Building a Tall Bike

Remember that tall bike we saw in NYC a couple weeks ago? We wondered how it was built. Here Laura Kampf shows us by constructing one herself:

Orbiting Time Lapse Camera Rig

Some crazy design & engineering from Frank Howarth this week, as he makes an overhead camera boom that slowly rotates, providing a very cool time-lapse effect with circular motion. Also: Who knew Howarth was a Tone Loc fan? (Wait 'til the end of the video.)

Steel & Wood Hatchet Handle

After Howarth's project, this is probably the most industrial-design-prototyping-class-like project of this week's batch: We see how Jimmy DiResta conceives of the form for a steel-handled hatchet, starting with an existing head, paper and pencil, then actually fabricates the thing. Super-cool to watch him mill out the handle using that UFO-shaped cutting head, then to see all of the work that goes into seamlessly integrating the wooden handle:

Restoring an Old Handplane

In the first half of the last century, manufacturers made solid hand tools that will last forever, if properly cared for. But even if they've been neglected, you can restore them to their former function and glory with a little elbow grease. Here Jay Bates shows you how, rescuing an old Stanley #5 handplane, and helpfully demonstrates how to tune and adjust one to your work.

Board-on-Board Cedar Fence, Part 2

It's still blazing hot in Texas, and April Wilkerson is still out there putting up her board-on-board cedar fence. She's devised a portable way to keep some of the sun off of her while she works, and I like the handled spacer she uses to make the job go quicker:

Breakdown Portable Paint Booth

It's also hot in Georgia, where Bob Clagett is based, and he's tired of painting his projects outside. But he's got no room in his small shop for a paint booth. The solution? Build a breakdown paint booth that can be folded flat and tucked away when not in use:

Convertible Bench

In this Honda-sponsored video, Marc Spagnuolo shows you how to make a cool "convertible" bench, where the seating parts can be flipped forward to create a table-like surface:

Samurai Sword Rack

Jesse de Geest goes at it with rotary tool and carving gouges to make an organic, one-of-a-kind sword rack out of "a murdered deer":