The Self-Employed Man

Be your own boss and still pay the bills: clients, pricing, taxes, tools and time for your family.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: Men Do's & Don'ts: Business Owners

Make Your First Knife From a Blank Without a Forge

Skip the anvil and the coal. A hardened steel blank, a few files and one weekend gets you a knife you'll actually carry.

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

When chest pain is the bench press and when to call 911

Most chest pain in a healthy 40-year-old is muscle, cartilage or acid. The exceptions kill people who decided to wait it out.

Gear6 min

What actually fails on a camp stove

Woodworking6 min

The dust you can't see is the dust that stays in your lungs

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

How to take your blood pressure at home and get it right

The first reading is usually garbage, the wrist cuff is a waste of money, and five quiet minutes fixes more than any supplement will.

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20265 min

You're not buying a drill, you're buying a battery mount

Pick the cordless platform once and the next fifteen years get cheaper. Pick it badly and you'll own four chargers and a shelf of dead packs.

Style6 min

Teach your son to dress while he still lets you

Fitness5 min

How to keep your blood sugar boring

GuideGearDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

The binocular number that matters isn't the magnification

Why 8x42 beats 10x50 for most men, what a cheap spotting scope actually costs you, and the $30 upgrade that fixes both.

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

What a 3D printer is actually good for in the shop

It won't replace your table saw, but it'll solve the twenty-dollar adapter that doesn't exist, and about forty other small problems.

Fitness5 min

Ten minutes on the floor is all the mobility you need

Gear6 min

The 72-Hour Kit Worth Building, and the Bucket Everyone Skips

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Make the belt first, and save the wallet for later

A belt is four straight cuts and a row of holes. A wallet is eight pieces that all have to line up. Start where the mistakes don't show.

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

How to run your first 5K without hating it

Nine weeks, three sessions a week, and a pace so slow it feels like cheating. That's the whole plan.

Gear6 min

Buy a six-person tent for your family of four

Woodworking6 min

Rust washes off, but pitting is forever

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Your arms got shorter and other signs to get your eyes checked

Presbyopia, night glare, and the three symptoms that mean you go tonight, plus what a real exam catches that a screening never will.

Style5 min read

Church clothes that respect the room and let you move

The pew test beats the mirror test. Specific garments, honest fixes, and why a sport coat does more work on Sunday than a suit.

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