Videos about Things
November 15, 2022 8:33 AM Subscribe
I like to watch videos about things. Making and fixing things especially. This post is both a list of the types of videos I enjoy, and a request for discussion about other similar videos.
I have a preference for YouTube channels, because so much is already there (and I use the "watch later" list heavily, to manage tracking things to watch). Happy to hear about other video sources, though. Note specifically that I'm most interested in videos that involve talking about what's going on. The how and why, sharing the expertise, and hopefully being entertaining along the way. The "disembodied hands, no audio, background music" genre is fine, but not what I'm interested in.
(Generally just alphabetical order, split into categories:)
Making and renovating buildings
* Essential Craftsman has branched out a bit, but spent some time building a house from the ground up.
* Perkins Builder Brothers are two brothers with a contracting company, usually designing and building homes for clients, from the ground up.
* StudPack is a father/son duo, usually renovation projects including kitchen and bathroom.
Reparing cars, lawn mowers, generators, and most anything with an engine
* Aging Wheels talks about cars, and often repairs and/or modifies them
* Bad Obsession Motorsport has not posted a lot lately, but their "project binky" series, wherein they rebuild and upgrade a Mini Cooper from the lowest level is great.
* James Condon mostly repairs gasoline electric generators, but some other engine-bearing things as well.
* Mustie -- vintage cars and almost anything with an engine tends to get "rustored" here.
* Ronald Finger did a deep dive renovation of an old Fiero, then a motorcycle, surely more to come.
* Watch Wes Work is a view into an auto repair shop.
Electronics
* Big Clive generally disassembles and reverse engineers very cheap consumer electronics.
* StezStix Fix? repairs a variety of consumer electronics, many video games.
Fabrication
* Blondihacks builds steam engines, and does related metal shop projects.
* Clickspring has slowed pace, but has a long running project to reconstruct the Antikythera mechanism in intricate detail with period-accurate tools.
* Clough42 does metal machining, 3D printing, and similar garage-shop projects.
* Colin Furze has a variety of zany and extreme projects; more recently a series on digging a "secret" underground tunnel.
Woodworking
* Frank Howarth does a variety of wood projects, often involving turning on the lathe.
* Matthias Wandel is a canadian woodworker extraordinaire who does interesting woodworking projects and interesting/detailed research (whether it's wood glue joint strength or refrigerator efficiency or more).
* Pask Makes woodworking projects generally with an over-the-top decorative element.
* Steve Ramsey does general, usually beginner-focused, woodworking projects.
Grab bag
* Allen Pan invents and builds generally zany things.
* Jeremy Fielding has a main focus on electric motors (I think?), and is designing/building an industrial robot style arm.
* Marius Hornberger does mostly woodworking, also some CNC and other small/home shop projects.
* Peter Brown tends to make unusual objects, almost everything involves resin casting of some form.
* Peter Sripol makes mostly R/C airplanes, has also covered an off-the-grid tiny home build.
* Stuff Made Here is hard to describe, wacky and extreme inventions?
* The Post Apocalyptic Inventor generally rescues items from the junk yard and repairs them.
* Uri Tuchman does artistic projects, often sculpted things constructed from scratch on camera.
* Way Out West is the vlog of some Irish farmers with varying projects including a home-built rail/car system.
I have a preference for YouTube channels, because so much is already there (and I use the "watch later" list heavily, to manage tracking things to watch). Happy to hear about other video sources, though. Note specifically that I'm most interested in videos that involve talking about what's going on. The how and why, sharing the expertise, and hopefully being entertaining along the way. The "disembodied hands, no audio, background music" genre is fine, but not what I'm interested in.
(Generally just alphabetical order, split into categories:)
Making and renovating buildings
* Essential Craftsman has branched out a bit, but spent some time building a house from the ground up.
* Perkins Builder Brothers are two brothers with a contracting company, usually designing and building homes for clients, from the ground up.
* StudPack is a father/son duo, usually renovation projects including kitchen and bathroom.
Reparing cars, lawn mowers, generators, and most anything with an engine
* Aging Wheels talks about cars, and often repairs and/or modifies them
* Bad Obsession Motorsport has not posted a lot lately, but their "project binky" series, wherein they rebuild and upgrade a Mini Cooper from the lowest level is great.
* James Condon mostly repairs gasoline electric generators, but some other engine-bearing things as well.
* Mustie -- vintage cars and almost anything with an engine tends to get "rustored" here.
* Ronald Finger did a deep dive renovation of an old Fiero, then a motorcycle, surely more to come.
* Watch Wes Work is a view into an auto repair shop.
Electronics
* Big Clive generally disassembles and reverse engineers very cheap consumer electronics.
* StezStix Fix? repairs a variety of consumer electronics, many video games.
Fabrication
* Blondihacks builds steam engines, and does related metal shop projects.
* Clickspring has slowed pace, but has a long running project to reconstruct the Antikythera mechanism in intricate detail with period-accurate tools.
* Clough42 does metal machining, 3D printing, and similar garage-shop projects.
* Colin Furze has a variety of zany and extreme projects; more recently a series on digging a "secret" underground tunnel.
Woodworking
* Frank Howarth does a variety of wood projects, often involving turning on the lathe.
* Matthias Wandel is a canadian woodworker extraordinaire who does interesting woodworking projects and interesting/detailed research (whether it's wood glue joint strength or refrigerator efficiency or more).
* Pask Makes woodworking projects generally with an over-the-top decorative element.
* Steve Ramsey does general, usually beginner-focused, woodworking projects.
Grab bag
* Allen Pan invents and builds generally zany things.
* Jeremy Fielding has a main focus on electric motors (I think?), and is designing/building an industrial robot style arm.
* Marius Hornberger does mostly woodworking, also some CNC and other small/home shop projects.
* Peter Brown tends to make unusual objects, almost everything involves resin casting of some form.
* Peter Sripol makes mostly R/C airplanes, has also covered an off-the-grid tiny home build.
* Stuff Made Here is hard to describe, wacky and extreme inventions?
* The Post Apocalyptic Inventor generally rescues items from the junk yard and repairs them.
* Uri Tuchman does artistic projects, often sculpted things constructed from scratch on camera.
* Way Out West is the vlog of some Irish farmers with varying projects including a home-built rail/car system.
You might like Chest'er's YT channel. He makes and restores furniture using woodworking, upholstery, a bit of light metal work, etc. The videos are wordless (I think he might be Russian or from an ex-Soviet state anyway, as many of the products he uses are labelled in Cyrillic) and very relaxing. Here's one where he restores an antique German armchair. Here he is making an unusual table out of wood, copper, and concrete.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:40 AM on November 15, 2022
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:40 AM on November 15, 2022
Homemade Home has several series about buying very cheap houses and renovating them (largely by himself).
posted by primethyme at 8:44 AM on November 15, 2022
posted by primethyme at 8:44 AM on November 15, 2022
Also, thank you for this list of other wonderful channels to check out!
posted by primethyme at 8:44 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 8:44 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ted Woodford is a Canadian luthier who documents the repair work he does on various guitars. He provides fascinating commentary on the history the instruments and their manufacturers, as well as explaining what he's doing and why (or, what he's not doing, and why not.)
posted by buxtonbluecat at 9:16 AM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by buxtonbluecat at 9:16 AM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Ramón Guarda Parera teaches traditional Catalan masonry. Arches, vaults, domes, staircases, tile roofs, lots of amazing stuff. Mostly in Spanish.
posted by bitslayer at 9:29 AM on November 15, 2022
posted by bitslayer at 9:29 AM on November 15, 2022
@ phunniemee my wife and I LOVE the Baumgartner Restoration channel it's really quite soothing.
posted by Captain_Science at 10:25 AM on November 15, 2022
posted by Captain_Science at 10:25 AM on November 15, 2022
Simone Giertz makes quirky, often useless things with great skill and charm. Laura Kampf makes things that are still somewhat whimsical but also practical.
posted by Comet Bug at 10:47 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Comet Bug at 10:47 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
Tamar 3x3 makes woodworking projects and explains what she's doing and why.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:39 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:39 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm quite fond of James May's "The Reassembler" and his "Man Lab" is also mildly amusing.
posted by The otter lady at 4:46 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The otter lady at 4:46 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
1+ for Laura Kampf she is currently renovating a 200 yr old house and its been great to watch her process.
-Adam Savage - Tested of MythBusters fame has a great channel full of builds, making and more
-Wintergatan - making amazing marble machines
-The Samurai Carpenter - he's currently building an off grid home but also has some older woodworking videos
-April Wilkerson - woodworking and DIY
-Modern Makeovers - furniture restoration
posted by ljesse at 4:53 PM on November 15, 2022
-Adam Savage - Tested of MythBusters fame has a great channel full of builds, making and more
-Wintergatan - making amazing marble machines
-The Samurai Carpenter - he's currently building an off grid home but also has some older woodworking videos
-April Wilkerson - woodworking and DIY
-Modern Makeovers - furniture restoration
posted by ljesse at 4:53 PM on November 15, 2022
The Crafsman Steadycraftin: lots of personality and a tendency toward animation and action figures.
Pocket83: I found out about this guy because he did a collaboration with Peter Brown. Idiosyncratic, but some interesting ideas.
Robert Tolone: Casting and moldmaking. A little cranky, but amusing, and clearly knows his stuff. Found him through The Crafsman.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 5:16 PM on November 15, 2022
Pocket83: I found out about this guy because he did a collaboration with Peter Brown. Idiosyncratic, but some interesting ideas.
Robert Tolone: Casting and moldmaking. A little cranky, but amusing, and clearly knows his stuff. Found him through The Crafsman.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 5:16 PM on November 15, 2022
Best answer: This whole thread reads like my subscription list. Here's what else I've got in there.
- Ben Eater - Electronics, built a functional computer on broadboards
- BPS.space - Model rockets, including trying to land one
- CuriousMarc - Vintage electronics, don't miss the series on bringing up the entire apollo comms stack with real hardware
- Fran Blanche - Audio / vintage electronics (best series: vintage display technology)
- Look mum no computer - Synthesizers, similar chaotic-but-skilled energy as Colin Furze (also runs This museum is (not) obsolete)
- Mike Farrington - Woodworking
- SuperfastMatt - Cars - a lot of fun powertrain swaps
- The Signal Path - Electronics repair/review - mostly extremely high end lab stuff that goes over my head but I still find interesting
- Xyla Foxlin - Kinda in the zany invention category
posted by davidest at 10:42 PM on November 15, 2022
- Ben Eater - Electronics, built a functional computer on broadboards
- BPS.space - Model rockets, including trying to land one
- CuriousMarc - Vintage electronics, don't miss the series on bringing up the entire apollo comms stack with real hardware
- Fran Blanche - Audio / vintage electronics (best series: vintage display technology)
- Look mum no computer - Synthesizers, similar chaotic-but-skilled energy as Colin Furze (also runs This museum is (not) obsolete)
- Mike Farrington - Woodworking
- SuperfastMatt - Cars - a lot of fun powertrain swaps
- The Signal Path - Electronics repair/review - mostly extremely high end lab stuff that goes over my head but I still find interesting
- Xyla Foxlin - Kinda in the zany invention category
posted by davidest at 10:42 PM on November 15, 2022
Similar to this theme in terms of "Seriously Skilled Manual craft described compellingly" is LockPicking Lawyer, especially the "picked and gutted" videos where he picks the lock then disassembles it so you can see how the security features work.
posted by lalochezia at 4:48 AM on November 16, 2022
posted by lalochezia at 4:48 AM on November 16, 2022
Excellent lists here. Thanks!
Some additions
Kris Harbour makes his own house/workshop/green energy systems/greenhouse etc etc. Very enjoyable
Martijn Doolaard is renovating some ancient houses in Italy. Especially notable for the beautiful cinematography (besides the building stuff)
plus something posted previously on the blue: Building a Celtic Roundhouse
posted by Kosmob0t at 10:18 AM on November 16, 2022
Some additions
Kris Harbour makes his own house/workshop/green energy systems/greenhouse etc etc. Very enjoyable
Martijn Doolaard is renovating some ancient houses in Italy. Especially notable for the beautiful cinematography (besides the building stuff)
plus something posted previously on the blue: Building a Celtic Roundhouse
posted by Kosmob0t at 10:18 AM on November 16, 2022
Get Hands Dirty - Portuguese maker Cristiana Felgueiras building furniture and sometimes other things. There are some stretches of narration-less background music montage but there's also plenty of explanation of the how's and why's. I especially enjoyed the Tiny Apartment Build series.
Not youtube, but The Repair Shop is charming if you live in a region that has it available for streaming or broadcast.
If Baumgartner Restoration is up your alley, searching youtube for museum accounts yields other historical and artistic artifact conservation. Some are better than others; I find the British Museum ones to be quite interesting, though YMMV regarding the ethics of such institutions working on artifacts that arguably should be repatriated.
posted by bunnysquirrel at 9:56 PM on November 16, 2022
Not youtube, but The Repair Shop is charming if you live in a region that has it available for streaming or broadcast.
If Baumgartner Restoration is up your alley, searching youtube for museum accounts yields other historical and artistic artifact conservation. Some are better than others; I find the British Museum ones to be quite interesting, though YMMV regarding the ethics of such institutions working on artifacts that arguably should be repatriated.
posted by bunnysquirrel at 9:56 PM on November 16, 2022
Studson Studio is a youtuber who builds models, miniatures, dioramas etc based on pop culture (breath of the wild, encanto, howl's moving castle) out of recycled materials. Aka, trash. I love him very much.
posted by moons in june at 10:41 PM on November 21, 2022
posted by moons in june at 10:41 PM on November 21, 2022
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posted by crocomancer at 8:40 AM on November 15, 2022 [3 favorites]