Adam savage workbench

[ken hatch]

I dont know who Adam Savage is, but I found him annoying too. Way too much "staged excitement" for me. It was like going to the zoo with your first grade teacher - "Ooooh, look at the giraffe children, doesn't he have a long neck?" I had to shut it off after I saw the basic functionality of the bench.

But the bench seemed fine to me. I enjoy looking at benches and this was another variation on the theme. Thanks for posting it Michael. I liked the thick top. Nothing wrong with a metal base, though it seemed to have a small footprint for those long overhangs. (I didnt watch long enough to see him demonstrate it's stability during heavy planing.) The vises were sure purty, if not my cup of tea. But I've gotta agree with Steve Newman - this might be very functional for the work Savage does.

Ken, I kept wondering how he'd react to using one of YOUR magnificent benches. Guy would probably get so excited he'd have a heart attack. So I think a fly off is in order here! You should drop him a line and offer one. That would be very cool.

YMMV
Fred

Fred,

LMAO. Thanks but I expect he would not like it, not enough Bing for YouTube.

ken

[ken hatch]

The worst thing a new builder can do is read a bunch of "building a work bench" books. Instead look at photos of classic designs, think about why and how they did the build that way then build yours.

ken

Great advice Ken.[/QUOTE]

Thanks William,

ken

[Andrew Seemann]

Actually, for Adam, that was pretty subdued. It isn't made for TV enthusiasm, that is his actual personality. It was part of the reason Mythbusters was so successful, both as a show, and for getting a new generation of kids into science and engineering, including mine

For those not familiar with Mr. Savage, he isn't a woodworker in the way that most of us are; for us, wood is and end in and of itself, for him wood is just a material (like any other) used to create an object. His background is special effects and model making. He worked at Industrial Light and Magic as a model maker, and his work can be seen in the Star Wars prequels. On Mythbusters he built everything from remote controlled police cars (actual full sized cars) to a pretty cool Ming style chair hooked to rockets to a balloon made of lead foil. If you are ever in a serious jam (sinking ship, stranded in the desert, etc), and Adam Savage shows up with a case of duct tape, you can consider yourself saved

As far as using the bench, Adam isn't going to be hand dimensioning rough timber and four squaring it. He would more likely be using the bench to work on the various models and things that he builds for his One-Day-Builds. For that the goofy vises and hold downs are likely ideal, and the short length matches the scale of his San Francisco workshop and isn't a disadvantage to someone that likely won't be doing a lot of long hand planing on big surfaces.

[Frederick Skelly]

Actually, for Adam, that was pretty subdued. It isn't made for TV enthusiasm, that is his actual personality. It was part of the reason Mythbusters was so successful, both as a show, and for getting a new generation of kids into science and engineering, including mine

For those not familiar with Mr. Savage, he isn't a woodworker in the way that most of us are; for us, wood is and end in and of itself, for him wood is just a material (like any other) used to create an object. His background is special effects and model making. He worked at Industrial Light and Magic as a model maker, and his work can be seen in the Star Wars prequels. On Mythbusters he built everything from remote controlled police cars (actual full sized cars) to a pretty cool Ming style chair hooked to rockets to a balloon made of lead foil. If you are ever in a serious jam (sinking ship, stranded in the desert, etc), and Adam Savage shows up with a case of duct tape, you can consider yourself saved

As far as using the bench, Adam isn't going to be hand dimensioning rough timber and four squaring it. He would more likely be using the bench to work on the various models and things that he builds for his One-Day-Builds. For that the goofy vises and hold downs are likely ideal, and the short length matches the scale of his San Francisco workshop and isn't a disadvantage to someone that likely won't be doing a lot of long hand planing on big surfaces.

Good stuff Andrew. Thanks for filling in the blanks for me - I didnt know any of that. If Savage was with IL&M, he has serious "make stuff" chops for sure. More than I do.

(His enthusiasm would drive me bat-crap crazy. So I probably won't seek out more of his vids. But that doesnt take away from his apparent skill.)

Fred

[Michael J Evans]

Yes they do some very cool stuff on myth busters. Thanks for filling everyone in Andrew. I just assumed everyone would know.

[Stew Denton]

I thought a little more about the bench, and then realized, if Adam like it (which he obviously does,) and it is a good bench for his particular needs, then it is a great bench for him.

Again, like some above, it would not be what I would want, but as the old saying goes "he who pays the piper calls the tune." I am happy for Adam.

Stew

[chris carter]

Assuming a bench has a solid build, I think there are only three things that a bench must do to be great for the user.
1) Allow you to work the way you want to work.
2) Allow you to build the things you want to build.
3) Inspire you to make stuff.

Those three things will be different for every person – particularly #3.