Adam Savage

Adam Savage’s Tested

When You're a Big Picture Thinker in a Small Thinker Job

Adam Savage answers two listener questions: one about being a big-picture thinker stuck in a task-focused job, and one about coping with a known upcoming layoff. He draws on his own career path through ILM and Mythbusters to offer career and philosophical guidance about liminal transitions.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Is This 8-Year-Old Lazy or Creative?

Adam Savage responds to two viewer questions: one about how his mother influenced his creativity, and one about whether an 8-year-old who refuses to paint a 3D-printed banana sword is being lazy or creative. Savage argues against labeling children lazy and reframes creativity as 'point of view' rather than a vague generative ability.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Why Adam Savage Needs These Medical Tools

Adam Savage builds a foam core storage box to organize his eclectic collection of medical tools — hemostats, clamps, spreader bars, a bone slicer, and a borescope. The video doubles as a philosophy lesson on using rapid prototyping to overcome the paralysis of perfectionism.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Adam Savage Builds a Demon Core!

Adam Savage machines a museum-quality replica of the Los Alamos 'Demon Core' transport case — a magnesium box originally built by machinist Ralph Sparks to safely carry the plutonium core intended for a third atomic bomb. The build spans multiple days of milling, threading, and finishing work on Rich Light phenolic material, culminating in a crackle-painted box with working urchin initiator ports and a tungsten alloy sphere standing in for the actual plutonium core.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Adam Savage's Hardware Organization Mistake!

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.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Deleted Scene: Eye-Mech Handle Upgrade!

Adam Savage machines a polished aluminum handle for an eye-mechanism prop built by Bill, replacing a functional 3D-printed version. The short deleted scene documents the lathe work to hit precise diameter targets, resulting in a clean, professional-grade component.

Adam Savage’s Tested

The Key to the Unpickable Lock

Adam Savage hosts Riley from Works by Design, who brings his third-generation custom unpickable padlock featuring a key that partially inserts into the lock body via a magnet mechanism, closing off the keyway entirely. The lock was ultimately defeated by lock picker Lock Noob using a classic impressioning attack, and Riley discusses how changing pin shapes could stop that vulnerability in version 4.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Why Adam Savage Chooses Vulnerability on Camera

Adam Savage answers a fan question about his on-camera vulnerability, tracing it through three formative experiences: finding acceptance in LGBTQ communities at the 8th Street Playhouse and Beach Blanket Babylon, observing how stand-up comedians use self-confrontation to become better performers, and a pivotal moment on the 2012 MythBusters tour where he stopped protecting himself emotionally during meet-and-greets.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Adam Savage's Miniature Vault Door Build! (Part 5)

Adam Savage returns to his 18-month-dormant miniature vault door project, tackling the intimidating combination lock mechanism. He machines a fully functional 3/4-inch combination lock from 25-thou brass sheet, complete with three rotating discs, a knurled brass dial, and engraved graduation marks — achieving a major mechanical milestone.

Adam Savage’s Tested

Adam Savage Builds a Replica Diamond Collection!

Adam Savage builds custom Victorian-style display boxes for his cubic zirconia replica collection of famous gemstones, including the Cullinan diamonds. He collaborates with a colleague to create brass labels printed on a UI E1 UV printer, then crafts red velvet-lined walnut boxes to house the collection.