - me sitting on the sofa watching TV, drinking beer, getting fat and kicking the bucket long before I should. There are plenty of examples of men who choose the sofa route. Do both and live a long, healthy life.

[Thomas Canfield]

We had the turning club meet at a man's new shop about 10 years back when I was in Tyler and someone asked what it cost. He replied "Less than a good bass boat". My comment was that you don't ask a man what his shop cost. I can say that my shop is only about 20 steps out the back door and can be used anytime I want in any kind of weather. Try that with a bass boat or golf.

[Brett Luna]

Recovering bass fisherman here but I never had the big/expensive boat. Nowadays, I'm mostly a flyfishing, float-tubing trout bum. Salmon, every once in a while. Halibut, too but I let my cigar smoking friend buy that boat.

[Aaron Craven]

... Halibut, too but I let my cigar smoking friend buy that boat.

Did he buy it just for the halibut? :D

(sorry... I can't behave...)

[Chris Parks]

Then if the wife gets into quilting, you go deeper still... robo hippy

$11,000 for the last sewing machine, plus the other three sewing machines, plus overlockers.

[Brian Kent]

So in reality, in my fresh water fishing days I would spend $40 at Big 5 and rent an aluminum boat for $60. For Saltwater fishing I would pay the $60 for a group boat. Much more affordable than ownership.

[Alan Arnup]

I combine fishing and turning easily!

I take the boat out on a rough day and before long I have a chuck over the side.

That's a bit of sick Aussie humour.

Alan

[Wes Ramsey]

Fishing around here is overly-complicated and expensive. If you want to fish Lake Norfork you need a bass boat. I tried it in a flat bottom for a while and the bass boats will swamp you. You need different tackle for white bass, black bass, walleye and catfish. Then there's lights for night fishing, trot lines, downriggers, kicker motors and so on. But Norfork is a great recreational lake, so your bass boat either needs to be built to pull a skiier or tube or you need a 2nd boat. If you have friends you may also need a pontoon. Then there's the White River, which required completely different tackle and a river boat. And if you want to take advantage of the Buffalo you need a kayak or canoe. Or both. And if you duck hunt you need a camo jon boat with a souped-up 25hp that can serve dual purpose as a crappie boat in stumpy waters. And you might as well figure in a house on the lake with a dock with bi-annual permit fees.

And, of course, if you have kids they all need their own gear and will likely want you to give them one of your boats when they're old enough, which is a great occasion to upgrade. It is a vicious, expensive cycle that woodturning could never compare to!

I have a friend with a separate 3-car garage for his boats. The ones that won't fit sit outside.

There's actually a bank here that advertises 30-year boat loans :eek:

[Jerry Kelly]

335315
Do what I did, combine them (and always be broke)
Lure making is fun ! Catching fish on your own stuff is even more fun !