Tools in The Self-Employed Man

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Reglue a Wobbly Chair So It Outlasts the Rest of the Set

Squirting glue into a loose joint buys you about four months. Taking the chair apart and cleaning it properly buys you thirty years.

GuideCountry BroWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The tractor most small acreages actually need

Loader capacity, PTO horsepower and ballast matter more than the number on the hood. What to buy for five to twenty acres, and what to skip.

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

What you can safely paste into an AI tool at work

The risk isn't science fiction. It's a retention setting, a client NDA clause, and a chat history nobody remembers exists.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

Can You Fix It6 min read

Your Garbage Disposal Hums But Won't Spin

The hum means the motor is fine and something is jammed against the impeller. Fix it in twenty minutes with a $3 wrench, in this order.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideCity BroMarcus Vale23 Sept 20266 min

The apartment workshop that doesn't earn you a complaint letter

You can build real things in a rented flat. The trick is knowing which noise travels through concrete and which stops at your door.

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The tools to buy first when you buy a house

Three budgets, what each one really covers, and the gear you should rent instead of owning.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

GuideCan You Fix ItWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Why Your Garage Door Stops Halfway and What to Fix First

Five minutes of diagnosis tells you whether this is an eight-dollar can of lubricant or a call to a spring guy.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideAutosDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Restoring a car with your son without ruining it for both of you

Pick the right car, sequence the work so he sees wins early, and know the month where most projects die in the driveway.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build a real workbench from two sheets of plywood

A 67-inch bench with a shelf, a clamping overhang and no wobble, cut from two 4x8 sheets in a single Saturday.

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideCan You Fix ItWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Fix a Sticking Door Before You Reach for the Plane

Nine times out of ten it's a loose hinge screw, not a swollen door. Find the rub, then fix it in the right order.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan23 Sept 20265 min

Self-defense that holds up when you're frightened

The strikes worth learning, the tools that don't work, and how to tell a real class from a confidence exercise.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Start with a cutting board, not a bookshelf

Hard maple, six strips, one bottle of Titebond III, and the mistake that doesn't show up until you oil it.

GuideCan You Fix ItDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Your Dishwasher Won't Drain. Do This Before You Call Anyone

Four inches of gray water in the tub is almost never a dead machine. Work the blockage points in order and most of these fix themselves in an hour.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideGearWes Dunbar23 Sept 20265 min

Buy the cheap drill. Never buy the cheap jack stands.

A working line between the tools where price buys you nothing and the ones where it buys you a finished job and ten fingers.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Woodworking6 min

Bringing a rusty Stanley No. 4 back to work

Can You Fix It6 min

Fix a Dryer That Runs But Never Gets Hot

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideFoodDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The knife, the pan and the board that do almost everything

One 8-inch chef's knife, one heavy skillet, one board big enough to work on. Get those three right and the gadget drawer stops mattering.

PartnerShirts.com

Woodworking6 min read

The mower that won't start, and the order to check it

Nine times in ten it's the fuel, not the engine. A working order for diagnosis, and the point where you stop and buy a new machine.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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