Adam puts a spotlight on one of his favorite shop tools, the Pica pen(available in black or red). While he has hundreds of markers in the cave, this particular marker stands out for having a tiny point that can fit into corners and holes. It's extremely satisfying to use for tracing and marking up projects--you may have seen it one previous One Day Builds!

A new shop tool appears! This past year, Adam incorporated the Cricut Maker vinyl cutter for making decals for prop builds, and tasked Jen with building a cart to house it along with related materials. Jen designed and built this beautiful shop cart as a vinyl cutting station, a standout addition to the cave's arsenal of tool carts. Find the design for this cart here!

Adam shares a piece that has been in every one of his shops since the early 90s. It's an early manisfestation of his love for making bespoke boxes and carrying cases--a precursor to the ones we've seen him make in One Day Builds. Behold the keys to hell!

Adam adds to his shop infrastructure with a build for one of his new favorite tools: a USB-powered soldering iron. This compact mobile soldering station carries everything Adam needs for simple wire soldering work, and is designed around his own usage patterns and procedures!

Many of you have asked about the tools used in One Day Builds and seen around Adam's workshop, so we're starting a new series putting a spotlight on some of Adam's favorite and most essential tools. Adam starts with his favorite calipers, and explains why it's like having a superpower--to precisely measure!

For Adam's Star-Lord cosplay last year, he assembled a pair of blasters based off of 3D-printed parts. The carbon fiber grips were finished using water transfer film in a process called hydro dipping. Jen Schachter took the lead on that part of the build, and walks Adam through the lessons she learned in wrapping hydrographic film around a complex shape. It's a very rewarding process!

One of the many reasons we love Weta Workshop is the support and encouragement the artists there receive to create their own worlds and explore them in concept art, sculpture, and models. Adam and Norm share the work of master modelmaker David Tremont, who not only is part of the team that makes Weta's detailed collectibles, but documents that work in a series of terrific books: Build Stuff and Let Slip the Androids of War!

Adam shares a sculpture living in his cave that's been in his collection forever. This leather figure is a sculpture by Jeanne Steig, one of Adam's favorite artists. Adam explains why this piece means so much to him, and how Jeanne was one of the first people who encouraged his own artistic sensibilities.

Happy new year! We kick off 2020 with a new One Day Build from Adam's cave. Adam's making a gaslamp-inspired lantern using to coincide with a future project, and the lighting and electronics are something you can follow along to apply to your own builds!

Adam caps off our staff's favorite things video series this year with his list of favorite stuff from 2019. It starts with his favorite new hat, and includes tools, books, a mind-blowing fan creation, and an awesome organization worth supporting. Thank you for watching our videos this past year and continuing to support us, and we'll see you in 2020!

Tested video producer Joey shares some of his favorite things of the year, including LED light tubes he's used on video shoots, cook books, a drawing app for iPad, and tabletop games!

Ariel, host of our Offworld space and science fiction show, shares a few of her favorite books, tools, and projects. Check out this D-I-Y cloud chamber build for visualizing cosmic rays, get a free e-book from NASA, and see how Ariel keeps track of project ideas and to-do lists. Stay tuned for more Offworld in 2020!

Sean's favorite things of 2019 are a delightful mix of filmmaking collectibles and workshop tools. Two come from the world of Weta Workshop, two tools help with electronics and modelmaking, and Sean also brings an incredible Ghostbusters prop replica that recently completed!

Fabricator Jen Schachter worked alongside Adam on this year's Savage Builds, and works with him on numerous projects in the cave. She shares a few of her favorite tools she uses for those builds, which are all about joining things together!

Kishore's favorite things list is wide-ranging, from an essential piece of cosplay tech to science books to robotics kits to build with your kids. But the things that made the biggest difference in his life this past year are related to, shall we say, waste management.

It's Jeremy's favorite time of year--sharing his favorite electronics kits and tools. This year, Jeremy gushes over tabletop game that's actually a learning tool for understanding how computers work, a starter project for aspiring Arduino programmers, an essential work light, and his favorite VR headset!

Model maker and fabricator Kayte Sabicer shares her favorite things from this year, including paint powders for weathering, a precision rule, reusable water bottle, and her favorite kind of two-part epoxy. Essential stuff for any shop!