Awesome Making

Hermit crabs are known for their ability to reside in the abandoned shells of other sea creatures. I did a thing wanted to know if one of these crustaceans would wear a shell made out of metal, like a tiny suit of armor. So he got to work casting some metal seashells and put them in a tank to see if a crab would put one on.

If you’ve visited a Costco lately, you might have seen some chairs made from Polywood, a durable material produced by chopping up and melting down plastic, then extruding it into a weight-bearing and weatherproof lumber for making furniture. Popular Mechanics takes us inside the Polywood factory to see how they do it.

John Heisz wanted a place to store some of the tools and other items that didn’t have a home in his shop. So he created a wall-mounted cabinet that provides cubbies, drawers, and a work surface on top. He built it from scrap plywood and wood from previous projects. That gizmo in the upper left is a twin-screw vise John also made.

Ideal Idea set out to build a unique terrarium inspired by infinity cubes. By upping the complexity to a 20-sided shape, he provided enough space for the plants to thrive. He cut the sides from acrylic and 3D printed the structure, which is held together with cord. The infinite illusion was created using reflective film and LED lights.

Blacksmith Mark Aspery walks us through the process of hand-forging a traditional corkscrew. He starts out with a rod of 3/8″ square chrome-molybdenum steel, which he hammers, stretches, bends, and twists into the final shape. Anyone got a good bottle of wine to test it on?

Because of their size and weight, chainsaws typically require both hands for safe operation. Make It Extreme shows how it’s possible to engineer and construct a compact chainsaw small enough to be held with one hand, yet capable of sawing through thick branches and making very rough cuts of lumber.

Sometimes we forget to put our trash cans out until the garbage truck is already outside. What we need is Max Maker’s Trash Train running on a schedule. Max built this automated railway for his cans when he had to start storing them on the other side of his house. Engineering and fabricating it was more complicated than it looks.

North of the Border’s latest clay creation knife. But this is no ordinary knife. According to the maker of tiny nerdy things, Knifey is “a red sentient murder unicorn from High on Life.” If we were forced to bring a knife in a gunfight, this is the blade we’d go with.

Drink spills are no fun – especially when your mug contains searing hot coffee. Ollari’s wanted a solution for carrying their morning joe and crafted this drink tray that takes advantage of physics to keep drink contents from spilling when walking on bumpy ground or even spinning in a circle.

Grandpa Amu has spent decades of his life crafting objects from wood. In this video, you’ll see him turn a block of safflower pear wood into a detailed fire truck. What makes this gift for his grandson even more remarkable is that all of the pieces connect using wood joints, requiring no glue or nails to hold them together.

Music on vinyl has made a comeback here in America, so a number of factories here can press records. But there’s only one record manufacturer in Korea – Machang Music & Pictures. All Process of World takes us inside the factory for a look at the process of creating a master disc which is used to press tiny grooves into vinyl blanks.

Ben from Woby Design has made some pretty amazing stuff out of skateboard decks. His latest build is a round tabletop made from skateboard decks arranged on end and cut into wedges. He also wrapped its cylindrical plywood base with colorful deck slices. The way the CNC machine cut it into a perfect circle was so satisfying.

Kids today probably don’t even know what a CD or DVD is, but for a while, these were the best way to deliver music, movies, and games. Maker Nick Zammeti took advantage of the mirrored, prismatic discs, attaching hundreds of the shiny shards to a resin guitar body. It took a couple of tries, but the finished design came out great.

Modern umbrellas are mass-produced from synthetic fabric and a metal frame. On the other hand, Wagasa umbrellas are painstakingly handmade from bamboo, string, tapioca glue, washi paper, and linseed oil. Business Insider visited artist Kotaro Nishibori to see how he carries this beautiful Japanese tradition.

Robinson Foundry created these not-so-stealthy shurikens which glow in the dark. He created the design on his computer, 3D-printed forms for sand casting, then filled the molds with aluminum bronze. After finishing, he added a mix of epoxy resin and strontium aluminate, which glows brightly after being exposed to light.

You might remember Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots from when you were a kid. For his Maker’s Secret Santa gift this year, engineer James Bruton made a pair of robots that do battle with their fists. Somebody already knocked their blocks off, though. Stick around to the end to see the fun gift James scored.

Most people who make remote-controlled cars start with an off-the-shelf chassis, then attach a plastic body shell. But Liu Mutou is an overachiever. With the exception of the tires and motor, he built virtually every part of this R/C Ferrari 250 GTO replica from scratch, including a welded metal frame and bent metal body.

Hand Tool Rescue came across Michael Volpe’s 1919 patent for an insane multi-wrench. The concept for the hand tool was that it could turn just about every imaginable fastener. He decided to make a replica of the impractical wrench in hopes that one day he might find every kind of fastener it can tighten.

When it comes to barbecue, we like large meat. But maker W&M Levsha went and built a teensy oven that cooks the tiniest portions of food ever. They used a laser cutter to create the metal structure and skewers, then milled its handles out of a block of wood. We can’t help but think of playing foosball with the chicken, though.

Wood Season shows us how they created a chess board that looks like its playing surface is floating on water. The trick was encasing oak wood blocks in a thick bath of clear resin, then backlighting them with LEDs. A pearlescent resin backing and floating pine cones add to the effect. The set is available for sale on Etsy.

For the 2022 Great Guitar Build Off, artist Uri Tuchman set out to create a unique musical instrument that looks like the iconic Les Paul electric guitar, but it’s emerging from a solid rectangle of wood. In keeping with the motif, he made custom square brass knobs for the dials. We love the engraved details on the pick guard too.

A hovercraft might sound like a complicated piece of equipment to build from scratch, but Project Air shows us how it’s possible to build one at home using wood, foam board, a plastic tarp, and duct tape. The key to the build is the powerful lift motors. He also had some help from his dad and fellow maker Matt from DIY Perks.

We’ve never seen a slingshot that looks quite like this one. Wood Art TG made this unique and elegant weapon from scratch. It has an elongated body, an elastic launching mechanism, and a finger trigger and can dish out some seriously destructive power.