Adam Savage Builds a LEGO Sorting and Storage System! 

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To the Tested Crew: Whenever we move forward from this pandemic, please keep in the mistakes Adam makes (I know this is partially up to Adam too) and keep playing around with the editing. This one was especially entertaining not only due to Adam but also by Gunther's edits. I think many of us are liking the more personal side of these videos from Adam and from the team.

EPIC QUOTE: "What do mistakes do? They just extend the pleasure of building!" - Adam Savage

Pro tip: sort by part type, not colour. Its easier to find the part you want than looking though a mass of colour for a singular type of part.

I love how that went from “we’re about two hours in” to “we’ve been at this for the better part of ten days now” and how much I can relate to that

When it cut from "we've been sorting for 6 hours" then the next scene is "We've been sorting for 10 days!" :D

Adam Savage: An adult with children and a career he enjoys. Also Adam: "My Mom is helping me sort my Legos"

Word of advice: Never sort Legos by color. Sort them by size. It's much easier to find a red 2x2 from box of 2x2's than a 2x2 from a box of Red's

I just love it how Mama Savage is supporting and enabling the Lego-madness of her son even today. It is genuinely heartwarming to me. Absolutely precious

Everybody say “Thank you Gunther” for the editing

Whoever edited this deserves a gold star and a cookie 🙌🏻 EDIT: Thanks Gunther!

Highly successful TV personality and inventor: "I brought my mom in to help me sort my legos".

I love how Adam's mom still wears her purse. She's like: if I put that thing down in his shop, I'll NEVER find it again. Been there, done that xD

Can we just take a moment to appriciate how supportive his mom is. My mom once saw me talk into a camera and she thought i was loony🤣😂 yet she isnt batting a eye. Shoutout to Mrs. Savage👍

Watching this, I'm reminded of the old adage: "Measure twice, cut a few times, start to assemble, realize mistake(s), try to disassemble, come up with interim fix, pray it holds."

I adore Legos (I am in my 60s now) - a few years ago I sorted our multi-generational Legos into the plastic drawer towers (I needed 5) I have Legos back to the early 60s when I started collecting them, and then got a bunch from my aunt when my cousin in Germany passed away. So, early European Legos are a part of the collection. I sorted them not by colour but by shape. Since then we've collected my much younger brother's sets, my kids' sets (with Harry Potter) and on occasion my grown daughter and I work on the large neighbourhood sets. Love that stuff!

So, when I was a teenager I decided to sort my massive lego collection which was on par with this one, literally sorted every single piece by size shape and color, took me about a month and a 1/2, then it occurred to me when I turned around to play with them that the hyper organized result completely stifled and stymied all creativity. In the same way that you clean your kitchen only to dirty it up when you cook something good, I was forced to Abandon the lego's for a period of time to, "have my organizational cake" I remained at this impasse for a year or so, The pain of undoing my accomplishment paralyzed my play. Somehow I think the inner child knows this, adults frequently forget that the reason children make messes is because of play. Even if you achieve organizational mastery it seems probable that a few months of creations later in the legos will regress to their original unorganized, if they're loved. I also soon that someone out there keeps a collection hyper organized and a completely disorganized bucket for creative purposes, there's probly some happy balance. There you go, my longest post about anything on social media ever lol

Ok, seeing as I can't spot any comment detailing the bricks as requested, of bricks you pointed out explicitly: 3:05 - 3009p01 Brick 1 x 6 with Black Car Grill Print - in blue this brick has been in 9 sets from 1971 to 1977 3:08 - 3010apr0004: Brick 1 x 4 with Black 15 Bars Grill Print - Blue - this has been in 4 sets from 1979 to 1986 3:12 - 3939p91 Slope 33° 3 x 6 with Large Classic Space Logo Print - a true classic. 5 sets in 1979 only. 3:20 - 3004p90 Brick 1 x 2 with Classic Space Logo Print - in blue that's been in 13 sets from 1979 to 1986 3:40 - you hold up a 3035 Plate 4 x 8 to show the standard common version (which superseded the older one after about 1972...) 3:54 - you then hold up a 3036a Plate 6 x 8 with Waffle Bottom (yes, that's the term for it), which was in use from 1955 to 1969 (i white it was in 76 sets) 4:10 - LEGO train connectors - these look like: 160ac02 Plate Special 2 x 4 with Train Coupler Open with Magnet Long Cylinder Blue (x1) 160ac01 Plate Special 2 x 4 with Train Coupler Open with Magnet Long Cylinder Red (x2) The blue one was used in 2 sets from 1968 to 1970 The red one was also used in 2 sets from 1968 to 1970 6:12 - you hold up a 3D printed version of 3039p34: Slope 45° 2 x 2 with Computer Panel Print - Blue - this is in 21 sets from 1979 to 1989 7:18 - Slope 45° 2 x 2 with Computer Screen Print - White - this was in 27 sets from 1983 to 2001 7:25 - Yes, that's a battleships game piece :D Yes, a few even found their way into my collection at some point. Universal law of attraction? One suggestion I have for sorting is that you have a higher category than colour. LEGO has a defined set of categories (you can see the list on www.lego.com/en-gb/page/static/pick-a-brick by expanding the Categories filter), and those do a great starting category. From that point you can do colour sorting, but it makes it easier to keep related bricks together. Also I totally recommend cataloging the collection you have! You can do this by identifying the sets you have and using a site like rebrickable.com/ to help keep track of all of this. You'd be surprised at how much 10k-20k bricks costs, and you wanna ensure they're properly valued for insurance reasons!

Yes Please continue to keep the "Adam is Human" moments in all future videos, it's part of the story and so relatable for the audience to identify with him.

I love how Adam has made a living from being the quirky nerd all of us have wanted to be. Those old LEGO pieces speak to my soul

My Dad retired in December of 2019. He started to sort my old legos for my son. Its November 2020 - he is still sorting.

When Adam cut the first shelf I was thinking: "Time for a test fit!". When he just carried on and cut the rest, I was thinking. "Well there's a guy who know's what he's doing!" Then when the shelves were too short, it was "Oh dear!" Laugh. Really nice to see that he's as human as the rest of us. Nice video. .

“I like stuff I can complete by the end of the day or the weekend or the next few days” ~10 days later~

me: being extra careful with my push stick and safety guards on my table saw. adam: "yall wanna see me move my whole table saw mid cut!

I think you really get that youtubing is kind of an art form when you watch a dude making square boxes for half an hour and still like the video.

Man, Myth Busters was one of my favorite shows and now I'm watching Adam organize Legos?! I am please with this decision.

NO: You sort them by SIZE & style of brick, not by color That way you reach into your 2x2 brick bin, searching for a Red one, MUCH easier than sorting through your reds, looking for a 2x2 brick. seriously.

I gave my legos to a local convention in Reno, and watching the community add to it every year has been incredibly heartwarming. At the same time, getting to dig through it at the even and find things from sets I built when I was six has never stopped warming my heart when I go to staff and attend. It's really cool to see that these toys mean so much to so many other people

i lose it every time he looks into the camera after screwing up

Aww. I love your mum, she's constantly looking up at you and smiling when you mention your past love with lego sets. I'm sure she had a massive part in that. ❤

I'm glad to see an expert such as Adam screw up, I've chastised myself so many times 😂🙄. I appreciate the fact that he didn't edit them out in order to appear flawless🙏🏽😘

Good to see there's a consensus here re how sorting by colour, the most immediately distinguishable quality of a Lego piece, is a "rookie error". The thing which took me ages to figure out, on the other hand, is the secret of organising Technic and other complex pieces: Group them together according to their connector mix - all the pieces which have both smooth bearings and axle bushings, for example.

Thank you for leaving the mistakes in! Now, when i botch a measurement and cut, I just sigh and say "Just like Adam Savage. Not too bad at all. " Then I smile, laugh at myself, and re cut. Such a lesson you have taught me. Thank you.

Whenever I see a one day build over 20 min long I get the same kind of warm fuzzy feeling I imagine a cat in a sunbeam gets

This has been one of the best backlog videos I've seen. Love all the mistakes and the journey of figuring it out while rushing around - very relatable!

My life experience with Lego is exactly the same as Adam's, here. I got all my original bricks and sets back, in my 30's, and now the collection has grown to include all of my daughter's bricks as well. We quickly needed to find a storage solution, and my OCD would never allow digging through bins of mixed bricks. I found the "Rainbow Drawer Storage Unit" from Container Store, which has drop-in trays available separately, so you can sort-of tailor each drawer for the number and size of pieces you have. I have two of these units, with every drawer overflowing, so I already need more storage space (because like books, we don't get rid of Lego). My wife has KonMari'd everything else, yet, the Lego are protected. Anyway, I only wanted to share for anyone else out there looking for a quick and easy storage solution. A bit pricey for plastic drawers, but it's so relaxing to my brain to know each piece has a place and to be able to teach the little one about organization, and let her see the importance of that skill.

*LEGO SORTING NOISES* *MORE LEGO SORTING NOISES" *ANGRY LEGO SORTING NOISES* I feel you, Adam's Mom, I feel you.

When I see your mom there helping you my heart just melts... I love my Mom... enjoy your time with Her.. it’s the small things as separating Legos with her that you’ll remember the best...

Adam, thank you for showing your mistakes and how you address and correct them. This authenticity is what sets your work apart from others.

My opinion on sorting is: Do not start with sorting by color, but start by sorting on element type, because it's so much easier to pick out a color form a pile of similar element shapes, than it is to pick a certain element shape from a pile of elements with the same color.

I loved the annotations at the bottom every time his mom moved the Legos, especially towards the end, it was hilarious.

A perfect example of 'Measure Once, Cut Twice." ;)

7:40 "At 17 once I discovered girls and decided to give up Legos... ...and I've lamented that for decades." Same, but at least you got them back. At 17 I thought giving all my Legos (a full 16" x 16" x 24" box) as a Christmas gift to the 3 little brothers (between ages 5 and 10) of a girl I was hanging out with and trying to date would make an impression... 😐 ...I should have kept the Legos.

After 30 years as a classroom teacher, I am about to embark on the journey of Elementary Design Teacher - aka MakerSpace Teacher!! at our International School in Malaysia. I absolutely loved the Design Thinking process (Think, Make & Improve) and especially solving the construction "mistakes" - something I want my kids to see - mistakes are okay - mistakes are a learning opportunity!! Also loved seeing the LEGO from the 70's & 80's - all the pieces I had as a kid. But as soon as you held up the mystery 'LEGO' piece, I caught myself talking to the screen trying to tell you that it was a Battleship piece. Moments later you identified it as such and I had to look around to check no-one saw me talking to a RU-vid clip - how embarrassing (yet engaging). Thank you :-)

Ah, truly a noble quest: a man and his battle with entropy

Editing: *puts the measurements Adam made in subtitles* Me: "Ah. Foreshadowing."

For my Technic Legos I use "Plano 3700 & 3750" utility storage boxes along with "Organized Fishing" wire racks that are made for them. These boxes are divided (by the user) with lids that easily open/close. They easily slide in & out of the wire racks like drawers. The wire racks can be mounted on a flat surface or on a wall. You just "knoll" your biggest parts and arrange your planos around you and get building. It's very convenient!

After watching Adam work for years between Mythbusters and RU-vid, I've come to realize that, sometimes, when he talks while actually working (like when he was building the shelving for the bins), it feels like he's talking to himself more than he is the camera. I could be way off, he may just be used to that after working in front of a camera for several years, but I work the same way. When working on a project I think out loud (mainly because I have pretty severe ADHD and it really helps me to visualize and focus on what I'm doing). It's cool to know that doing so isn't as crazy as I thought since a very experienced designer and craftsman such as Adam Savage works in a similar fashion.

"Angry Lego Noises" next Savage shirt please take my money now. Lol 😅

This is seriously one of my favorite videos that Adam has done. Even the greats get all tripped up over their numbers sometimes.

Adam and LEGO in one video; always a win. I'm loving the editing on these videos; seeing too many "perfect" build videos can make your own making mistakes depressing and knowing that even Adam still occasionally gets it wrong helps! I've been sorting my own LEGO collection the last few months (not full time!) and have been using a variety of the Really Useful Boxes. Mostly the 9L ones but a few smaller versions for specific bricks/colours.

After watching Adam for years, I honestly thought he was going to build a "Lego sorting contraption" that he just poured the pieces into the top and they came out the bottom into separate containers. Kinda like a coin sorting machine.

“What do mistakes do but extend the pleasure of building?” - Adam Savage, 2020

22:38 "Look what do mistakes do but just extend the pleasure of building!"

I'm a 90's kid, but we had a huge box of lego from my siblings. Almost every part he held up of vintage lego and I could go "I HAD THAT!". Gosh, I remember it so clearly.

Adam, I will say 2 things. #1, you are a nerd/geek after my own heart. #2, I will carry on your legacy, because I will be a builder just like you when I grow up. Lol I'm 26 and I really want to have a shop like yours and to do what you do. That is literally my life long dream.

I LOVED the editor commentary on the noises! It made me think that in comparison that pre-quarantine vids were lawful good and post-quarantine vids are slowly becoming more and more chaotic good 😂😂

I love when the editor becomes a character in these videos. LEGO NOISES!!!! Love the work Adam.

Adam, your honesty is so commendable, and just confirmed to me that I'm on your level when it comes to building, at least in the mixing up of measurements department. Thank you I feel vindicated! Thank you also for the constant source of inspiration to my sons and I.

As a Lego fan, I can tell you that Adam could totally sell those old Space parts. Collectors would buy.

Adam keeps teasing us with the Mando helmet in frame at random times during these videos... You just know he's got a crazy plan for that thing!!!

10 days later... "You see how quickly this is happening?" - found footage (colorized) of one man's descent into madness...Lego (Sorting) Madness

it must be really fulfilling to see your 50 something son all grown up and still smilling like a little kid when he talks about legos and other stuff he likes, in contrast with parents that'd say things like "you are too old to do this or that".

I've been playing with Legos since I was 13. ( I'm 28 now) and this toy system is amazingly therapeutic. Some of my best ideas came from hours of Lego play. Over the years I've found my own play style. I'll never get tired of plying with Legos!

I loved the old Lego Space series from back in the 80's!

OMG, a red letter day in my life as a nerd! I can honestly lay claim to being an expert* in the subject of today's video! * I manage a friend's store that sells nothing but new and used Lego sets, pieces, and minifigures. I have probably sorted through at least 15 *TONS* of loose Lego in the six years we have been open. It took us the first 3 years of trial and error to perfect a sorting/storage system that works for our needs. I never would have imagined that I could one day list "able to spot fake Lego instantly at 3 feet" as a critical job skill, but here I am :)

I really like how you show that you are only human and make mistakes. A lot of people would have cut the video and started over. Bravo to you sir.

Your mom helping you sort legos is like the most wholesome thing ever!

"One Day LEGO sorting" *points at Adam and laughs hysterically in my mind* Riiiiight...

26:02 *insert trite 'wood grain as bundle of straws' analogy here* The staple kicks up the wood fibers when going across the grain b/c it's breaking them; you're applying downward pressure on the middle of the 'straw', so the ends will bend upwards. One side is connected to the rest of the ply, so it can flex, and the other has nothing, so it bends until it snaps. You either live with the damage, or try to align the grain on the top ply so you're always stapling along the grain. Same principle applies to cut nails, but they also need pilot holes. You could also back the staples away from the edge of the ply, but that's not often practical or possible.

mama Savage is the most precious being on the planet and we must protect her at all costs. Nothing too major but I'd die for you, mama Savage.

RU-vid: Do you want to see a kid sort his massive lego collection with his mom? Me: ...Uhh, no? Who would WANT to watch that? That is the dumbest... RU-vid: The kid is Adam Savage. Me: Yea, I got time.

"...and that's how we're going to wrap this [video] up" ...10 minutes into a 30 minute video 😆

I mess up measuring/cutting so often, and yet Adam's simple mistakes make me feel like a total pro. I appreciate him including his mistakes, showing that even a genius such as he is not at all infallible

dude, so i have a collection of legos passed down and gathered by the last 3 generations of men in my family, and i swear i have so many of those 80s spaceman legos. just so many of them. they're great.

Adam: It's nice not to have to use math sometimes... Also Adam: Looks like I got my math wrong somehow...

I love how even you Adam, as a builder with so much experience still do those mistakes everybody knows! After cutting all those shelves to the wrong size, I would have been mad and stopped working for the day, but you kept on and made it through with a great product at the end! Absolutely love the energy in those Vids!

I like how grandma is so HAPPY to see legos😃

Hi Adam, I am from Quito-Ecuador - South America, I was looking some videos because I want to help my grandson organizing his legos. I don't know what I like the most. I think it is all your abilities and knowledge's. I love the way you explain everything, with such a big enthusiasm. I certainly like all your ideas about organizing the legos. Sorry if I made few mistakes in English. By the way, the fact that your mother is helping, I think it is lovely. Have a nice day.

This is amazing! A few weeks ago, some friends called me a weirdo because I sorted my Legos by size in around 25 same size boxes and art bins like yours for the special stuff like plant parts or wheels. Now I feel in good company. Thank you

These videos are such a joy, Adam. Especially the live cave hangouts. I find myself just listening to it while I'm working at my desk (doing accountant works, not making). It's very calming to feel like someone is working right there with me. Please keep going with these videos. I really need it.

Adam, you're an amazing dude, and your cave is just a dream, but please, PLEASE put a guard on that table saw.

Just watching this now makes me realized how much I enjoyed legos when I was a kid. I miss those days.

And I want a t-shirt of *Lego Noises Intensifies* Too!

"And....we totally screwed it up!" Exact definition of 2020.

I sorted, build, unbuild and bagged ALL Legos from me and my brothers childhood. ALL of them. They are now ready for the next generation of builders. I have few sets I've got since then. Those are on display shelf with me. Had to buy some spares ofc. This was couple of years ago when Bricklink was still good.

Thank you. Seeing you struggle & figure things out, so reminds me of me. Going through all the possibilities, then coming up with a solution is challenge I adore.

Come on Adam, surely you're going to paint it red and attach four Lego pips to the top!?

When he was cutting all those shelves I was screaming at my computer "Cut the width, try it in the shelf, then cut the length and try it in the shelf. DON'T JUST CUT ALL THE SHELVES"

My kids are playing with my 1980-1990 sets too. posted some on reddit rebuilt 30 years later and got some really heartwarming replies. And yeah each piece brings back memories.

So awesome you leave your little mess ups with in for us to see!! Keep up the great work sharing Adam. Your the man.

I love watching the Swiss Army knife in these time lapses as it goes insanely fast.

7:16 That control panel invoked some powerful memories. It's been maybe 20 years since I've seen it, but that is most definitely a piece I had.

After screwing up, so many people would be inclined to edit it out, being able to laugh at oneself is a great quality.

5 mins in the Video Puls out his Mom what a Savage ❤

Adam your Mum is awesome helping you sort your toys even when your an adult. A mothers job is never truly finished! Good on her!

Loved the editing on this one, it was a true plea*lego noises* watching it!

Those old legos.... memories of playing with my father's lego, wow...

I'm revisiting this video now that Im pretty deep into sorting and rebuilding my castle and space collection. It's deeply satisfying that I did the same method down to pulling out the special and nostalgic pieces.

When he left the saw on while measuring boards and moving the fence I got really nervous/anxious.