Comment by untech

A few I like:

https://www.youtube.com/@Blondihacks - A (primarily) model engineering channel with a focus on hobby / home precision machining

https://www.youtube.com/@daliborfarny - A guy working to keep the art of nixie tube manufacturing alive

https://www.youtube.com/@StuffMadeHere - Silly / improbable projects mostly for fun (e.g. basketball hoop that you can't miss a shot)

I'm not sure how similar these are to what you're looking for, but:

- https://www.youtube.com/@primitivetechnology9550 - Primitive Technology, with John Plant. Non-narrated, but subtitled, videos of him building houses & other useful things with just clay, wood & stone. It's not a recreation of how people lived, but of what people might have done - he does research and tries to apply what he's learned to the materials available.

- https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections - Technology Connections. Less making, and more explaining, this has deep dives into (usually) older technology. There's something like six hours explaining how a particular pinball machine works, and I think his most recent video about VHS-C has already made it to the top of HN earlier this week.

Second Primitive Technology (don't forget to turn on the captions). Don't recommend Technology Connections to be honest (a lot of talk to the camera, I prefer videos that show things that can't be conveyed via text).

Here's the channels I like, in no particular order:

- https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients Thumbnails and titles are clickbaity, but don't let that fool you. One of the most thorough channels. Polymath like Applied Science.

- https://www.youtube.com/@HuygensOptics Optical Systems and connected topics from a veteran of the field

- https://www.youtube.com/@Borgedesigns Designing 3d-printed tools

- https://www.youtube.com/@Nighthawkinlight Like Applied Science, but trying to do stuff with easily acquirable materials

- https://www.youtube.com/@AdvancedTinkering Chemistry and vacuum tech

- https://www.youtube.com/@ExcessiveOverkill Hardware projects, one of the biggest is controlling an industrial robot arm, but others are cool too

- https://www.youtube.com/@SamZeloof Reached home-made semiconductors

- https://www.youtube.com/@projectsinflight Trying to reach home-made semiconductors

- https://www.youtube.com/@christopherhelmke Building industrial 3d-printed parts sorting system

- https://www.youtube.com/@MariusHornberger Most thorough woodworker

- https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingTaps Like Applied Science, but with more free time

- https://www.youtube.com/@benmakeseverything Cool hardware projects

- https://www.youtube.com/@ancientjames Holograms

- https://www.youtube.com/@NileRed More entertaining than educational, but a prominent chemistry channel

- https://www.youtube.com/@BenEater Classic: made computer on a breadboard

- https://www.youtube.com/@theCodyReeder Like Applied Science, but more outdoors type; builds a Martian-like base

- https://www.youtube.com/@colinfurze A welding guy with extremely high energy, builds underground garage

- https://www.youtube.com/tomstantonengineering Hardware projects mostly about flying stuff

- https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanics Machining guy restoring things; currently restores a car by individually handling every nut and bolt (yes)

- https://www.youtube.com/@HyperspacePirate Hardware / Chemistry projects, made liquid nitrogen with disassembled AC units in a long-running series of attempts

Chris from Clickspring, the canonical YouTube machinist who has been slowly but accurately reconstructing the Antikythera mechanism for about one decade now.

- https://www.youtube.com/@Clickspring

Not small but he's a regular amateur: RestoreIt [0]. I love this guys channel.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/c/RestoreIt