Hardware Podcasts

475: I Like a Weighty Utensil

Making It · 14 Mar 2025 · 1h 04m

What this episode covers

Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss recent project milestones and the psychological challenges of managing large-scale builds. Diresta recounts the frustrating process of reclaiming his 1992 Land Cruiser, detailing mechanical failures like a broken hood latch and oxidized electrical contacts that required creative fixes. Clagett shares his progress on restoring a vintage Cadillac, expanding his workshop, and the importance of breaking overwhelming tasks into manageable milestones to maintain momentum. Picciuto describes building a custom walnut kitchen drawer organizer and the strategic decision to use hand tools over CNC to mitigate risk with limited materials.

Most relevant to

founders before launch

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
StewMac, DigiFabricators, Harvey
Products
Land Cruiser, Cadillac, Lego
Tools
CNC

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Shop Talk Live · 59m

    Shop Talk Live 32: Vintage Machinery Bargains and Blunders

    Matt Kenney discusses the challenges of sourcing and moving vintage heavy machinery, specifically jointers, highlighting the high cost of rigging and the technical pitfalls of buying 80-year-old equipment with Babbitt bearings or 3-phase motors. Mike Pekovic shares a 'smooth move' story about injuring his back while moving a cabinet and details a complex epoxy repair on a walnut table top. The hosts also provide a detailed primer on Stanley hand plane numbering systems and answer listener questions regarding woodworking for motorcycles and the legacy of Norm Abram.

    Mechanical engineeringMaterials & manufacturing processes
    9 chapters

  • Shop Talk Live · 42m

    STL359: Making the Most of Shop Time

    Mike Pekovich, Vic Tesla, and Amanda Russell discuss strategies for managing limited shop time, emphasizing the use of detailed checklists and 'order of operations' to minimize setup friction and decision fatigue during short work sessions. The hosts address how to handle interruptions in large projects by breaking tasks into small, definable steps and using visual markers like grease pencils to track joinery locations. They also debate the value of deliberate practice, suggesting that building functional, low-stakes items like trays or boxes is more effective for skill acquisition than repetitive drills on scrap wood.

    Mechanical engineeringCareers & education
    7 chapters

  • The Spark Gap · 38m

    The Spark Gap - Episode 23

    Hosts Carl and Corey discuss their numerous unfinished electronics and maker projects, attributing the stalls to lack of time, space, and technical roadblocks. Carl details an unused robot arm with an Arduino, a stalled custom automotive gauge project limited by PCB size, and a frustrating emulation setup using an ECS Liva mini PC. Corey shares his abandoned rear-projection multitouch table prototype and a 3D printer enclosure project, while also noting his own stalled Christmas light synchronization system plagued by a hot microcontroller.

    Prototyping & iterationEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

  • Thoroughly Considered · 23m

    44: A Good Two Weeks of Stress

    Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss the production challenges of their Mark One mechanical keyboard, specifically a nickel plating defect on the aluminum pin bodies that caused surface failures during sandblasting. They detail the engineering decision to nickel plate the inner diameter for wear resistance, which inadvertently created adhesion issues on the exterior finish. The team describes the stressful two-week period of developing new racking fixtures and manual sandblasting processes to salvage parts and meet their Kickstarter shipping deadlines.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringMaterials & manufacturing processes
    5 chapters

  • Thoroughly Considered · 42m

    46: The Only Way Out Is Through

    Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss the grueling production and assembly of their 'Mark One' pen, detailing the unexpected labor required for polishing, cleaning, and quality control due to high-tolerance mirror finishes and nickel plating issues. They explain how they adapted to these manufacturing challenges by building custom jigs and 3D-printed fixtures to manage the assembly process in-house. The episode also covers their packaging decisions, specifically the use of cork, and concludes with a tech corner segment recommending Lisa Brennan-Jobs' memoir 'Small Fry'.

    Scaling productionMaterials & manufacturing processes
    5 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Making It. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.