Art of the Build

That flew by fast! Like all good things, season 1 of Art of the Build has come to an end. This is a short wrap-up episode updating listeners on the show and plans for season 2.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Thank you to the amazing makers that appeared on season 1:

Darbin Orvar Izzy Swan The Practical Machinist Matt Cremona Laura Kampf Jimmy DiResta Robert Cowan Pneumatic Addict James Bruton Woby Design Gunflint Designs Ashley Harwood Spencer Hawes

A maker podcast isn't possible without the makers!

Ever wonder how those super tiny electronic components on circuit boards are placed so accurately? With machines of course.

Industrial pick and place machines can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Stephen Hawes is helping to make this technology more accessible by developing a much cheaper and open source pick and place called The Index.

We discuss some of the multitude of fascinating challenges with building this type of reliable machine, at a hobbyist budget.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Stephen's Pick and Place Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAFleHaPjEY&list=PLIeJXmcg1baLBz3x0nCDqkYpKs2IWGHk4

Ashley Harwood, a master turner, shares her biggest wood turning to date, a pedestal and foot for a Barolo table. Or 4 of them rather. And I want to emphasize that when I say gigantic, I’m not exaggerating, or using that word frivolously.

Listen to Ashley's stories about the many safety considerations involved, what happens when a piece being turned blows up, and how Ashley pushed her lathe to the limits.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Ashley's Table Build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmZFA4AvJYs

Does your microwave cabinet have a slide out spice rack? No you say?  Well then listen up because this episode has the fix to that problem, as well as tips and insights for anyone that wants to apply their woodworking skills to improving their home.

Mark used to be a photographer and graphic designer by trade, but now he runs Gunflint Designs building and filming awesome projects. He’s also a tree farmer, videographer, podcast host and he is co-host of the We Built a Thing podcast.

Mark shares how he designed and built this clever cabinet, the "Mr. Fearless" persona he made up for DIYers that maybe shouldn't be DIYers, and why his wife never got a chance to use the cabinet that he built.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Gunflint Designs Microwave Cabinet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqRiSHe5Mdk

Ben has a very specific material that he builds from: recycled skateboards. He’s made bowls, he’s made a bat, he’s even made a skateboard.

On this episode Ben talks about about a particularly interesting skateboard project, a skateboard guitar.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Woby Design Skateboard Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtN1epnTPCc

James is an electrical engineer, former toy designer, and most importantly he’s a builder of amazing robots and other contraptions (like the robotic bowling bowl collaboration with Mark Rober).

One of James' most epic creations are his 7ft tall extremely robust "performance robots". These "Chappy-like" robots have many degrees of motion, really cool head displays, and can be controlled either through scripting or via puppet rigs.

James shares the secrets of how these bots are controlled, some of the challenges he solved, and the crazy amount of 3D printers that allow him to build and release his weekly robot videos.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

James' Performance Robots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWW-6_NYBBA&list=PLpwJoq86vov-vjlb1OEefk8BDxUmujIxM

Elisha of Pneumatic Addict is a former hairstylist turned maker and DIYer who in her words is here to demystify tools and the lumber section of the hardware store. 

Many of Elisha’s builds are primarily out of lumber, but she incorporates metal a lot too. A perfect example is her wood and metal cable bed that combines a really smart and sturdy bed frame design with a really creative headboard.

We geek out on Elisha's clever bed frame design details, the challenges of finishing softwood lumber, and the awesome and strange cable crimping tool needed to work with the metal cable.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Pneumatic Addict Bed Frame Build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0pklCnxWrE

Robert Cowan builds combat robots. He is part of the Copperhead team on the BattleBots TV show, and he also builds a lot of smaller "insect weight" bots that he competes with regularly.

In this episode Robert discusses Psychotic Break V2, a beautiful carbon fiber and S7 tool steel bot that weighs only 3lbs and packs a scary amount of kinetic energy.

We geek out on choices of materials, the unique properties of carbon fiber, and the crazy destruction that these bots can pack.

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Robert Cowan's Psychotic Break V2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzDyFtu6iMo

There’s a very good chance you’ve seen Jimmy DiResta's work, and if not, you’ve probably seen DiResta stickers or spray painted lettering in other maker channels.  I hop on with Jimmy to talk about his Forged Bowie Knife build, why knife making is so appealing to him, and we get surprising insight into how he views the knives he makes (hint: he's not afraid to use and beat them up).

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

DiResta Forged Bowie Knife: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLRWghkXEe4

One of the recurring themes in Laura Kampf’s work is repurposing common items into something completely different. Like turning a zippo lighter into storage for bits, creating a bike sidecar out of a beer keg, or the many different objects that she has turned into BBQs.

In this episode we talk about the clever design of her level jack grill and how building grills connects into her start as a maker (hint: it includes a bicycle turned shopping cart bbq - no that's not a typo).

Subscribe to the weekly maker digest: https://artofthebuild.fm

Support the show: https://patreon.com/artofthebuild

Laura's Level Jack Grill Build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMR1U02Vm50