With over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, woodworker Matthias Wandel knows a thing or two about making shop time entertaining. Whether he’s making marble machines, wooden combination locks, Jenga pistols, or even a wooden air raid siren, he’s always having a killer time making it. And who wouldn’t want to watch that? More recently, the talented wood craftsman created what just might be one of his best projects of all: The Wooden Domino Row Building Machine. The machine, which requires no input from a computer, works by pushing a magazine full of dominoes forward along a surface while a slider pushes them out one at a time while the machine…

I’m pretty sure if we ran a survey right now, all the answers would be BIONIC HAND. Even if the question asks whether your favorite color is red or gravy, the answer would be BIONIC HAND. That’s because bionic hand is not only the coolest color, it’s also the coolest body upgrade… ya know, outside a completely bionicized body. To get you started, here’s a brilliant design by Hendo Jordaan. It has a lot of cool design elements and is simply one of the slickest looking hand designs we’ve seen. What’s his goal? I consider this 3D Printable Hand Skeleton as a baseline for a Bionic hand (which I intend to develop into…

A LEGO Ninjango City model? NO. THE LEGO Ninajgo City. Well, at least the interesting bits that can be economically manufactured and fit economically in a box. The name may be slightly misleading, but the kit is no less impressive. Continuing his penchant for creating amazing LEGO build videos, YouTube user Bart van Dijk has another impressive stop motion video for the third largest LEGO model to date. LEGO Ninjago City, is composed of 4,867 pieces, has a 24” (63cm) high, 12” (31cm) wide and 16” (42cm) deep footprint and features a slice of plastic life from the upcoming LEGO Ninjago Movie. Third only to the 5195-piece Millennium Falcon and the 5922-piece…

Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll kick things off with “Leech” from Ghost King before riding into the sweet sounds of Valley Queen, The Shivers, Sinkane, Marrow, Pinegrove, and others before smoothing things out with “Hieroglyphics” from Balue. Rock! Have suggestions? As always, let…

Few shop tools—yes, we’ll call it a “tool”—are as indispensable as a reliable work apron. While not a “tool” in the traditional sense, a good, durable apron can serve many purposes ranging from tool organization to even psychologically making yourself ‘present’ in the workshop. But no two aprons are alike—and striking the balance between functional and economical isn’t always easy. Which is why we like the Cross Back Adjustable Apron from Hudson Durable Goods. Made from thick and durable waxed canvas, this stylish work apron features design details that are as carefully considered as the long-lasting materials they’re constructed from. Additionally, the cross-back (X-back) straps ensure that weight from tools…

From Hippies to Van Lifers, few vehicles have come to represent multiple subcultures as well as the VW Microbus. While the German automotive manufacturer ceased production of the vans years ago, that hasn’t discouraged die-hard fans from rebuilding their own custom VW Microbus models to their own standards. Unsurprisingly—and after years of teaser concept models—the company has made the decision to put the Microbus back into production. This time, as to be expected, it will be fully electric while still tapping into the charm and nostalgia that made it an icon all those years ago. Announced last week at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, the I.D. BUZZ (current…