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Every Tool's a Hammer

Lessons from a Lifetime of Making

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Every Tool's a Hammer

Written by: Adam Savage
Narrated by: Adam Savage
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About this listen

In this New York Times best-selling “imperative how-to for creativity” (Nick Offerman), Adam Savage - star of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters - shares his golden rules of creativity, from finding inspiration to following through and successfully making your idea a reality.

Every Tool’s a Hammer is a chronicle of my life as a maker. It’s an exploration of making, but it’s also a permission slip of sorts from me to you. Permission to grab hold of the things you’re interested in, that fascinate you, and to dive deeper into them to see where they lead you. Through stories from 40-plus years of making and molding, building and break­ing, along with the lessons I learned along the way, this book is meant to be a toolbox of problem solving, complete with a shop’s worth of notes on the tools, techniques, and materials that I use most often. Things like:

  • In Every Tool There Is a Hammer - don’t wait until everything is perfect to begin a project, and if you don’t have the exact right tool for a task, just use whatever’s handy;
  • Increase Your Loose Tolerance - making is messy and filled with screwups, but that’s okay, as creativity is a path with twists and turns and not a straight line to be found;
  • Use More Cooling Fluid - it prolongs the life of blades and bits, and it prevents tool failure, but beyond that it’s a reminder to slow down and reduce the fric­tion in your work and relationships;
  • Screw Before You Glue - mechanical fasteners allow you to change and modify a project; glue is forever, but sometimes you just need the right glue, so I dig into which ones will do the job with the least harm and best effects.

This toolbox also includes lessons from many other incredible makers and creators, including: Jamie Hyneman, Nick Offerman, Pixar director Andrew Stanton, Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro, artist Tom Sachs, and Chef Traci Des Jardins. And if everything goes well, we will hopefully save you a few mistakes (and maybe fingers) as well as help you turn your curiosities into creations. I hope this book serves as “creative rocket fuel” (Ed Helms) to build, make, invent, explore, and - most of all - enjoy the thrills of being a creator.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Adam Savage (P)2019 Simon & Schuster
Creativity Management & Leadership Personal Success Professionals & Academics Science Small Business & Entrepreneurship Business Inspiring

What listeners say about Every Tool's a Hammer

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Excellent for any project!

Very entertaining, helpful, and insightful.

Great for fans of Adam, creators, or anyone working on any project. some really great tips and wisdom in here! Thanks to Adam for sharing!

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What a great book!

For anyone that follows Adam and has a love for making this is ear candy. For those that aren't sure what making is, it will surely whet your whistle. True to his nature, Adam delivers a fast and list like writing style and performance, cultivated over a lifetime of ever increasing zest for detail and order. Thanks Adam for going through the crap load of work to deliver this masterpiece and for showing how great a sharing life can really be.

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MOTIVATING!

A reminder that crafting/making is a process and is not instant. Great read/listen for anyone in a creative slump

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So motivational!

it was motivating and inspired me to get back to making. Seemed like a lot of super basic concepts but he brought so much more depth to those concepts which helped me learn and reaffirm ideas I had. Was a great listen!

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Great listen!

This was exactly what i was expecting. Some background on Adam and how he came to be who he is. Some good stories about his career, and a nice list of tools and matetials that Adam swears by, and some great explanations on making and becoming a better maker.

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Great book, excellent narration

I really enjoyed this book. I never realized I was missing checkboxes from my life. My to-do lists just got amazing. I'm actually looking forward to listening to this again, which is something I don't do often.

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Interesting, but it lacks a focus

I am not sure that Adam Savage even knows what this book is about.

In a better portion of the book, he describes his career about making, motivations, and practices and how an aspiring maker can take inspiration about that.

But after the 2/3 mark, the book changes completely. Suddenly talking about specific types of glue, types of materials (wood/acrylic), and when to use (or not use them). I found it interesting, but it blurred the focus of the book in my opinion

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Great read

Interesting as a maker. I also think Adam has some great insight for managers.

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Hand me a lathe, a ladle or a lap harp -

After listening to this, I feel fired up to make something. Anything! Thank you, Adam!

(Btw, I am boggled that you left ILM. I'd give my eye teeth to be working there. But then, I'd also have given my eye teeth to work on "Mythbusters," so I can't say it was a bad move!)

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Enjoyed hearing that Im not the only one who wants to learn and share

Many parallels made it very familiar to me. Share the knowledge, seek the knowledge.. was fun to listen to.
And I saw Star Wars in 1977 for the first time at the drive in a van at age 9/10..

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1 person found this helpful