I got bought a 3D printer and it’s taken over my life
Just over a week ago, I turned 40. I can’t say I’m delighted with the number, but I’ve promised myself this will be the best decade of my life, and a decade of great change.
Everyone was very nice to me and I received lots of nice gifts. A friend of mine bought me a 3D Printer (The Bambu A1). I was stunned at the generosity of this gift, but thrilled because this was exactly the type of gift I would never have bought myself. I knew 3D printing existed obviously, but it was never on my purchase radar.
I started by watching some YouTube videos about the possibilities now available to me. The first thing I was excited about was the impact it would have on my organisation. I own a lot of ‘stuff’ and quite often I have no specific place to keep it. This has been the struggle of my entire adult life. Having saw a video on the Gridfinity system, I was hooked and immediately started looking for designs on the Bambu Handy app for my Ikea Helmer drawers. It turns out, a lot of people who own 3D Printers, also own Ikea furniture and storage. So I was delighted to see other schematics available too, including the Ikea SKÅDIS pegboard I also have in my studio room.

I got to work, sending print after print to the Bambu A1, completely rinsing it. Filaments cost around £12-£15 per kilo if you go with the 3rd party brands like SUNLU. I’ve bought about four or five spools so far, with another two arriving tomorrow. This new hobby is getting expensive.
That said, things are starting to feel better. The more organised drawers are actually freeing up more space in other drawers, so I’m ending up with more space overall. It’s also quite fun sitting in the room and thinking “This doesn’t have a space, where can it go and what can I print to go with it?”

Along with this new found organisation, I’ve also been printing some fun stuff. I recently got the Nintendo Switch 2 and 3D printed a green warp tube Pro Controller holder, and a red Nintendo-branded games holder.
It’s all fun, but I’ve just calculated that I’ve spent nearly £80 on filament spools and I’ve only had this thing a week.

It’s got to slow down at some point, right?
Favourite Prints So Far:
A1 Purge Waste Bin and Deflector Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller Stand Warp Pipe Ikea SKÅDIS Xbox Controller Stand Ikea SKÅDIS Nintendo Switch (OG/OLED) Dock Stand Nintendo Switch OG/2 Game Case Holder