Man Made DIY

So...if I had my preference, I would never admit this to anyone that hadn't seen me in bandages. I'd keep it as my own little secret, and try to come off as a professional, and never have to be vulnerable online. Cause that's what you do with embarrassing information, right? Curate it out of your internet identity, and only take photos of your house when its clean and full of interesting items and cups of tea?

Except...I don't really believe that. I believe in authenticity, and telling the whole story, and being willing to geek out over something amazing and admitting you're not too cool to get obsessed with stuff, and all that junk.

So here it is: I hurt myself on the table saw. Like soft pink flesh meets forty teeth-per-inch carbide tipped blade spinning at 3000 RPM.

To clarify: any table saw injury is bad news. (At least, when it's running. I regularly stub my toes on it, or bang into it when moving stuff around, but that's just cause I'm a spaz.) And as far as table saw injuries go, I was very, very lucky. I still have ten fully functioning fingers...though one is a bit out-of-commission right now. But (see above), those *&#$ers are dangerous, and no matter how lucky you get and grateful you feel (I was and I do), it's no small potatoes.

If you wanna hear the story, read on. There are a few photos of post-stitches injury. They're not gratuitous, nor bloody, or particularly gross, but do be aware if you're not much for that kinda thing.   … read more

Core77 takes a in depth peek at tool rolls, that time-proven storage solution of craftsmen everywhere. The roll protects your tools, keeps them organized, and can be a safe and convenient way to store tools with sharp edges, such as carving or turning tools.   … read more

Physical music media have gone through a curious century. The vinyl album dominated for nearly 75 years, than gave way to a ten-year success of the cassette, which was left behind by the CD, with all the 8-tracks and mini-discs and other less successful technologies mixed in. And now, at least among those who are serious about music - a mix of the two extremes: digital, either as actual files or subscribed up the in cloud somewhere, and the original vinyl LP, still reknowned for its warm fideiity and large cover art.

Of course, modern furniture isn't built to house LP collections. They don't fit in contemporary milk crates, and most of those little flatpack cube-storage units are just a half-inch too small. So, it's time to build your own.   … read more

Shwood, makers of handcrafted wooden sunglasses, teamed up with San Francisco clothing company Huf to spend a day skateboarding through downtown Los Angeles. When one rider broke his deck, the Shwood craftsmen took the trashed plywood, laminated up, and created these amazing recycled skateboard-version of their awesome sunglasses design.

They film the whole process, showing how these beautiful pieces are glued up and made by hand. Accompanied by T. Rex's "Mambo Sun," this video's a must watch.   … read more

Bottle cutters were everywhere in the 1970s...tucked in with the macrame and string art kits, they allowed hands-on folks to create recycled vases from wine bottles, or drinking glasses from jars, cool lamps and lighting fixtures, and all kinds of upcycled goodness, like this great project by my friend Tyler Goodro:

Unfortunately, the kits are increasingly rare and growing more expensive on eBay, so it's a pretty big investment if you're just interested in learning and not planning on cranking projects out in bulk.   … read more