Awesome Making

Carpenter Matthias Wandel demonstrates the complicated process of creating links in a wooden chain from a single block of maple hardwood without using any glue. To add to the challenge, he did it almost entirely with power tools rather than hand carving.

Sure, you could go to the store and buy a skillet for about 10 bucks, but you won’t get the satisfaction that Tito4re got when he made his own from scratch, using a sand mold and some molten aluminum. Though he did need another skillet to make the mold too.

A compact vacuum former that gets its suction from a vacuum cleaner. Use the FormBox and thermoplastic sheets to make small molds, prototypes and more. It has a 7.9 cu.in. build area and comes with 30 thermoplastic sheets.

“It’s all fairly simple.” Yeah right. Woodworker Frank Howarth celebrates Star Wars Day in the best way possible – by sharing video of his painstakingly handcrafted wooden Death Star. It’s simply astounding that you can make something like this from flat pieces of wood.

It’s the rainy season in Savage Land Queensland, so Primitive Technology thought that it’s time for his alter ego to make some clothes. He spent a few days making yarn out of fiber and about a day to weave it into a rough fabric using his handmade loom.

It might look like an ordinary bottle of milk, but other than the label and the lid, this thing is entirely made from candy. DaveHax walks us through the relatively simple process of using drink bottles to mold chocolate into an edible container filled with even more candy treats.

Modelmaker Luke Towan walks us through the painstaking process of building a tiny tree for a model railroad. It requires time and patience, but the end result is quite realistic, and the video is as soothing as watching Bob Ross paint. His teensy hay bales are nuts too.

Man at Arms: Reforged made a replica of the highly coveted sword from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It may not look as imposing or complex as the other weapons they forged, but it took a lot of time and finesse to create the details on both the blade and the guard.

One of the more unusual bits from the How It’s Made series takes us to a creepy factory filled with hand-shaped ceramic molds that wind their way through a lengthy assembly line, and then dipped in rubber and heated in an oven. Seriously, did Tim Burton create this place?

Man at Arms: Reforged finally takes on one of their fans’ long-requested weapons: Dark Souls’ Greatsword of Artorias. The divine weapon is like a Gothic column, eye-catching in terms of both size and detail. There’s no way a normal man can one-hand or roll with this beast.

Gold is the most malleable metal, but it still takes a ton of manual labor to turn it into these silky sheets. This documentary by the Japan Science and Technology Agency shows how Japanese craftsmen painstakingly turn gold bars into gold (alloy) leaves.

After showing the craftsmanship that goes into handmade tools, John Neeman Tools built an entire home from hand-felled trees, locally sourced stones, and mostly using hand tools. The frame and roof were made with wood joints and pegs, with no nails, screws or hardware.

Who knew mixing mud and water could result in such beautiful and shiny spheres? We sure didn’t. Artist Bruce Gardner shows a brief glimpse into the Japanese tradition of Hikaru Dorodango, in this short film by P2 Photography. Learn to DIY on Instructables.

Primitive Technology uses his stone tools to craft a 55″ bow and a set of 2′ arrows. He also made a quiver out of bark. He says the bow was durable, lasting for about 200 to 300 shots. The string lasted about 100 shots but was easily repaired. And don’t worry, the turkey’s okay.

It’s human nature to want to pop the little bubbles in bubble wrap. So there’s nothing quite as sadistic as what maker Peter Brown did – by submerging bubble wrap in crystal clear resin and making frustrating coasters that can never be popped. Oh the humanity!

Primitive Technology made lots of charcoal by breaking down pieces of dried eucalyptus wood then slowly burning them in a kiln made of dried leaves and mud. The entire process took about a day. Bronze Age, here we come!

Metalworker Engineer BrunS walks us through the painstaking process of machining a block of aluminum into a metal matchbox with a sliding drawer, then making tiny brass matches to go along with. They don’t actually burn, but they still look amazing.

Man at Arms: Reforged used a railroad track and a black iron pipe to make a life-size replica of the nasty Saw Cleaver from the horror action RPG Bloodborne. It can transform between a short saw and a long cleaver, just like its video game counterpart.

A team of guys in Russia show off the build process behind their own homebrew tank. We’re assuming the plywood bits at the start were an earlier prototype, as the finished MS-1 tank appears to be made from sturdier materials like metal and rubber.

Munchies dropped down Ginza, Japan’s Bar High Five to get a look at owner Hidetsugu Ueno’s perfectly balanced and artful cocktails, and his ability to individually carve chunks of ice into glimmering diamond shapes. Ironically, Hidetsugu doesn’t even drink.

Artist Andrei Muntian handmakes amazing wooden cutting boards by layering together precisely cut pieces of contrasting woods. Watch as he creates one of his trippy 3D illusion cutting boards. More on Instructables, and buy his work at MTM Wood.

The modern Stone Age man of Primitive Technology has acquired lots of blisters just from trying to start a fire. So he homo sapiened his way out of his predicament and built a drill. Then he used the basic tool to create upgrades for itself.

Jimmy DiResta put on his best Man at Arms impression and made a real world replica of the long-ass knife tattooed on WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar’s torso. The result is as intimidating as it is impractical.