7 ms·

A Tour of Grant Imahara’s Shop [video]

143 points by vo2maxer 5y ago

V__ 5y ago
It's amazing to see how much respect they have/had for each other and each others work.
- IgorPartola 5y ago
  It broke my heart a little when I found out that Jaime and Adam don’t actually like each other.
  - lkschubert8 5y ago
    They definitely aren't besties, but from everything I've read they have a mutual respect for each other creatively and professionally.
    - Macha 5y ago
      My impression has certainly been that everyone expected them to be best friends, and then when they stated that basically, no, they've got professional respect for each other but aren't at the level where they're seeking out joint projects for post-mythbusters projects or having frequent social contact, people started interpreting it as the other extreme and assuming there was animosity there. Basically on the level of that guy you worked with in a previous job that you're not really going to put in the effort to reach out to as much as you both said you would.
    - me_me_me 5y ago
      As a matter of fact Adam said that its because they had different approaches and characters that contributed to show being interesting. Personally I dont see them not being friends as something bad, they definitely respect each other and their respective skills, they just don't have compatible characters. Its actually a great example of how people who dont 'gel' can work and create amazing things together, as long as they are capable of communicating respectfully with each other.
  - iaw 5y ago
    They aren't friends but to say they "don't like eachother" seems a bit extreme. They both have mutual respect for each other from what I've seen and values the others contributions. They're colleagues in my book.
    - blamazon 5y ago
      One of my friends played college football in the USA and then went to play in the NFL for an elite team. I spent a lot of time “behind the scenes” with him in both cohorts—-at first I was surprised by how cool and impersonal the NFL cohort was. As soon as the game/practice was over, the players would snap into a completely different kind of person, and go back to their own private lives, which was very unlike the college environment where the players spent almost all their waking hours together always during the season. It took me a while to realize that the NFL players were just doing what most people do when they ‘grow up’ and become professionals—they were colleagues, not necessarily friends. I know that there’s good reasons why this happens, but I can’t help but feel that there’s a bit of tragedy in it. We gain personal freedoms as we mature into these types of professional relationships, but lose that unique experience of ultimate comrade-ery, and descend into a ruthless world of competition, even with others on your own team.
      - enobrev 5y ago
        I really appreciate this story, but I'm not sure I agree with seeing this tragically. A working relationship is just something different. There is still emotion, because we're human. But more than anything, there's mutual trust and respect. I have very deep and emotional connections with my family and with my friends, who I trust deeply and call on (and am called upon by) daily. But I wouldn't necessarily trust them with a technical project or start a small business with them or something in that realm. Meanwhile the small startup I work with just released an app yesterday, one with lots of difficult problems that we worked through together to resolve over the past two years. I have such a thorough trust and respect for every member of that team - technical and not. I wouldn't call any of them for a personal issue. I have friends who fall into both categories, but they are few and far between. There's nothing wrong with these relationships, and there's nothing more or less valuable to them. They just work differently and for different reasons. I don't need to be my colleague's best person at their wedding or pall bearer at their sibling's funeral for us to have a long and solid relationship building amazing things. I don't need to start a business with my wife or teach my kid how to program for us to have full lives together. It's not all competition and ruthlessness.
  - Gustomaximus 5y ago
    I had similar response but then also like this is the case. Especially in today's more divided environment it's a nice example people can get on well, be professional and productive and they don't have to do this based on whether they like each other personally. It kinda comes down to good manners and courtesies. I feel these are far more important for society than we give them credit for.
Macha 5y ago
The one thing that I find different and sometimes a bit jealous of people who's passion is in some or multiple forms of making is the idea of having a bunch of projects and stuff to show. Of course there's the practical and sometimes relationship implications of finding the space to store it, but a bunch of in-progress woodworking projects looks impressive in a way that a desktop and NAS containing a bunch of in progress coding projects don't.
- 542458 5y ago
  As somebody who has those sorts of projects, all I feel is guilt when I look at the unfinished ones. At least with code you can shove it in a folder and forget about it…
  - abakker 5y ago
    This is very real. I have a 2000 lb milling machine taken part right now and it just depresses me when I go into my shop and I don’t work on it.
  - jld 5y ago
    I actually had the idea of "hobby as a service". Create a catalog of a few dozen hobbies to start, and build boxes that are a foothold to the hobby. Could be: - a cheap ukulele, tuner, with a link to some youtube lessons - a drawing pad and box of pens with some tips on figure drawing - a whittling knife and some wooden spoon blanks. You receive the box and give it a try. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't but you can always put the stuff back in the box and return the items and receive another hobby to try without the dread of having a drawer full of nice spoon carving knives that you thought you'd love but are now just a symbol of your abandoned dreams.
    - 0_____0 5y ago
      two thoughts floated by in quick succession when I read this 1: whoa like a hobby library? 2: that's a hackerspace
    - fragmede 5y ago
TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
> Grant Masaru Imahara was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, television host, and actor. He was best known for his work on the television series MythBusters, on which he designed and built numerous robots and specialized in operating computers and electronics to test myths.
- imglorp 5y ago
  To say nothing of working on R2-D2, BB8, and Robot Wars.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
imglorp 5y ago
How nice to have the maker gods remember Grant in his happy place, nerding over his stuff, surrounded by his accomplishments: he would have been thrilled.
bink 5y ago
I'm struggling with a mixture of sadness and desire to build my own shop. The answer was obvious for Grant but how does a normal person decide to go all out and build something like that versus just trying to find space in the garage for yet one more thing?
- jld 5y ago
  Where I live, I think a shop space like that would cost a couple thousand dollars a month. Lots of hobbies cost that much (boats, rvs, cars, vacation homes, etc) so it's not outrageous, but also more than I think I could justify given that making do in my basement has no added expense. If your hobby is making and building, embrace that fact and decide whether it's worth the leap. It might be a great life choice.
- fridif 5y ago
  If you are not comfortable spending x amount of money on one of your interests (which is totally a valid feeling to have), then it is time to prioritize and innovate! Necessity is the mother of all invention.
new299 5y ago
One of the things that’s interesting about looking at workshops is the “shop-smell” and how it seems to tell you a lot about a project/company. I remember walking into the workshop at one well funded startup , and seeing they were using dollar store screwdrivers. Practically speaking, for what they were doing you could say it didn’t really matter. But it was also sitting next to a piece of equipment that was never used, and cost $50000. I wouldn’t say it’s always the case, but it left me with a poor impression and a feeling that something was off. Later this did indeed turn out to be the case.
- leahbarton 5y ago
  Can we get some more details please...
  - new299 5y ago
    Probably not in a public forum. But if anyone wants to reach out, it’s always fun to chat (contact info in profile).
- CapitalistCartr 5y ago
  I use hand tools, including screwdrivers, daily in my job. So they are good ones that grab the screw and feel comfortable. My tools are made by commonly recognized names. Anyone that uses hand tools frequently should know why dollar store tools are a poor choice. I'd take it as a bad sign, too.
  - new299 5y ago
    Yep, they weren’t directly assembling prototypes but still… probably using on a daily basis. It’s interesting though. Watching this video you see the CNC mill and think wow that was probably expensive and likely didn’t get a lot of use, but would have been fun (which they confirmed). But the relatively inexpensive drawer of screws really was something you look at and say: a) oh wow, I want and would use that. b) this person really had a use for this, thought and cared about what they were doing. All these little things, and the stories they tell are fascinating to me.
fknorangesite 5y ago
Love the 'main engineering' plate outside the door.
splonk 5y ago
Since Adam makes an offhand comment about he and Grant having very different styles in terms of precision and cleanliness, here's what his workshop looked like ~7 years ago (although as far as I can tell Google's killed the easter egg where you could find it by going down a manhole in Street View): https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7539106,-122.4206627,2a,75y,307.64h,77.91t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOwMxd3suDecAAAAGOvMi_w!2e0!3e2!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7539106,-122.4206627,2a,75y,... I believe he also has plenty of videos on Tested that would show the current state of things.
- runj__ 5y ago
  I _know_ that all actors on all shows share some kind of relationship. Adam was one of the first I saw to show his off screen life (probably in some kind of persona). It's both interesting and sad seeing Adam relating to a former friend, I've seen him acting and I've seen him "not acting". I'm thankful they did this video.
literallyaduck 5y ago
I know he is a stranger on the television, but seeing the loss of Grant and seeing his colleagues look over his workspace really hit hard. Grant's interest and mastery of robotics was and is still an inspiration to many. I truly believe he loved his work and will be missed by many close friends he never met.
slig 5y ago
His WFH desk, from March 2020: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUDavYbVAAAd-VU?format=jpg&name=large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUDavYbVAAAd-VU?format=jpg&name=... (direct link because twitter apparently doesn't like anonymous users anymore).
- rhizome 5y ago
  I feel like my noticing and caring that he's working on one of those flimsy white plastic folding picnic tables is exactly why I (probably!) won't ever be this advanced in my hobbies. Focused on insignificant details from the start (yes I know, a firm work surface is also good ;).
dang 5y ago
Url changed from https://www.tested.com/show-and-tell/a-tour-of-grant-imaharas-shop/ https://www.tested.com/show-and-tell/a-tour-of-grant-imahara..., which points to this.

143 points by vo2maxer 5y ago

V__ 5y ago

It's amazing to see how much respect they have/had for each other and each others work.

IgorPartola 5y ago
It broke my heart a little when I found out that Jaime and Adam don’t actually like each other.
- lkschubert8 5y ago
  They definitely aren't besties, but from everything I've read they have a mutual respect for each other creatively and professionally.
  - Macha 5y ago
    My impression has certainly been that everyone expected them to be best friends, and then when they stated that basically, no, they've got professional respect for each other but aren't at the level where they're seeking out joint projects for post-mythbusters projects or having frequent social contact, people started interpreting it as the other extreme and assuming there was animosity there. Basically on the level of that guy you worked with in a previous job that you're not really going to put in the effort to reach out to as much as you both said you would.
  - me_me_me 5y ago
    As a matter of fact Adam said that its because they had different approaches and characters that contributed to show being interesting. Personally I dont see them not being friends as something bad, they definitely respect each other and their respective skills, they just don't have compatible characters. Its actually a great example of how people who dont 'gel' can work and create amazing things together, as long as they are capable of communicating respectfully with each other.
- iaw 5y ago
  They aren't friends but to say they "don't like eachother" seems a bit extreme. They both have mutual respect for each other from what I've seen and values the others contributions. They're colleagues in my book.
  - blamazon 5y ago
    One of my friends played college football in the USA and then went to play in the NFL for an elite team. I spent a lot of time “behind the scenes” with him in both cohorts—-at first I was surprised by how cool and impersonal the NFL cohort was. As soon as the game/practice was over, the players would snap into a completely different kind of person, and go back to their own private lives, which was very unlike the college environment where the players spent almost all their waking hours together always during the season. It took me a while to realize that the NFL players were just doing what most people do when they ‘grow up’ and become professionals—they were colleagues, not necessarily friends. I know that there’s good reasons why this happens, but I can’t help but feel that there’s a bit of tragedy in it. We gain personal freedoms as we mature into these types of professional relationships, but lose that unique experience of ultimate comrade-ery, and descend into a ruthless world of competition, even with others on your own team.
    - enobrev 5y ago
      I really appreciate this story, but I'm not sure I agree with seeing this tragically. A working relationship is just something different. There is still emotion, because we're human. But more than anything, there's mutual trust and respect. I have very deep and emotional connections with my family and with my friends, who I trust deeply and call on (and am called upon by) daily. But I wouldn't necessarily trust them with a technical project or start a small business with them or something in that realm. Meanwhile the small startup I work with just released an app yesterday, one with lots of difficult problems that we worked through together to resolve over the past two years. I have such a thorough trust and respect for every member of that team - technical and not. I wouldn't call any of them for a personal issue. I have friends who fall into both categories, but they are few and far between. There's nothing wrong with these relationships, and there's nothing more or less valuable to them. They just work differently and for different reasons. I don't need to be my colleague's best person at their wedding or pall bearer at their sibling's funeral for us to have a long and solid relationship building amazing things. I don't need to start a business with my wife or teach my kid how to program for us to have full lives together. It's not all competition and ruthlessness.
- Gustomaximus 5y ago
  I had similar response but then also like this is the case. Especially in today's more divided environment it's a nice example people can get on well, be professional and productive and they don't have to do this based on whether they like each other personally. It kinda comes down to good manners and courtesies. I feel these are far more important for society than we give them credit for.

Macha 5y ago

The one thing that I find different and sometimes a bit jealous of people who's passion is in some or multiple forms of making is the idea of having a bunch of projects and stuff to show. Of course there's the practical and sometimes relationship implications of finding the space to store it, but a bunch of in-progress woodworking projects looks impressive in a way that a desktop and NAS containing a bunch of in progress coding projects don't.

542458 5y ago
As somebody who has those sorts of projects, all I feel is guilt when I look at the unfinished ones. At least with code you can shove it in a folder and forget about it…
- abakker 5y ago
  This is very real. I have a 2000 lb milling machine taken part right now and it just depresses me when I go into my shop and I don’t work on it.
- jld 5y ago
  I actually had the idea of "hobby as a service". Create a catalog of a few dozen hobbies to start, and build boxes that are a foothold to the hobby. Could be: - a cheap ukulele, tuner, with a link to some youtube lessons - a drawing pad and box of pens with some tips on figure drawing - a whittling knife and some wooden spoon blanks. You receive the box and give it a try. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't but you can always put the stuff back in the box and return the items and receive another hobby to try without the dread of having a drawer full of nice spoon carving knives that you thought you'd love but are now just a symbol of your abandoned dreams.
  - 0_____0 5y ago
    two thoughts floated by in quick succession when I read this 1: whoa like a hobby library? 2: that's a hackerspace
  - fragmede 5y ago

TedDoesntTalk 5y ago

> Grant Masaru Imahara was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, television host, and actor. He was best known for his work on the television series MythBusters, on which he designed and built numerous robots and specialized in operating computers and electronics to test myths.

imglorp 5y ago
To say nothing of working on R2-D2, BB8, and Robot Wars.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

imglorp 5y ago

How nice to have the maker gods remember Grant in his happy place, nerding over his stuff, surrounded by his accomplishments: he would have been thrilled.

bink 5y ago

I'm struggling with a mixture of sadness and desire to build my own shop. The answer was obvious for Grant but how does a normal person decide to go all out and build something like that versus just trying to find space in the garage for yet one more thing?

jld 5y ago
Where I live, I think a shop space like that would cost a couple thousand dollars a month. Lots of hobbies cost that much (boats, rvs, cars, vacation homes, etc) so it's not outrageous, but also more than I think I could justify given that making do in my basement has no added expense. If your hobby is making and building, embrace that fact and decide whether it's worth the leap. It might be a great life choice.
fridif 5y ago
If you are not comfortable spending x amount of money on one of your interests (which is totally a valid feeling to have), then it is time to prioritize and innovate! Necessity is the mother of all invention.

new299 5y ago

One of the things that’s interesting about looking at workshops is the “shop-smell” and how it seems to tell you a lot about a project/company. I remember walking into the workshop at one well funded startup , and seeing they were using dollar store screwdrivers. Practically speaking, for what they were doing you could say it didn’t really matter. But it was also sitting next to a piece of equipment that was never used, and cost $50000. I wouldn’t say it’s always the case, but it left me with a poor impression and a feeling that something was off. Later this did indeed turn out to be the case.

leahbarton 5y ago
Can we get some more details please...
- new299 5y ago
  Probably not in a public forum. But if anyone wants to reach out, it’s always fun to chat (contact info in profile).
CapitalistCartr 5y ago
I use hand tools, including screwdrivers, daily in my job. So they are good ones that grab the screw and feel comfortable. My tools are made by commonly recognized names. Anyone that uses hand tools frequently should know why dollar store tools are a poor choice. I'd take it as a bad sign, too.
- new299 5y ago
  Yep, they weren’t directly assembling prototypes but still… probably using on a daily basis. It’s interesting though. Watching this video you see the CNC mill and think wow that was probably expensive and likely didn’t get a lot of use, but would have been fun (which they confirmed). But the relatively inexpensive drawer of screws really was something you look at and say: a) oh wow, I want and would use that. b) this person really had a use for this, thought and cared about what they were doing. All these little things, and the stories they tell are fascinating to me.

fknorangesite 5y ago

Love the 'main engineering' plate outside the door.

splonk 5y ago

Since Adam makes an offhand comment about he and Grant having very different styles in terms of precision and cleanliness, here's what his workshop looked like ~7 years ago (although as far as I can tell Google's killed the easter egg where you could find it by going down a manhole in Street View): https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7539106,-122.4206627,2a,75y,307.64h,77.91t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOwMxd3suDecAAAAGOvMi_w!2e0!3e2!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7539106,-122.4206627,2a,75y,... I believe he also has plenty of videos on Tested that would show the current state of things.

runj__ 5y ago
I _know_ that all actors on all shows share some kind of relationship. Adam was one of the first I saw to show his off screen life (probably in some kind of persona). It's both interesting and sad seeing Adam relating to a former friend, I've seen him acting and I've seen him "not acting". I'm thankful they did this video.

literallyaduck 5y ago

I know he is a stranger on the television, but seeing the loss of Grant and seeing his colleagues look over his workspace really hit hard. Grant's interest and mastery of robotics was and is still an inspiration to many. I truly believe he loved his work and will be missed by many close friends he never met.

slig 5y ago

His WFH desk, from March 2020: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUDavYbVAAAd-VU?format=jpg&name=large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUDavYbVAAAd-VU?format=jpg&name=... (direct link because twitter apparently doesn't like anonymous users anymore).

rhizome 5y ago
I feel like my noticing and caring that he's working on one of those flimsy white plastic folding picnic tables is exactly why I (probably!) won't ever be this advanced in my hobbies. Focused on insignificant details from the start (yes I know, a firm work surface is also good ;).

dang 5y ago

Url changed from https://www.tested.com/show-and-tell/a-tour-of-grant-imaharas-shop/ https://www.tested.com/show-and-tell/a-tour-of-grant-imahara..., which points to this.