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Comment by Townley | Hacker News Reader

The intellectual successor to This Old House's take on the entertainment potential of skilled craftsmanship probably isn't drama-filled reality TV, but rather YouTube channels like that of Paul Sellers. My drama-detesting father-in-law and his grandchildren watch those videos all day long to appreciate the craftsmanship, learning opportunities, and creativity of final products.

I don't feel particularly concerned by the espoused narrative that skill is being replaced by drama on TV. We live in a world where people seeking drama-free, skilled craftsman content can access all they could want and more, and This Old House can be proud of their contribution to this through a 40 year legacy of television content (and, relatedly, an awesome YouTube channel)

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Agree so much with this. Frank Howarth, Abom79, This Old Tony, Welding Tips and Tricks, Jimmy DiResta, Stumpy Nubs, Stefan Gotteswinter - there's so much great content like this on youtube. TV was never a great place for craft because it has to serve a general audience. Youtube has so much niche specific content with pretty great production values.

Wow you named almost every channel I pay attention to. I would add Matt Cremona, AvE, NYCCNC and April Wilkerson.

I listen to the Welding Tips and Tricks podcast that features a 60 year old from Alabama (Hi It's Jody from Welding Tips and Tricks) talking to two guys in rural Ohio. They regularly mention how Instagram in particular has encouraged friendly competition amongst welders. Whereas previously a great welder would only be known to the 20 guys in his shop, now he can post those intricate welds on Instagram and people countrywide try to emulate that technique. The maker community is positive, kind and encouraging. For all the negativity swirling around social media, it is nice to see it used in positive ways to unite people.

Yeah, those channels are all on my list. How could I forget NYCCNC? He's taught me so much. I grew up with a pretty hands on education in basics of mechanics and woodworking, but youtube and web forums have made it possible for me to self-teach the CNC, Machining, and Woodworking hobby at pretty much any level I want to engage with it. There's always a video for what you want.

Project Binky, from Bad Obsession Motorsport

Two rally car fabricators and lifelong friends in Shropshire who, over the last five years, have been fitting an AWD turbo Celica into the rusted out shell of an old Mini, while adding an air conditioner and a stereo. The craft and attention to detail are absurd.

Binky is absolutely fantastic. I've been following it for years and it's great they're posting more often now that their Patreon is supporting the show.

I'd also add B is for Build.

I’m sure there are perfectly good reasons having to do with logistics, but I find it hilarious that they put the sound system in before they had the radiators built.

Doing the important work first :)

Bob Moffat from weld.com channel on yt is great

I'll add to this Ishitani Furniture. It's not quite informative like many of the others you mentioned as there is no narration or exposition, it's a little more artistic in that you simply admire a skilled craftsman performing his craft from start to finish.

If you like them Essential Craftsmen is also a great channel. He is a bit more no-nonsense compared to like This Old Tony (who I LOVE) without being dry.

Plus he has Cy

Just discovered him this weekend and binge watched his spec house series!

Love this one.

Great list. Also really good - Mustie1 who does a lot of old VW "rustoration", and South Main Auto, who's a whiz with electronic diagnosis tools. I've learned a lot from these channels.

+1 for Mustie1

I would add to this list Matthias Wandel, who has tutorial videos about making his own jigs and tools from wood, including a a 20" bandsaw from plywood. He also invented a "pantorouter", which allows a router to follow a template at 2:1 scale.

I used to think it was great, but now I think about a powermatic bandsaw.

(AvE was involved. I chose wood shop because he said there weren't any old welders i.e. they don't live long)

ever seen a welder wearing a mask? I really haven't. But, I've seen many welders breathing stick welding fumes through a lit filter cigarette...sigh.

As someone who welds as a hobby, I'd say the bigger danger for anyone welding is probably grinding dust/silicosis, rather than welding fumes. (But, There are obvious qualifications, like don't weld zinc, etc.)

That's a funny claim. I know welders of all ages. The older ones seem to tend to migrate to other work which requires less physical exertion, but that's true of every job I see.

I don't know any old dancers, but that doesn't mean dancing is lethal. It means they tend to shift to choreography or teaching or something else as they get older.

His tone of voice was really funny. ISTR it was on a video about beginning stick welding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fUAHkUfTps&t=17m34s

Somewhat surprised not to see ClickSpring [1] on your list. Though maybe not so much home-improvement (I'd argue Welding Tips and Tricks isn't so much either), Chris' series on making a skeleton clock shows some top notch craftsmanship, and the production values are amazing.

At the other end of the spectrum (low-tech but maybe considered home-improvement) would be Primitive Technology [2] - an Aussie that builds all manner of things from clay, sticks, vines, and fire.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/clickspring

[2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA

I've found "Acorn to Arabella" [2] to be a wonderful series/channel so far - "building a 38’ sailboat from stump to ship".

"People building things" is easily my favorite genre on YouTube. Old things [0, 1, 2], new things [3, 4], useless things [5], repairing things [6] - all fantastic.

0: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA

1: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjEAxdJLOg4k854j-oESfQ

2: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiDWnTP0WB1xCp6uuUo0VA

3: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvdee86uThqIrloZjWwNVg

4: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq2rNse2XX4Rjzmldv9GqrQ

5: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A

6: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJvsSlrbdhn4PDXdIuLKW...

Man, I can't watch acorn to Arabella after watching them pour that lead keel. That was super dangerous and irresponsible.

Yeah, there were almost certainly far better ways to do that. Not to mention they now have two lead keels, since they haven't done anything with Victoria's... (But I don't remember if they had bought Victoria as a parts ship yet when doing the Arabella pour)

They have seemed to start taking PPE more seriously in recent episodes though, at least for welding bronze.

Victoria had an iron keel.

Well that certainly explains why it wasn't melted down to contribute to Arabella's lead keel then

I would add “The Crazy Framer” to the list. He gives a great insight into production level rough carpentry and also the shear amount of work one person can accomplish in a short amount of time when they are focused and competent.

Matthias Wandel has some excellent woodworking from the perspective of an electrical engineer; Andrew Camarata's channel has hundreds of hours of practical ingenuity and problem solving.

Agreed that there are some real gems on Youtube. What is more, the various presentations work for different people, so finding someone who can explain the process to you in a way you understand is more manageable.

I think the subtext of the article which is that skilled tradespeople are to be admired just as much as skilled professionals (doctors, lawyers, Etc.) is sometimes overlooked.

For young people, especially those who have been told that a STEM job is the only job you can excel at and get respect, this message needs to be surfaced more often. You can be respected and in demand and well paid by mastering a skill that takes practice and experience. You don't need an expensive college degree, you just need a solid mentor.

>>What is more, the various presentations work for different people

This is such an excellent point, and something that really gives YT an advantage. For instance, AvE certainly has some excellent information in his videos, but I personally have found the presentation style (all the channel-specific jargon & toilet humor) increasingly off-putting; while a channel like this old tony still manages humorous content without sacrificing approachablility & technical accuracy.

For another example, there have been multiple people upthread reccomending channels like Abom & OxToolco. I really enjoyed Tom Lipton's (OxTool) book "Metalworking: Sink or Swim"; I just have trouble with the typical length of the videos so I rarely watch them. None of these channels can draw a large enough audience for television, but there's enough space online for these smaller, distinct presentation styles.

It's interesting how AvE has become more bombastic as he's gotten more popular. And for Tom Lipton, his videos are significantly better if you speed them up to 1.5.

Can you really?

A sibling lives near an old industrial center; he drives truck for Sysco. We occasionally discuss different careers. Tool & die makers near him don't make more than truck drivers.

I'm sure there are some examples -- if you can do eg old-style timber framing for people who can afford 10-inch old growth timber and want 30+ foot ceilings, there will always be a handful of well-paying gigs.

But how common are these jobs for people at the, say, 70th percentile of skill rather than 95th?

Don't forget that Roy Underhill in the Woodwright's Shop on PBS is also an intellectual predecessor to people like Paul Sellers.

Oh my goodness, if there was ever a reason to donate monthly to PBS, it’s for the old episodes of the Woodwright’s shop on their “PBS Passport” service.

That show, apart from being educational, is gentle and warm in the same was that the late great Bob Ross makes people feel from his show. It’s salve for the soul.

I discovered that they had many seasons of The Woodwright's Shop on pbs.org freely available while dealing with a bout of the stomach flu. That show is great. Even my three year old daughter enjoys it.

When I was a kid my parents took me on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. My Dad is an amateur woodworker and while we were walking down a dirt road in the colonial district area, Roy Underhill was working alone in the front yard of one of the houses and my father recognised him (he's a huge fan of The Woodwright's Shop) and walked over to say hello and thank him. He was a great guy, super friendly and totally cool about talking shop. I took of picture of them together that I still have.

Anyway, without that PBS show I would have never gotten into hand-tooled woodworking.

Oh man, what a great story! I’m usually scared to meet my heroes, because I don’t want to be disappointed. Glad to know Underhill was able to live up to you and your dad’s expectations.

I always wanted to see a crossover episode that had both Roy Underhill and Norm Abrams -- two extreme opposite ways of woodworking (hand tools vs cool power toys). Would be really entertaining to see how they would approach a similar project.

Roy Underhill is so damn good. I guess I thought I'm the only person that used to watch that show.

>I don't feel particularly concerned by the espoused narrative that skill is being replaced by drama on TV.

This isn't even that new; your post reminds me of Orange County Choppers, supposedly a show about custom-made motorcycles. I tried watching this once or twice, many years ago (10+), when it first came out, thinking I'd get to see some interesting welding and such. No, I just saw a bunch of yelling and arguing. And this was on the "Discovery Channel".

I was super bummed to see there is basically zero technical creativity of any kind that goes into those choppers, all have the same geometry and huge v twin engine. Now I get its more a visual work of art but I could care less what kind of flames are painted on the gas tank and can’t imagine who pays 20K for these.

Matt Risinger. My hero, although would love him to do more of an "amazing quality on a budget price" diversion.

We love Matt's work. We just watched his series on ICF construction as part of getting ready for a project we have.

We also like Anna White's construction videos since she and her husband build in cold environments whereas Matt is often talking about Texas projects.

I think Marc Spagnuolo (the Wood Whisperer) belongs on the top of this list. Wonderful content and teaching style that helped me go from a noob to producing quality hardwood furniture in a matter of months.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheWoodWhisperer

I would add Matt Jackson and his Next Level Carpentry channel on YouTube. He's a true craftsman, and as far from drama as you can imagine. Definitely worth viewing.

[edit to make the channel name obvious]

Nice. Came here to mention Paul Sellers too.

Humorist Adam Carolla has pointed out several times on his podcast that guys who work with their hands (his examples have been car guys and carpenters) don't have time to worry about the drama-filled escapades that the creative types or the white collar types engage in every day. Having worked in both there seems to be some validity in this.

This is a pretty big generalization. If you've stepped foot in many construction sites and seen no "drama" between workers, you weren't paying attention.

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