Adam Savage describes four unusual and useful tools he loves

boing
1

[Read the post]

1 Like
2

I’m for fingers. How cool are they?

3

Someone want to post what the actual tools are? Not quite in a spot to listen to a podcast, but interested in Adam’s take.

4 Likes
4

I was away from boingboing for a bit and the layout has significantly changed since. I’ve been back several times since, but I’m confused about a few things. If my (albeit possibly rose-colored) memory of, say 2014 BB is correct, a post about four tools would list the four tools instead of just providing a link and little else. Is BB now just a click generator? I’d love to know what Adam Savage’s favorite weird tools are but I’m not watching a video to do it. It’s like BB is now a place for links to wonderful things. Even Doctorow’s pieces are clickbait instead of long posts about awesome coffeemakers or surveilance/security concerns. What happened?

11 Likes
5

Well in this particular case it’s a podcast, not a video, and it’s a podcast they put together (I think?) so it’s more of just a ‘hey, got a new episode of this podcast out, go listen to it, here’s what we’re talking about this week.’

6

For the impatient or time-poor, they’re a nail puller, a spoke shave, a self-centering bore gauge and a sewing machine.

As to what sort and why, the link to the transcript is https://docs.google.com/document/d/17rHRb_TibJnd5zwJdB5koTqlALw0uuLbce4LGQWLK2A/edit?usp=sharing (Posted in article)

It’s worth a read.

5 Likes
7

Adam misspoke on the name of the woodworking TV show about mid way through. It’s not “The New Yankee Workshop”. I believe the show he was talking about is “The Woodright’s Shop” with Roy Underhill. That said, I agree whole heartedly that it’s the best show out there to learn hands-on woodworking without all the fancy and expensive power tools. Roy has been doing the show (on PBS) for about 30 years and it’s still as fresh and interesting as it was in the beginning.

8 Likes
8

Woodright’s shop web site: http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/home/

1 Like
9

Indeed.

Hail St. Roy, Full of Grace, The Schwarz is with thee.
Blessed art thou among woodworkers, and blessed is the fruit of thy saw, dovetails.
Holy St. Roy, Master of Chisels, pray for us sharpeners now, and at the hour of planing.
Amen.

3 Likes
10

Dear Mr. Savage:

I am a great fan of yours. But please, please, as someone with an obvious love for tools, stop calling it a spoke shaver. That’s like referring to a screwing driver. It’s a spokeshave.

And you can cut on the push stroke if the situation warrants. That’s why many of them have little depressions for your thumbs.

1 Like
11

what’s the point of talking about a thing if you can’t describe it thoroughly

12

Thanks, I think I had souncloud not enabled or something, and it says ‘show notes here.’ (But ‘here’ was not linkified and transcript isn’t show notes per se, unless it is now.)

2 Likes
13

This was interesting. Here -

1 Like
14

Not really; a spokeshave is for shaving spokes. A screwdriver is not for screwing drives.

15

used to have a grinding wheel bench mounted and hand cranked

the grind

16

Er, actually, yes- an AB is for B-ing A, therefore a spokeshave is for shaving spokes, and a screwdriver is for driving screws.

1 Like
17

Yes, a screwdriver is for driving screws. But I read the previous comment as implying that a screwdriver was for screwing drives.

1 Like
18

Shouldn’t it be called a screwdrive then?

1 Like
19

I wish to apologize to all concerned for starting this. :grinning:

What I meant to say was that this is like calling a [traditional and time-honoured tool name] a [garbled and non-traditional tool name]. When that happens, somewhere an angel weeps.

5 Likes
20

Don’t apologize, own it. Now where did I put my Driving Screw…

(I’m the good kind of bad :smiley: )

3 Likes