PickVidsBest Woodworking, metalworking & workshop skills Videos
The 34 Woodworking, metalworking & workshop skills videos here were recommended by different people across different months. Choose by who it is for: 2 introductory, 5 intermediate, 26 for a general viewer, and 1 for someone who wants the harder derivation. Most of them are a demo. What they share is that you see the result first and only then decide whether to follow the detail. Channels you will keep seeing include Clickspring, Primitive Technology, LockPickingLawyer.
Tim Ewald - Clojure: Programming with Hand Tools
Tim Ewald's Clojure/conj talk uses furniture making with hand tools versus machine tools as an allegory for software.
Dick Proenneke in Alone in the Wilderness
A condensed film of Dick Proenneke's footage of building a cabin and living alone in the Alaskan wilderness, using hand tools and local materials.
Origins of Precision
Machine Thinking traces where mechanical precision comes from, from flat surface plates and the three-plate method up through lathes and early measuring tools.
The Art of Making a Nixie Tube
Dalibor Farny documents the hand manufacture of a nixie tube, from glassblowing to evacuation, with text notes rather than narration.
Building The World's First Computer - Greeks, Clocks and Rockets - Antikythera Mechanism Episode 1
The first episode of Clickspring's series on reproducing the Antikythera Mechanism by hand, laying out the plan and the history.
Smelting Iron in Africa (A DEMONSTRATION)
A 105-minute film of a West African smith family in Burkina Faso smelting iron from ore, from making charcoal and building the kiln to forging tools.
Building Prototypes Dan Gelbart part 1 of 18 Introduction
First of an 18-part lecture series by engineer Dan Gelbart on building prototypes.
Clockmaking - How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop - Part 1 - Making The Clock Frames
The first episode of Clickspring's series building a John Wilding skeleton clock from raw stock in a home machine shop.
How To Sharpen A Knife In About 5 Minutes With ONE Stone | EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FAST! 2023
A beginner-focused tutorial on freehand knife sharpening with a single stone, aiming for a shaving-sharp edge in about five minutes.
Telescope Building with John Dobson
A roughly 90-minute film of John Dobson building a Dobsonian telescope step by step, including hand-grinding the mirror.
Primitive Technology: Cord drill and Pump drill
Primitive Technology shows building a cord drill from scratch and then upgrading it to a pump drill, using only primitive materials like a stone flywheel and cord.
America's Iron Giants - The World's Most Powerful Metalworkers
Machine Thinking tells the story of the Cold War Heavy Press Program, the giant forging presses that make parts for aircraft, missiles and turbines.
EC's Big Announcement
Essential Craftsman announces the start of a spec house build on a scenic lot, kicking off a long series.
Adam Savage's Epiphany on the Science of Measurement!
Adam Savage shows a set of Mitutoyo ceramic gauge blocks and uses them to explain metrology, the science of measurement.
Gridfinity: Your Ultimate Modular Workshop is FREE!
Zack Freedman introduces Gridfinity, his free, open-source modular workshop storage system of 3D-printable bins and baseplates.
ARROWS vs ARMOUR - Medieval Myth Busting
Tod's Workshop fires full-weight medieval arrows from a 160lb English warbow at reproduced medieval armour.
Building the Moroccan Court
A short film following Moroccan artisans from Fez as they build a traditional 15th-century-style Moroccan court inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Saw Stop - This guy puts a finger into an active table saw blade & comes away without a scratch!
A short clip showing a person touching an active table saw blade with a finger and walking away unharmed, thanks to SawStop's system that stops the blade within milliseconds of skin contact.
Glass engineering - designing and making photochromic glass
Ben Krasnow of Applied Science shows how to make small batches of specialty glass with minimal equipment, including designing and making photochromic glass.
For the undying 9/11 MORONIC JET FUEL ARGUMENT
A short video from a blacksmith, who heats and bends steel to rebut the claim that jet fuel could not weaken the steel in the World Trade Center.
[1147] Locksmith Says My Videos Are BS... Loses $75 (Maybe)
A LockPickingLawyer video in which a locksmith claims his videos are fake and challenges him; he responds by picking the lock.
Primitive Technology: Forge Blower
A Primitive Technology episode in which the creator builds a bow-drill-driven bark fan to blow air into a fire, using only natural materials.
Table Saw Safety: My Accident and How to Avoid Your Own
A woodworker shows how his table saw accident happened, why it happened and how to avoid a similar one.
High precision air bearing CNC lathe and grinder
Dan Gelbart shows his home-built air bearing CNC lathe and grinder, which reaches about 1 micron accuracy.