The Smallest Tool Adam Savage Has Ever Made!

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For his new watchmaker's lathe, Adam has acquired an equally small 4-jaw chuck--a critical item for operating the lathe. For this chuck, Adam has to machine the smallest tool he's ever made for a One Day Build: a t-handle chuck key to tune and make it useful. A super precise and satisfying machining operation on his large lathe to make his smaller lathe work!
Adam's watchmakers lathe: • Adam Savage's New Mini...
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Shot by Adam Savage and edited by Norman Chan
Music by Jinglepunks
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!

[@tested]

For Black Friday & Cyber Week only, iFixit bundles and toolkits are 20% off (US/CA/AU)! For U.S. customers, iFixit is also offering discounts up to 75% off products in their sale collection and free standard domestic shipping of all orders over $80 US with code FREESHIP. Visit ifixit.com/tested

[@Bad_Wolf_Media]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is NOT the point of the video, but it's nice to see what Adam was doing on my birthday. 🤣

[@danriehl4244]

This is peak Adam: sings the praises of a 4 Jaw Chuck, proceeds to use the 6 Jaw anyways. Never change, man!

[@johnabbottphotography]

Adam interrupting his explanation of what he's doing to tell us that Ricky Lee Jones is the shit, is peak Adam. Love you, sir.

[@tested]

Yes. This.

[@erikdietrich2678]

Seeing very tiny parts being made with a (comparatively) very large machine conveys just how accurate and precise the very large machine is in an intuitive way not otherwise easily described.

[@joepie221]

I would agree. :)

[@MrRedstoner]

@@joepie221 Looks like we got personal experience in the house. I would love to see some cuts on the tiny machines for comparison

[@bobbob8229]

When looking for your first lathe -- remember; you can do little work on a big lathe -- but you can't do big work on a little lathe 😊

[@arctyrus]

25:33 It's so wholesome to see someone so happy with having the smallest tool. Size really doesn't matter.

[@JohnBodoni]

...if size didn't matter he wouldn't have the tattoo lol

[@akareject]

Having the tools to revive a new tool is such wonderful place to be. 😄

[@lennyghoul]

I'm getting a kick out of this. I was a Machinist (MR) stationed at the NAS Alameda (SIMA SF) Navy base you guys used to shoot many episodes of Mythbusters at. You probably would have loved the shop there 🙂

[@stevenhintz5508]

I made a second chuck key for my 4 jaw that can be chucked into a drill for fast removal if you want to flip the jaws around. Works great

[@chriscmoor]

That is brilliant. Consider your idea stolen. LOL

[@DUIofPhysics]

A really great alternative to 4 jaw chucks if you're doing small stuff is a 5C collet chuck WITH adjustable alignment - usually 4 bolts allowing the whole chuck to slide on it's backplate precisely, so you can zero the runout.

[@thomasbecker9676]

Nothing Adam does requires that level of precision.

[@contraband1543]

I've seen him center to the thousandths on his lathe on his making a base for the weird glass-sphere-inside-out base

[@dominic6634]

​@@contraband1543.005 thousands is industry standard these days. And alot of work is done around. .0005 But Adam does this for fun so not a big deal

[@CullenLorsung42]

​@@contraband1543a collet would be an order or more of magnitude more precise. It's unlikely the rest of that lathe is within a tolerance that small.

[@contraband1543]

@@CullenLorsung42 his lathe has a digital readout down to ten thousandths

[@user-yp9pc3rh6k]

I have Never seen anyone Spit-Polish a machine part before! Way to go Adam!!!

[@brandongreene3213]

I'll never understand how people can do this kind of work and not be immobilized by fear of messing something up. Thanks Mom and Dad.

[@GrayRaceCat]

You lay out your cut lines and sneak up on them slowly when machining. Never rush; in the best case, you will ruin a part; in the worst case, you will get injured. Check dimensions often. Check all measuring tools against Standards before beginning a job and often during the job. Make extra parts so you don't have to start over when one is bad. And finally, you accept that you are human and will make mistakes.

[@Luke-yx5ve]

​@@GrayRaceCatI'd say you mess up enough that you get to a certain point where you know where you can take short cuts or when you need to focus all your attention on it

[@GrayRaceCat]

@@Luke-yx5ve Absolutely!

[@DecanFrost]

Adam, do you have a merit badge for spraying yourself in the face? 😂😂😂

[@chuckkincaid986]

I cold watch adam buuld stuff for days and I literally have!!! Now he needs to use his watch makers lathe and make a watch!!!

[@paulissus8974]

Adam can you or one of your viewers please remind me of the expensive beautifully illustrated coffee table book that you mentioned a while ago about ‘off the wall’ things, I believe it was by a French or Belgium author? Thanks.

[@itarry4]

Your drill bit was off centre when you used it on the lathe not sure it made a difference but you can see it move to find the hole by eye on the video. Maybe check if things are straight.

[@GrayRaceCat]

His tailstock needs adjusting.

[@Rankoldbeast_UK]

Quickest I've ever been to a tested vid

[@dvn.s_0069]

I guess you could say those jaws came in clutch when you needed it most.

[@calvinthomas1642]

Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance... I love the sound of Adam singing great songs while he works 😁

[@falconwind00]

Now I really want Adam to make himself a set of Robertson screwdrivers.

[@mchase60]

I have an adjustable 3 jaw on my lathe. You can indicate the work piece in after it is chucked up.

[@LenserX]

I could watch Adam build tools all day. In fact I have!😄. Watching this one had me wondering how long it will be before we are treated to a work bench resurfacing video.

[@OscarSommerbo]

Abom79 has awesome videos where he explains how to use a four-jaw chuck. The videos are a couple of years old at this point, but still worth a watch if you are unsure about how to utilize your four-jaw chuck. But he also uses self centring chucks, because not everything NEEDS the four-jaw and it takes time to dial in a work piece in a four-jaw.

[@thomasbecker9676]

Yeah, 4-jaws aren't really necessary if you're turning everything down without removing the part. I used to watch Abom religiously until a few years ago.

[@OscarSommerbo]

@@thomasbecker9676 Same here, once the new shop was completed his content shifted to topics I'm less interested in, tools and cnc machining. It's his channel of course, but I find his change in content killed my enjoyment of it.

[@ponyboyc]

He went from an employee doing work and explaining how to do it to his own shop owner and not doing as much work

[@thomasbecker9676]

@@OscarSommerbo I got irritated at him getting incredibly expensive machinery for free, using it a few times, and then letting it sit and rust once the sponsorship ended.

[@grahamstretch6863]

I was going to suggest Adam’s (Abom79’s) video on 4 jaw centring. He used a 4 jaw for almost everything until he was sponsored a 6 jaw self centring chuck. Unfortunately it is the success of a channel that brings the sponsorship deals which can wreck the channel for the dedicated viewers, very much a catch 22 situation. Recently Adam has gone back to doing more manual machining as well as some cnc work, getting a bit closer to the old format.

[@_interficere]

This is great. Adam has a new lathe, Inheritance Machinig got a new lathe, all we need now is This Old Tony to get a new lathe😊

[@hyperiondan]

You should have left an extra 3/4 inch on the back of that key after the t handle, and put a knurled knob for 'fast mode' so you could spin it in 2 fingers.

[@TSKseattle]

The days of LP albums is sorely missed. I collected so much great music that I don't go back to. You mention Ricky Lee Jones and I paused and went to listen again - and now I want to spend the day listening to Ricky. What an amazing talent.

[@glockparaastra]

Thanks for the chronovaengineering introduction. I’m enjoying that channel very much. Serious skills!

[@syaoranli7869]

it's so wild to me that he would just "spit" onto the grit paper. This man is operating in another dimension lol

[@user-DeanerMachiner]

When I try to find a happy place your shop is the destination.

[@michaelsteffens3014]

Its evertime awesome to watch how you create stuff , i know the magic feeling to create too , Thanks for every shared project !

[@neurokinetik]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person that thinks of that song when I hear the words "chuck key" lol

[@svgalene465]

Not only do I know my Rickie Lee Jones, I once sat at Chuck E. Weiss’s personal booth at Cantor’s Deli in Los Angeles.

[@donevans1884]

brilliant video Adam , you make it look so so easy , awesome .

[@SevenBates]

"I'm just beaming cuz it's nice to be able to make stuff" ❤

[@adhawk5632]

I've just done a combination of this vid and the tailstock chuck vid, a 80mm 4 jaw chuck with a collar that fits my reduced point MT2 live center. It works great, the 4 jaw lets you dial in the tail runout👍👌🇦🇺

[@dylanmeyer2362]

Sorry Adam I don’t mean to cause any problems on the other video of your lathe I love your shows and videos and if I ever meet you I would love to shake your hand I am a huge fan you practically made up all of my childhood so thank you for being an inspiration to learn more.. spelling and punctuation however, aren’t included.

[@zekeallmon7122]

Love your videos! I might have missed you going over this in the past.. but until I worked on a manufacturing line years ago, I had no idea what, or how small a micron was. We had posters, showing one micron as a circle, inside a much larger circle as a comparison. The larger circle represented the size in microns of a single human hair or approximately 70 microns. I think other viewers might appreciate knowing just how small a micron is ;)

[@travisberg9031]

As a gunsmith, i would dial in and chamber 20 barrels a day, with a tolerance of .0005 maximum. Takes around 60 seconds to set up and dial in. I could teach Anyone how to do it in less than an hour. It feels really good to spin that chuck and watch the arrow Not Move...

[@ruebenjohnson6920]

Can we be best friends yet!? Been machining for 11 years now. Absolutely love that you have transitioned in machine shop builds. ❤️❤️❤️

[@jrkorman]

The chuck key is nice, good work. However, in the end; day to day. Get a #2 phillips screwdriver, cut the end off and grind the square drive on the remaining end. Much more useful with these small chucks. That's about the same size as the 4-jaw on my Unimat!

[@nathkrupa3463]

Great video Mr Adam sir 👏 😊

[@somethinggeeky]

For cleaning I would have used an ultra sonic cleaner. With your solvent of choice of course. I am always amazed at how much dirt those things can pull out of things.

[@motogeee510]

I love mythbusters! But adam ur channel is an has become a must watch ⌚️ . Its been really insightful into ur daily task an what makes u tick at the same time. Ur ghosted fan.

[@keithmcauslan943]

When you re-assembled it did not look like you alternated tightening the screws on the back. I found that odd. I have this habit of alternating everything I tighten back up backs of laptops.

[@GrayRaceCat]

A good practice no matter what you are assembling.

[@jaybrown564]

Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Simon ("Train in the Distance"): Love this added dimension.

[@CarboniteDreamer]

lol the two chucks look like father and son lol. "come with me son and i'll teach you the family business."

[@bradley9856]

that little chuck is so cute

[@richardcooke9948]

I operated a W&S #5 with a 3 jaw chuck that was adjustable. The chuck was adjustable not the jaws.

[@captaintortuga3191]

I would love to see Adam replicate that whole chuck from scratch.😁

[@loofy26]

Thanks a lot for the teaching, you answered about 10 questions i was wondering for a huge chunck of my life. i love that feeling to finally understanding stuff you were curious about. cheers from France

[@Mengmoshu]

I love that he mentions Tom Lipton, because I remember Tom making a chuck key for 4-jaw chucks. But it was a prank version to get Adam Booth (Abom79) by "breaking" during a 4-jaw duel at a machinist get together a few years ago.

[@EgaoKage]

That little key certainly is adorable and I'm sure it will be a joy to use. Still, the pragmatist in me can't help but wonder, wouldn't a square-drive bit have fit just fine; or 'well enough'?

[@markhenkel2484]

Seen Rickie on Saturday Night Live. Loved her since then.

[@archivist17]

Chuck key's in love...🎵🎶

[@archivist17]

Dang! I got to 12mins in, and he made the same awful joke! 😂

[@Doktor_Calamari]

Making a Chuck-key should be Child's Play. 😜

[@Doesnotcare12]

My old boss would give me into trouble if he saw a 3 jaw chuck on a machine. If the job was too small for the four jaw, make an aluminium tube with the I.d of the o.d of the part and cut a slot. Now it was larger it would fit. Old school things, including having to measure everything imperial when we are a metric nation. In the oil industry, it's probably 60% imperial drawings to metric in Scotland anyway, so his stubborn oldmanness was the best thing ever even though I hated it back then.

[@endeavor11]

Adam's statement at 15:06 reminds me of Raising Arizona, "Gale : All right, ya hayseeds, it's a stick-up. Everybody freeze. Everybody down on the ground. Feisty Hayseed : Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see..." Adam at 15:06 "opp, all right, 3/8...3125", well, which one is it? :)

[@seththomas2490]

A quick video on how the jaw go back into the chuck in the correct orientation would be beneficial for viewers I believe. Just a thought. Cheers !!!🎉

[@Jkirk3279]

You should do a review on the Juki LU 563 sewing machine hook mechanism. The SPEED of the mechanism is so fast that an ungrounded head will build up a static charge in the hook. And even that static charge spinning at 3,000 RPM will create a magnetic pull sufficient to pull the sewing machine needle off course ! Followed by a heart breaking “snap” when the needle collides.

[@krabkit]

classifying this as "the smallest tool you have made" would depend heavily on several definitions, such as "tool" and "make". when does something like a paperclip change from an object to a tool? and how much manipulation is required for it to count as making vs modifying that tool?

[@mchase60]

For small diameters on a small lathe, a collet is the most accurate.

[@DERTOBL]

No.

[@matthewridgeway9250]

Rickie Lee Jones loves a good chuck. Be sure to send her a link to your video Adam.

[@fullmetalpenguin]

I am sure there are people who don’t turn a keyless drill chuck the wrong way before turning it the correct way, but I am not one of them, nor, apparently, is Adam.

[@TheSound0fThunder]

"Rickie Lee Jones is the shit." is my main takeaway from this video, hahaha.

[@bertassellodavide1297]

Adam ❤

[@lbrentevans]

Adam: displays large 4 jaw Chuck and beautifully explains why 4 jaw Chuck is most accurate for precision machine work. Also Adam: proceeds to use similarly sized self centering 6 jaw Chuck for machining parts for 4 jaw Chuck he is repairing. Why am I not surprised?

[@sjowol]

I was wondering this exact thing, albeit in a less condescending way....

[@lbrentevans]

@@sjowol oh, no, not condescending. I find it hilariously on-brand.

[@juacodiazz]

Love the Puddles Pitty Party Sticker

[@mistral2706]

I love my ifixit set. I use it all the time

[@tested]

Right?!

[@eric_has_no_idea]

I've heavily used the tech-kit from them I bought in 2015. Only issue is I broke the plastic case.

[@eric_has_no_idea]

I've heavily used the tech-kit from them I bought in 2015. Only issue is I broke the plastic case. I've used it on hundreds of repairs professionally, and now that I'm out of that game, personally. Added various tools from them over the years, never disappointed.

[@wwickeddogg]

Why didn't you leave the cross piece of the chuck key loose with a ball on each end so it could slide to the side for leverage or to be out of the way?

[@thewrench324]

Oh yes, the figure 8!samding partern!

[@frrapp2366]

i picked up an old Montgomery Wards -- (logan) 10 in lathe earlier this year and had to tear down the 4 jaw for it too

[@grebz]

I would have thought that the smaller scale of the little chuck would give diminishing returns on accuracy below what you're able to measure?

[@billbucktube]

In the “switch room” at the phone company we had a plethora of oils and greases for the switches. I wonder where one could find out what kind of oil is necessary for different lubrication points? Some oils evaporate others polymerize. No polymerizing oils in extremely tight tolerance locations, don’t want to glue them together while sitting idle. In that teensy chuck tolerances look very tight.

[@allangibson8494]

WD-40 is specifically designed to leave a waxy water proof coating on what it is used on. (CRC-5.56 is similar). CRC 2.26 (electrical lubricant) leaves a light oil behind (similar to sewing machine oil). Most modern automotive oils are specifically designed to leave a persistent oil film (and in some cases a fluorocarbon film). Straight run oils don’t (but also provide worse startup wear and corrosion protection).

[@matterwiz1689]

4-jaw-chuck sounds like the nickname for an alien named charles and ever since i realized that they have never been the same to me.

[@matterwiz1689]

he's a trucker from the southern arm of the andromeda galaxy

[@benjaminshaw80]

I have made a couple of Chuck keys, nothing that small. However I have needed to harden the square as they like to round off the smaller they are. I usually just case harden them with Cherry Red.

[@beaverc2884]

Adam why don't you clap your Clap board like they do in the production of TV shows or movies? 😊

[@swissfreek]

Huh, it never occurred to me to use Lock-Tite to bond anything other than threaded items. Cool!

[@aaron.bailey]

Tower Records 🤘

[@shelleyking8450]

The irony of your using a SELF-CENTERING chuck to make the "concentric center" of your tiny, super-accurate four jaw chuck is palpable.

[@Idiomatick]

The 4jaw one is adjustable though so it doesn't matter

[@MrGreenAKAguci00]

​@@Idiomatickit doesn't, but you know...

[@TheScramble8]

Was just thinking that. Made me smile

[@Triaxx2]

Watching the clipper tool on the lathe come in is like watching a sea monster hove into view.

[@packingbacon]

4 jaw chuck is most accurate....minutes later......uses self centering chuck

[@devonjarvis6661]

Curtis from Cutting Edge Engineering has the next size 4-jaw in the progression. About 700mm in diameter

[@Lord1Eye]

You should 3-D print a cool box for both parts

[@monkeycircus509]

18:59 I see a Puddles Pity Party sticker!!

[@ElvesofZion]

All I can think of with that small chuck key, is the tiny truck keys that came with TechDecks :D

[@CameronMcCreary]

Adam said, "Rickey Lee Jones is the shit," I had to research this on the Internet and it means the best? I had never heard this use of this word before. As a machinist I didn't like the peening up the fit of the chuck part. It should have been made integral with the chuck. 😊

[@toddhazell925]

4 jaw chucks are ideal for accuracy. I don't know anyone who doesn'y use one. To really dial in a job in a 4 jaw chuck that you know the center of, that is to use a wiggler (didn't know of this until I was shown the use of it in a group on FB). A wiggler is a length of truely straight piano wire running through a brass sleave with a spring and collar setup mounted in a tool holder so that it extends along the bed from the work in the chuck and you can dial out the runout (wiggle) at the end of the wire.

[@gageguy]

Coaxiality is the word you're looking for. Yes, I'm being smug to Adam Savage.

[@Simon-ui6db]

Blimey, how much masking tape on that clapper

[@renar11d11]

You were on NPR Wait wait don't Tell me today. Reminiscing episode. Funny

[@kraigson]

From time to time He'd tip his heart But each time she withdrew Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance Everybody thinks it's true

[@JohnAlexanderICT]

Welcome to Coolsville....

[@bobbob8229]

Nice how you sprayed your GLASSES with the T-9😅 Try using a waxless car polish on them -- it makes them easier to clean AND fills in the micro scratches 😊😊

[@cgriffin5380]

I throw my glasses on the bench to see as well....

[@benkramer3194]

Rickie Lee Jones and Joni Mitchell are the female singers I remember most from the late 70's early 80's :)

[@Budaniel]

11:14 Adam: "It's not the press fit I wanted, but it's within a thou, so I am actually gonna come in here and peen that." Me: "... How does peeing in that fix anything?"

[@adbirk19]

Maybe put some friction at the both ends of the T-handle. This would make it easier to do the 1 finger fast spin move without your finger slipping off. Ik it's probably not used enough to put more thought into it but had the idea. :)

[@-Jeremiah-]

Ugh Adam, you got T-9 in my eye 😂😂😂

[@joepie221]

Nice job Adam. Be sure to stand to the side when you spin that chuck up for the first time or you'll be wearing all that assembly lube up the left side of your Tee shirt. I also have to go to bat for adjust-tru ( or set-tru ) chucks and say a good 3 jaw or 6 jaw adjustable body chuck is just as good, if not better, than a 4 jaw. If you don't have one, you should treat yourself to one. Oh yea, be careful going down the tiny tool rabbit hole. I hear it can be intoxicating. :) Happy Holidays to you and your team.

[@fredbrooks8347]

Would you consider showing how to “center”a three jaw self centering chuck. I marked the ID jaws to the corresponding jaw guides to replace them with OD jaws and cannot get them to center. In frustration I removed the OD jaws and put the ID jaws in the proper guide slots and now both the ID and OD will not center. Thanks

[@stoner1822]

lol wtf i was literally just looking at one of these made to chuck into a drill! Damn coincidences lol