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Ask HN: Share your favorite YouTube channels focused on mastering a skill/craft

212 points| hubraumhugo | 3 years ago | reply

I've just discovered channels with restoration videos on Youtube and these guys are true masters at their craft! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2jNeObHnZY

Any other authentic channels I should check out about the mastery of a skill or craft?

127 comments

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[+] zachwill|3 years ago|reply
Frank Howarth is an absolute gem: https://www.youtube.com/@frankmakes

I've been following his woodworking channel for 10 years — and I have no interest in woodworking myself. I've never come across someone who is 1) 99th percentile at the craft, 2) probably better at videography than the craft itself, and 3) will literally walk you through his line of thinking while including all the dumb mistakes he thought along the way.

Hikaru has a similar way of explaining high-level chess and coming off as human, but the quality of Frank's stuff is nearly unparalleled, in my opinion. It's like watching an absolute master of his craft have a beer with you and explain his 4D chess moves in an Explain Like I'm 5 years old format.

Highly, highly recommend watching him.

[+] acjacobson|3 years ago|reply
Thanks for the recommendations - here's a few of mine that are related:

For woodworking I am a big fan of Paul Sellers - though he is primarily a hand woodworker. His videos are very accessible.

For chess I like John Bartholemew. He's an IM, so lower in the rankings than someone like Hikaru, but has a lot of videos geared towards people looking to improve their overall game.

[+] roey2009|3 years ago|reply
I like Hikaru, though I find GothamChess easier to watch, and more to my level. Also helps he is absolutely excellent in maintaining viewer attention. He is an excellent story teller.
[+] SinePost|3 years ago|reply
Rick Beato, being an industry professional and former professor, is someone I trust to teach music theory. https://www.youtube.com/@RickBeato/playlists

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned 3Blue1Brown yet, who is perhaps the single most influential figure in popular mathematics today. https://www.youtube.com/@3blue1brown

[+] swanandp|3 years ago|reply
+1 for Rick Beato. His "what makes this song great" series is lovely. I discovered his video on [Bohemian Rhapsody][1] from the same series and then gradually all of his other content.

1: https://youtu.be/3Ym7X_wCsPQ

[+] delboni|3 years ago|reply
I think you set the bar to high, because My Mechanics is the best restoration channel IMO, but here my list:

StezStixFix a very funny channel about fixing electronics, mostly SMD stuff over microscope: https://youtube.com/@StezStixFix

Baumgartner for fine art restoration: https://youtube.com/@BaumgartnerRestoration

Sebastian Lague for game development videos: https://youtube.com/@SebastianLague

Our Painted Lives for oil painting: https://youtube.com/@OurPaintedLives

I could keep the list forever (maybe I spend to much time in YouTube)

[+] LazyMans|3 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/@SVSeeker/

Doug has spent over 10 years building a 73ft steel hulled sailing vessel from scratch, to be donated for research use by students. He literally bought steel plates and welded it into a frame. The vessel launched mid last year and the channel follows just about every aspect of its construction. Doug learns and builds just about every component, from its desalination system, casting his own propellers, and just about everything else.

I'm a very mechanically inclined individual, and figured this out when I was about 8 years old. I spend multiple hours a week watching all sorts of DIY content on youtube and have pretty much learned how to fix just about anything. Doug is a huge hero in my book, and I wonder if I'll end up like him one day.

[+] SkyPuncher|3 years ago|reply
Matt Risigner - https://www.youtube.com/@buildshow - General Contractor/Home Builder. Heavy focus on building science.

Scott Manley - https://www.youtube.com/@scottmanley - While not a craft, he does a very good job explaining a lot of cool things about space.

Stuff Made Here - https://www.youtube.com/@StuffMadeHere - He's an engineer that does a lot of zany projects spanning software, hardware, and mechanics. His wife was pregnant, so it looks like he's taking a break from videos right now.

Welding Tips and Tricks - https://www.youtube.com/@weldingtipsandtricks - I basically learned to welded from this channel.

[+] skhameneh|3 years ago|reply
I have a number to share, maybe not all quite perfecting craft, but enjoyable for me! I did try narrowing to ones a bit more relating to learning or improving skills.

Sustainable Gardening, Self Sufficient Me

General cooking, Adam Ragusea

Seafood Cooking, Kimagure Cook

Chocolate mastery (demonstrations), Amaury Guichon

3D Printing Tips, Teaching Tech & CNC Kitchen

Everything Coffee Related, James Hoffman

[+] tempusr|3 years ago|reply
Do you have any suggestions for channels that are good for beginner cooks?

I just got my first job in a new city and realized I have no idea how to cook anything other than eggs & chicken

[+] alfl|3 years ago|reply
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZePj70B4IwyNn1ABhJWmBPe...

Building a house from selection of land through to selling at auction.

[+] SkyPuncher|3 years ago|reply
In general, Essential Craftsman is fantastic content.

He has a nice mix of "this is the modern way we do it", but "here's an old school trick to help you get there".

[+] loco5niner|3 years ago|reply
My favorite part of Essential Craftsman is actually how he shares wonderful grandfatherly wisdom (or fatherly, depending on where you are in life). The actual content is fantastic too
[+] hamandcheese|3 years ago|reply
I've really enjoyed Wintergatan on YouTube (you've perhaps seen the viral music video of a steampunk one man band powered by marbles). He is working on the third iteration of the marble machine, and his process is incredibly thorough.

Don't read the comments, half his fans seem to hate him now for turning an art channel into an engineering channel. But that's why I watch!

https://youtu.be/lC_oLb1pfqU

[+] GuB-42|3 years ago|reply
Interestingly, I didn't have the same experience from the comments, I find it rather good by YouTube standards.

When I followed the MMX saga, I saw a lot of technical criticism that ultimately turned out right. The most criticized idea I remember was about "kinetic fingers", a non-functional "art" part. The rest is mostly unsubstantial and vaguely entertaining comments that make up for the majority of what you see on YouTube comment sections.

[+] ChintanGhate|3 years ago|reply
Not a technical skill, but in the self improvement genre - Colin Murray’s channel https://m.youtube.com/@colinmurrayYT/videos is great for people who like exercising from home, without investing a lot in equipments and weight. Has helped me exercise more regularly compared to past years.

And then for one of my hobbies https://m.youtube.com/@idaemonplasmo for building better model kit aircrafts.

Not sure if they are masters of their craft, but they make their craft more accessible/enjoyable for me.

[+] waschl|3 years ago|reply
Plasmo is great, his videos are so relaxing to watch
[+] azefiel|3 years ago|reply
Florian Gadsby is a ceramicist posting videos that show how pottery is thrown, finished and finally glazed and kiln fired. The videos show the processes behind his work, from the throwing to trimming of tableware and more sculptural pieces. He has a playlist dedicated to teaching basic technics, great for beginners.

https://youtube.com/@floriangadsby

[+] jsharkey|3 years ago|reply
Phil's Lab is a really detailed channel covering multilayer PCB design skills. He shares a lot of nuance that would be gained only through years of trial/error or an apprenticeship.

https://youtube.com/@PhilsLab

[+] iamflimflam1|3 years ago|reply
Love watching PhilsLab - I dabble a bit with PCB design on my own YouTube channel and the difference between an amateur tinkerer (me) and someone who is an expert in it is amazing.
[+] ge96|3 years ago|reply
Hardware stuff is interesting to me/not what I do for a job (would like to). I like watching people who work with it naturally like it's easy.

Ben Heck Hacks

Curious Marc

Great Scott

There's more idk if it's what you're looking for but yeah I try to watch more useful content but I still watch let's play type stuff.

[+] mitthrowaway2|3 years ago|reply
Ben Heck helped me through hard times when I was struggling to remember why I ever was interested in engineering in the first place. He reminded me that it's not just about skill grinding and solving hard problems and business applications. There's also fun to be had.
[+] inopinatus|3 years ago|reply
Videojug's original site is sadly defunct, but their goldmine of masterclass shorts was apparently archived to Youtube with a vast array of critical life skills available to learn, such as "how to moonwalk", "how to determine your hat size", "how to mate chickens", "how to iron a shirt", "how to sound like donald duck", "start your own boyband", "rid your home of ants", "deliver a baby" and so on. Robert Heinlein would be proud. https://www.youtube.com/@videojug