Hello fellow enthusiasts! I just joined this forum from Chicago and wanted to introduce myself — actually that reminds me of my grandfather who was also a huge hobbyist but his workshop always smelled faintly of pipe tobacco because he would work for

Opening thread commentary.

Welcome to the forum — glad to have you here.

Welcome aboard! We're always happy to have new people join — there's a great community feel on this forum and you'll find everyone is genuinely invested in helping each other out, which I think was missing from a lot of the older boards that used to be around. Chicago has some fantastic shops for parts if you need anything specific shipped locally, though honestly most of us source online these days anyway because of the price differences. Actually my grandfather had this workshop set up in his garage and everything he made there always smelled faintly of pipe tobacco because he would sit out here working on clocks for hours while smoking those old cherry-wood pipes, and the sound of all those tiny gears ticking at different intervals created this ambient rhythm that I used to sleep to as a child — it's wild how much sensory memory sticks with you. Anyway, good luck with whatever projects you're diving into first!

Welcome — love those clock stories.