Awesome Making

Miller Knives walks us through the process of transforming an inert piece of rifle ammunition into another, even more versatile kind of weapon – a pocket knife. Needless to say, unless you’re 100% certain the bullet is defunct, don’t try anything like this at home.

Sure, you can buy a NERF blaster for less than $10, but there’s something rewarding about making your own stuff. Here, Astonishing Studios shows us how to make a working NERF gun using popsicle sticks, straws, a syringe, and an ample dose of hot glue.

Primitive Technology set up a new garden to plant sweet cassava and yams – two crops that are relatively easy to maintain and produce lots of food. He also shows us the old stone hut that he built 10 years ago, and his pet mammoth turkey.

ElectroBOOM needed a vacuum chamber to see if his Tesla coil will still make sparks in a vacuum. But instead of buying one or looking up guides, he decided to wing it. “Sometimes spending money saves you more money and time.” We coulda told you that, Mehdi.

Applied Science shows off a thermodynamic property of rubber bands – that they change in temperature as they stretch and contract, then takes advantage of this to create a refrigerator. It’s not very effective, but still a cool idea. That Shaper CNC router is awesome too.

Woodworker I Like to Make Stuff tries his hand at concrete to make an ocean-themed table for his wife. He used the concrete as the bottom surface then added layers of blue-dyed clear epoxy resin to mimic the sea.

Serial fast learner Mike Boyd picked up an Arduino kit for beginners and figured out how to code and tinker with electronics so he could toggle his coffee maker using his phone. Check out his YouTube comment for the twist.

For their latest video, Miller Knives walks us through the process of handmaking a micro karambit-style knife. We found the flying sparks, the sped-up sound of the belt sander, and the polishing of the handle to be especially satisfying.

Michael Cthulhu’s build videos are far more exhaustive than other weapon making videos, but we enjoyed being a fly on the wall in his metal shop, and hearing his him explain his thought process as he created a weighty replica of the Sun Keeper mace from Diablo III.

Corning Museum of Glass shares footage of a machine which produces lightbulbs, as a ribbon of molten glass is shaped through a mix of heat, air, and gravity. The now-defunct assembly line was in an OSRAM Sylvania factory and produced as many as 1600 bulbs per minute.

A fantastically satisfying bit of factory footage, in which a steel rod is heated and bent into the shape of a giant spring. The fire at the end is because of oil and dirt particles burning off. More hot coil-bending action here.

G.I Customs posted this cool time-lapse video that shows off the painstaking process of hand-machining a custom bronze and brass steampunk-style lighter. We would have liked to see how he created the skull design though.

Since his paper books have been replaced by digital ones, 17-year-old Blake Hawkins didn’t have much use for his school locker. So he built a soda vending machine that fit the cabinet perfectly. It has two dispensers that can hold up to six cans each. Instructions here.

Saffron is a truly tasty flavoring, that’s also ridiculously expensive. Discovery UK shows us how much effort goes into harvesting this exotic spice. Next time you go to a Spanish restaurant, take a moment to think about these folks who worked so hard so you can enjoy your paella.

Primitive Technology’s new year’s resolution – whatever year it is in his dimension – must have been to sleep better. He built a shed that has enough space for a cot. It took him two weeks to make the shed and the bed frame, but he says he spent most of that time gathering grass.

Man at Arms: Reforged used two different methods to create replicas of Elektra’s – and Raphael’s – weapons of choice. They made one sai out of a single piece of metal, and the other with three pieces welded together.