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Adam Savage’s Tested
Adam Savage's Hardware Organization Mistake!
⏱ 23 min video · 2 min read13 May 2026
TL;DR
Adam Savage responds to community feedback about a poorly-placed flat list for his hardware bin organization system, and builds a spinning wheel (lazy Susan bearing mounted on a sliding cassette) so he can scroll through the alphabetized index without kneeling on the floor. The upgrade is driven entirely by two viewer suggestions: turning the list into a wheel and moving bin numbers to the left side of each entry.
Key points
1
The original video showed a static alphabetized list screwed low on a wall, forcing Adam to kneel to read bottom entries — viewers called it a half-finished solution.
2
Two community suggestions drove the fix: convert the list to a spinning wheel for easy scrolling, and move bin numbers to the left of each line item to prevent losing your place mid-row.
3
Adam calculated the wheel diameter by measuring the total list length as a circumference (48 inches), then dividing by pi to get a diameter of ~15.3 inches (radius 7.65 inches).
4
The wheel is built from two 15-inch circles with the printed list taped (not glued) to the outside for easy replacement, mounted on a 12-inch Rockler lazy Susan bearing inside a sliding cassette framework.
5
The font was also changed to Arial and the font size reduced, which shortened the list and kept the wheel diameter manageable; pencil annotations are now possible directly on the list.
Actionable insights
→
When building a long reference index, convert circumference-to-diameter (divide total list length by pi) to size a spinning wheel that fits the content perfectly.
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Put reference numbers on the LEFT side of list entries so the eye anchors on the number first and does not lose track while scanning across a long line.
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Use Rockler lazy Susan bearings for low-cost rotary mounts — a 6-inch bearing costs under $50 versus ~$600 for a precision Kadon bearing of the same size.
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Tape rather than glue a reference list to a wheel so it remains replaceable and writable without rebuilding the whole assembly.
Notable quotes
“I sort of brute forced it, but you shouldn't take my word for it at all. It's like the way I use Photoshop is like I use mostly the suite of tools that were available like 25 years ago when I first got Photoshop.”
“I am sorry that it's so upset everyone for me to do a half-ass finish with a really robust build.”
“Everyone I show it to goes, 'Oh, yeah.' So, excellent reaction.”
Worth watching?
⏭️
Worth watching the full video?
All the key design logic and practical tips are captured here — only watch the full video if you want to see the hands-on build process and Adam's workshop banter.
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