Maker Skills: Recent Episodes
Maker Skills
A podcast dedicated to exploring your internal tool kit. Cohosts P.J. Galati, Thomas Baisch and Tanda Headrick navigate unbridled sarcasm, bizarre fictions, amazing deals and occasional sidebars, to bring you information on the skills employed, and enjoyed, by makers. An entertaining romp with some useful insight and information.
Yep Podcasting about Podcasting. It's a thing and then it isn't. Thank you so much for listening. With a secret segment that isn't secret.
The topic this week is Leather Working and our guest is Ethan Carter! Tune in.. or what ever you do with a podcast.
Tom and Tanda were ready to duck out on this class cutting episode, and then they read the title again and tried to come up with something on Glass Cutting.
Episode 100 celebration!! No introduction necessary. This young man is doing all the things and doing them well and he's just a great guy. Listen.. Listen now and enjoy!
If you're the sort that is curating a fine collection of Maker Skills episodes you will want this one to add to your collection. You know that really weird Garbage Pail Kids card that that's just wrong and sort of disgusting. This is that episode. You'll want to listen though, just so you have the full set of 100 next week!
This week's skill is Maker Camping and it was recorded live at The Catskill Mountain Maker's Camp. We have an impromptu guest and Tom just up and leaves. It's okay because he left the FrogPod we were using to hold the mic on a furniture dolly.
For our pottery episode we have none other than Heidi Jacobs. We put her through the gauntlet of marathon MakerSkills podcasting just like all of our other guests and she emerged in tact!... mostly.
Yep, Ridiculousizing just like the name implies. To say it's ridiculous or to say it's typical are one in the same here at the Maker Skills Podcast.
Brazing is the hot topic this week. I mean it's at least hotter than soldering sorta by definition. Listen in and enjoy!
Decluttering. Another skill proposed by a guest and the makerskills crew dives right in and.. well I'm not sure anything was really solved but there is lots of talk and maybe a tip or too and some fun facts. Tune in and enjoy.
Bernie Solo is our guest this week and the topic is metal turning. It's a long one so grab some snacks and listen in. Enjoy!
As is our custom we let last week’s guest pick this week’s episode. Yeah, we’re not too bright but we sure have fun. Hope you’ll give it a listen.
This week on maker skills our guest is Luke from Luke in the Garage. There is much ribbing of one another and possibly some bleeped words. Oh, and a bit of talk about Digital Design.
This week we, well Tom and Tanda anyway, talk about those odd skills you learn as a pastime, to challenge yourself, impress your friends, show up your siblings. PJ, well he's off in a different direction. So, yeah, pretty much the usual fare.
We all have our vises, this week's guest has one called the twin turbo vise. Please welcome... wait this is sounding like a weird late night show episode. We certainly enjoyed visiting with Andy this week on the show and, as is tradition with our inventive guests, we invent something in the secret segment. Give it a listen.
This week we put it all together, two pieces at a time. The topic is Joinery and our guest is Chris from Cowdogcraftworks. Good conversation and info, hope you enjoy.
This week the Maker Skills crew talks with AJ Huff from Design The Everything about metal finishing. PJ gets some great deals, which he refuses to sell to Tom and a good time is had by all. Enjoy.
What the ^%@$??? A Bleeping episode. Yep, weird things happen when plans change and the Maker Skills team still makes an episode.
That's right! You guys are too dirty! We brought the April Spring Cleaning episode back! Now new and improved! Easy wipe off formula! One handed use! Or you can buy some Complex Orange.
Back by popular demand, okay someone asked if we'd do it and we did. Copper Smithing is the topic of this week's episode and with the maker skills crew having a combined copper smithing background in the 10s if not 100s of minutes there will definitely be some great tidbits. These tidbits may have nothing to do with copper smithing but that's beside the point. Enjoy!
Great chat this week with Matt from @thetoolengraver. Tom's loves moving things around so much he's buying giant tools in preparation for moving them across the state and then there's the usual silliness. Give it a listen you wont be sorr... um just give it a listen.
If you thought episode 73 would be the one where things got weird, you might be right, or maybe it's just another typical episode. I guess you will just have to give it a listen to find out.
This we are talking with Keith Decent about rug tufting and of course anything else that comes to mind.
In this week's episode, Tom thinks the topic is wrenching in general, PJ thinks it's bicycle repair and Tanda thinks the topic is 3D modeling. Eventually they all get on the same page and talk about their first bicycle, which of course isn't technically any of these topics.
This week the maker skills bunch is talking about pyrography, 3D printing, the invention of the river tree and 2.3 other things we're pretty sure. Hope you will give it a listen!
A great conversation with Paul of Copper Pig Woodworking this week on the podcast. This may be the single most topic focused podcast to date. We're not sure if this sort of actual talk of the topic at hand is on brand but it's certainly worth a listen. Oh, and if you are a patron you're in for something completely different in the secret segment where we talk with Paul about his day job. A little hint, it has absolutely nothing to do with fine woodworking. Enjoy!
What! Wilderness Survival Skills? Yes, we let guests choose our next episode topic and this is where we go. It's good fun for all involved. For those looking to just pull the trigger today, bug out, and just live off the land in a hut made of straw, this is absolutely NOT the podcast for you. You should probably be getting your stuff packed up. However, if you need something to listen to while you decided between a hunting knife and multitool walking stick we would appreciate the download.
This week our guest is Keith Johnson aka KJSawdust. The topic is furniture making and Keith does a great job of going along with the Maker Skills usual, sorta out there, antics.
Last week it was suggested 'clamping' would be the topic of this week's podcast. Wait! we already did a clamping episode. hmmm... Non-Clamping? Yep that's the topic of this weeks episode along with some of the usual stuff and filament fandango.
This week our guest is the one and only Izzy Swan and the topic is Productionizing. Lot's of good conversation, advice and tips. Just a generally good chat. The conversation continues with a but of freeform brainstorming in the patron only secret segment.
We didn't lay a brick on this one.. but we did talk about brick laying, and block laying and deals (and 3D printing if you're in for the secret segment).
What's Geeksmithing? Well, I suppose you will just have to listen in to our conversation with Wes from Geeksmithing.com to find out!
The episode is resolutionary! Turns out the MakerSkills crew is not great at making resolutions but they can sure talk about them. If you're looking for an excellent list of tips and tricks to stick to your New Year's resolutions we have good news! Yep, this is a reasonably short episode so as soon as you're done listening you can set about finding just such a list. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!!!
This week our guest is the one and only Rebecca DeGroot and the topic is wood turning. This episode definitely has legs, lots of legs.
Wrapping! Who comes up with these prompts? PJ has decided to leave this episode rough around the edges, so who knows what your ears will find inside.
This week our skill topic is powder coating and we are joined by Chad from Mancrafting.
Has anyone seen winter? PJ is still out getting deals. Some think climate change is caused by cow farts. We're pretty sure its all the hot items Tom and PJ are cranking out on their 3D printers! Crafting is the skill this week and while it comes in at a level of just 1 popsicle stick, we still managed to drum up some love for crafting. Okay, we really aren't even sure what skills count as crafting but that's not the point.
This week on Maker Skills the usual suspects, PJ, Tanda and Tom have a wonderful chat with Anthony Galati about oil painting and of course the usual derailing takes all of them off on other topics as well.
We really missed the opportunity with a title like "Reclaiming" to just replay a remixed old episode. However, it's all new and different! Give it a listen.
This week on Maker Skills our guest is the one and only Tim Sway. Okay, okay, there may be other Tim Sways but Tom and Tanda did the research and if anything else popped up when they googled Tim Sway they were probably distracted and off down a rabbit hole. Enjoy the show!
Reproductionizing: The act of making reproductions. Yeah, we kind of make our own definitions a lot on this podcast. This week we're talking about making reproductions and the skills and tools that go along with reproductionification and reproductionizing. So if you're looking to reproduce... umm well, by the way, we are now in season 2 of Maker Skills! That means the "after the credits" segment will be available on Patreon and we would love your input on what we have to say over there.
This week JD (you may know him as apexish on Instagram) joins the Makerskills bunch to talk fabrication and many of the related skills that go into building big things out of metal. PJ gets great deals on another boat load of tools... where is he putting all of this! Oh, yeah he has a interdimensional storage system. Tom stops wrangling kids and joins in this week and Tanda.. well yeah she's there too.
This week's skill topic comes to us from last week's guest. The topic is engraving, and let me tell you if there's anything our hosts have expertise in... it's not engraving. We've never let a lack of experience stop us before!
This week our guest is the wonderfully talented tool maker and machinist Tony Rouleau. I'm not sure we need to say more! PJ, Tony and Tanda had a great chat. Tom didn't do his research so heended up in the principal's office and had to sit out this show, or maybe he had to tend to a kiddo that wasn't feeling well. We're still not clear on all of the details.
This week we celebrate episode 50 by talking about Product Developizing. PJ got some great deals, or at least some parts to make some deals, or maybe just some stuff to sell as scrap... we're not really sure but he was happy as always. He didn't even kick Tom and Tanda off the show even when they were entirely researchless and fun factless. Tom is on a tear with product design and Tanda made something once that a few people bought.
You Guest it! We had the wonderful and talent Dre of Crafts With Dre on the podcast this week. We talked resin pours, listeners sent in their amazing deals, special order codes for BRUNT Workwear were given. Tom was distracted and a good time was had by all.
Tom has taken on the challenge of creating 100 things in the next 2 years. So basically that's a product each week for 2 years. We thought this was an interesting exercise and, for at least one of the maker skills crew, it brought to mind the word ideation and we ran with it. PJ managed to break a bit of a dry spell by rounding up some deals including lumber at prices that will make you tear up and enough bubble wrap to entertain a youngster well into college. Tom tried to get rid of a table but another one found him and followed him home.
This week, the maker skills crew welcomes Paul Jackman to the show. The skill topic is pallet woodworking and I'm here to say this little snippet of the 5 to 7 hours we discussed pallet woodworking is likely pretty decent. Give it a listen and let us know what you think and consider becoming a patron so that we can afford the outrageous fees demanded by our guests. What you have just read may or may not be true or have any merit. Johnson's Hardware and it affiliates did not endorse this caption.
This week on Maker Skills the usual suspects are absolutely positively talking about Positivity. Is it a skill?, we think it is. It's something that's good to have in your tool belt and definitely something that can be practiced and improved. We're a bit thin on bargains again this week but there are hints of bargains on the horizon.
This week we have another special guest, Graz Makes. All the Maker Skills guests are special, that's why we invite them! Since Graz has been making knives for some time now that's the skill topic jumping off point. Enjoy!
Woodworking has finally made it's way to the Maker Skills podcast. Tanda has found a few things made from wood in her research that might surprise even the most ardent woodworker. PJ has run out of deals and couldn't find anything at any price... we're kidding of course! Tom put in some serious research time this week, we're pretty sure. However, it may not have been related to the podcast. Old Oswald is back to answer listener questions and a big congrats to our newest Maker Skills Patreon member, to whom the podcasters three bestowed a special skill.
Is it the art of haggling or the skill. All we know is that PJ and Tom have it and Tanda may not. PJ has more deals that you can shake a stick at together the maker skills crew designs a great fire pit for Tom... or not.
This week the Maker Skills three are chatting about researching. Tom and PJ both snagged some great deals and Tanda comes clean on her research addiction.
Today we talk about completing projects, but mostly ended up talking about not completing projects. Also, lots of talk about the slip'n slide party that took place this past weekend in up, up ,up state NY.
This week on the Maker Skills Podcast we welcome our first guest, Ben Wilson. The topic is troubleshooting and we visit with Ben to get his take on troubleshooting as well as having him join in on some of the usual segments. Enjoy!
With a topic like Beautification the maker skills gang naturally gravitates to talking about blueberries, astronauts, hooded blankets and chasing turds. PJ scores another locomotive sander, Tom's beautifying has shop furniture and Tanda makes absolutely no mention of leprechauns.
This week's topic is squeezing goo through stencils with screens on top of them. It's more fun than you would think. There are bargain stories, some odd segments and Tom mostly survives so all is well. Give it a listen and let us know what you think over on our Instagram feed @maker.skills
In this episode, the topic is modifying. With an extra week of research Tom and Tanda more than double their usual complete lack of research. You can do the math. PJ does battle with the flakes of FaceBook and old Oswald drops in to answer some listener questions, although he also drops out a few times.
Inventing? Yes, this crew invents stuff on just about every episode. In this episode they talk about it. Sort of meta. PJ sells off a truckload of hand tools, no really, literally a truck load of hand tools and buys some new goodies as well. Big news, Tom DID NOT by another giant machine this week. I'm pretty sure Tanda retells an old story and gets away with it, while Tom and PJ both get flagged for re-using old material.
This week Maker Skills is sticking with the basics. Yep sticking things together is a pretty basic skill and rates a whopping "1" on the maker skill level scale when adjusted for inflation. Should a bandsaw be called a bandsaw, comes up in a new segment about naming things and welding can always be sneaked in under the sticking category. Enjoy!
Flipping tools, flipping people, flipping the bird, you name it this flippin' episode is about "flipping". The intent of course was to talk about buying and and then selling tools in a short period of time. However, the maker skills threesome is easily sidetracked. PJ has finished up a beautiful pinstriped vise, sure to please those with art deco vise vices. Tom has acquired an amazing table saw, yet seems more jazzed about a battery operated die grinder and Tanda questions whether flipping in your fifties is a good idea.
This week PJ hits a huge one stop shop of bargains, including a literal bargain basement. Tanda has purchased a turn of century Witte 2HP hit and miss engine and Tom is convinced she was alive when it was made. The maker skills crew doesn't really know much about rigging but, Hey! if it comes up in the random draw they will happily talk about it. Could you improve on a pirate ship design and make yourself useful?
Most makers are in a constant state of learning. In this episode the Maker Skills crew are talking about just that! The floodgates that were hold back all the bargains have opened up for PJ and Tom... Tom.. are you there? Tom had someone come to pick up a 6000lb Bridgeport with an itty bitty trailer and they were still taking things apart and wrangling it as we recorded the podcast. You had to be there. but you can listen in.
This week on the Maker Skills Podcast, PJ, Tom and Tanda strike a balance between something and something else. Tanda attempts to under-research Tom, Deals are found and the meaning of life and shop balance is well it's.. um, and Old Oswald pops in to answer some listener questions.
After being banned from using "Design" as a skill that pairs well with any other design, we have a whole episode on design. Okay Okay, if you are familiar with the podcast you will know it's just a jumping off point. The deals keep coming for Tom and PJ has wrapped his epic abstract drill press artwork. He's also added a nuclear launch switch to drill press. Tanda, being a math and science fan, is keeping the launch codes from him.
PJ has one heck of a bargain hunting adventure, Tom finds some deals as well. Tanda, well, Tanda thought the episode was on peep hole skills so she's still looking out the little hole in the door for the FedEx guy to arrive with her latest deal.
Is cleaning a maker skill? Are these topics drawn from a hat? What does the hat look like? If you're thinking, "I bet I could make a really cool maker skill hat to draw topics out of", your in the right place, welcome! Yes making the skill hat out of metal is fine as well as silk, epoxy, wood or twine. Tom's snatching up so many of the good deals PJ has resorted to "absolutely free" deals just to one up him.
In this episode your hosts will be drawing on their knowledge of, well drawing. There is talk of spirographs, lucid dreaming, bargain machine tools, and flying monkeys. Wait, one of those may have just been a dream but I'm pretty sure the Maker Skills hosts touched on all of the others. You'll just have to listen.
The bargain hunting slump is ending, and what can't be found on the bargain hunting trail can be 3D printed! PJ joins the 3D printing revolution, and he also looses a bet with Memphis which means Memphis gets to pop it an run amuck on the show for a bit.
In this episode our yammering is about hammering. Tom has quite the bargain retrieving adventure story and Old Oswald checks in again to answer some listener questions. There's a "now for some nonsense" segment that lives up to its name as Tanda decides that PJ is definitely right or Tom is definitely right. As always, seriousness is pretty much out the window.
Now, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down and I'd like to take a minute... wait a minute Tom did you really write this into the script. This week's topic is storytelling and how it relates to making.
This week the topic is sewing. What credentials do the Maker Skills hosts have to talk about sewing? Well a couple of them sewed something once and we're calling that good enough! Tom lets it slip that he actually scripts every detail of the entire podcast. This may or may not be true, but it's what he told us to write in this description. The episode is rounded out by an invention segment which results in a clever use of... well a popular search engine and a popular online store to just buy it.
Can the Maker Skills bunch pivot? Oh yes they can! The history and fun facts section is thin on both, a parenting discussion breaks out, there's singing and stories of picking at the dump, Edna takes to reading the fine print on a Johnson's product against legal advice, and it's a wonder we all survived the fire tornado, clams and refried beans in Yosemite. All that being said, I'm realizing it's a pretty typical episode.
This week’s skill is casting and, as always here on the Maker Skills Podcast, our hosts have a lot of information to share. In some way or another a little bit of that information may or may not be related to casting.
As always Tom and Tanda are 100% prepared with their homework assignments and ready to give a detailed history and interesting facts about carving... We hold this out as proof that alternate realities exist. Okay that may not be entirely accurate for the current reality. Lot's of listener feedback in this episode. Thank you!! and enjoy.
The idea of electrons whizzing about got the Maker Skills bunch really charged up. In fact, they got so carried away that this episode came in well over the usual time. If you're confused about the magic of electricity, and love peanut butter, after listening to this episode you will most certainly still love peanut butter.
Wait, aren't all woodworkers just repurposing trees? This week's show is about repurposing. There's a new segment, where the maker skills bunch brainstorm a new tool, and maybe just maybe we will trick someone into knocking off the idea so we can buy one super cheap.
Sanding is this week's skill topic. If you haven't already guessed, it's a skill class 40 grit. No one is quite sure where that falls on the dial of the maker-skill-o-meter. PJ's patience pays off on a deal he's been stocking for a while. Tom is still trying to figure out the podcast sidebar controls. Argh! those counterfeit knock-offs of maker products. Oh, and now for some postal service nonsense.
Prototyping is the topic of the week and the Maker Skills Three mostly manage to stay on topic. Yes, we were shocked too. It makes for a good jumping off point for some personal stories related to prototyping and of course the usual bits and improvisational segments are there in the mix as always. Enjoy!
This week the the maker skills topic is teaching. As they say, those who can do, and those who can do and teach are called makers!... Some great deals are ferreted out, Oswald drops in to answer some listener questions and the Maker Skills Podcast premier sponsor, Johnson's Hardware, has a new section just for teachers.
Leather working has been around for almost as long as they've been making animals out of leather. This week on Maker Skills the gang talks leather work, helping move things, some great bargain finds, and it's possible a battery powered, snot freezing, imitation mustache, is invented.
Can you ever have enough clamps!? One of the Maker Skills crew claims they have enough clamps. This may be a maker first. The recited history of clamps is somewhat suspicious and may be keeping fact checkers the world over busy for some time to come. Big thanks to our listeners for joining in on the fun via Instagram and playing along with their questions, comments and awesome deals as we head off into 2021.
It's that time of year when we think a bit more about Shop Organization. Where are you going to put all those new tools you got for Christmas, and the ones you picked up so you could make gifts, and the ones you grabbed to organize the ones you have (to make it look like you don't have too many), oh and of course the bargain tools you picked up from the people who were trying to get organized.
Episode 11 is one more. Right across the board 11, 11, 11. When asked how it compares to episode 10 the Maker Skills crew simply said, "but this is episode 11".
This week Tom tells us how he converted some kayaks into cold cash, PJ's vice vices make for some good deals and everyone chimes in on restoration, even Memphis (Only because PJ promised him he could be on the show). We can say that because we're pretty sure Memphis doesn't read these blurbs. Big thanks as always to Johnson's Hardware for the support and good to know they now carry Uncle Crusty's Crud to Chrome!
"Hey I've got an idea. Let's hold our tool still and spin the workpiece!", Og was banished from the cave and never returned, but the passage of time would see his idea vindicated and even used to process materials other than mastodon thigh bones. A big shoutout to all of you who are not only brave enough to listen but have even put forth some questions for Old Oswald!
Taping can be a sticky proposition but that's not stopping the maker skills bunch from chatting about it. For once Tanda has a Dealer's Corner find. So much stuff she doesn't even get around to mentioning it all before she starts getting quizzed. Old Oswald stops in for some talk on gloves and if you stick around long enough this inventive threesome even spills the beans on that time we made a rabbit hole for storing stuff in a pocket dimension.
It's Thanksgiving! Time to weigh that turkey. This week the skill that provides our jumping off point is Measuring. Coming in with a skill class of 2-3/17, it's useful for getting a read on everything from millipedes to whales. Tom buckles up for this episode and the dealer's corner deal has a measurement of "Mother of God deal". We're pretty sure M of G is close to where the tape won't go back into the case. Fisnar for now, it's time to Fishman!
Between the three of them, the Maker Skills crew can maintain just about anything... except maybe a straight face during some of our improv bits. Our buddy Oswald sits in for a chat and provides answers to every question we throw at him. PJ scores another round robin, Tanda unleashes the flow of power to a laser printer and Tom's hanging things from the ceiling, when he's not riding his new generator out to check the mail.
With CNC and modern digital approaches, the design process can be a bit (see what we did there) different. The topic this week is, Design Differences for CNC and other digital fabrication. Tom's excited about some new 3D printers that can roll parts off like a production line, PJ ferrets out some great deals as always and Tanda takes some flack for using big words. Yeah, it's pretty much our typical fair...
This week the maker skills crew talks about welding. PJ makes a huge precision tool hall by outlasting everyone else at a long auction. Tom reminds us that you can get started welding with some coal and a hammer, and Tanda survived a childhood of unsupervised welding just to be on this show. If you've been wanting to learn how to weld, and you've read this far, you should go for it! (despite the lack of any practical welding advice in this episode)
Can these three makers talk about screws and screwing for an hour. Maybe not, if they stayed on topic, but when will that ever happen! P.J. gets something for nothing and Tom is doing a jig over his new tool. Speaking of jigs Tanda is questioning the lack of social distancing among jigsaws in PJs toolbox.
This week we talk about what Tanda refers to simply as cutting things. However, when P.J. asks for a pair of scissors he's off to do some Forced Separation of Items in Conjunction with Honed Edge Trauma. Tom, well Tom has cut down giant redwoods... or maybe it was a two by four?
Our first episode and we are already talking about finishing. No worries P.J., Tanda and Tom are far from finishing this wonderful podcast streak, we are talking about finishing products, well that and who knows what else as usual.
A sample of what's in store from your cohosts; P.J. Galati, Thomas Baisch and Tanda Headrick.
Welcome aboard.
Let's get this thing started and see what kind of crazy, entertaining path we can carve in the podcastosphere!