Tools in The Self-Employed Man

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The tingling after a day on the grinder isn't nothing

Vibration white finger creeps up over years, and by the time you notice it, some of the damage doesn't come back. What to change now.

GuideGroomingTobias Reed23 Sept 20265 min

Buy The Metal, Skip The Story

Three grooming upgrades that pay for themselves within a year, three that are just a nicer box, and the test that tells them apart.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

Ask it

GuideAutosDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Start With a Weekend Project, Not a Barn Find

Most project cars die in the disassembly phase. Pick the job that fits the two days you actually have, and the car stays a car.

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

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Gear5 min read

Lifetime gear only pays off in four categories

Steel, leather, cast iron and wood will outlive you. Foam, batteries and membranes won't, no matter what the marketing says.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Build a Shed From a Kit or From Scratch Without Regrets

The pad decides everything. Real costs, a materials list for a 10x12, what to rent instead of buy, and the mistakes that show up three winters later.

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Skip the combo kit and buy your tools in this order

The six-tool bundle in a bag is the most expensive cheap purchase in woodworking. Spend the same money in this sequence and you'll actually build something.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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GuideHobbiesDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Learn to Weld in the Garage Without Burning It Down

For about $400 you can join two pieces of steel forever, and the first ugly bead is still a bead that holds.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Weekend Projects That Actually Pay You Back

Five jobs you can finish between Friday night and Sunday dinner, with materials lists, real costs, what goes wrong, and the one to hand a pro.

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Three builds that turn your kid into a shop partner

A cutting board, a birdhouse and a bookshelf, and exactly which parts of each one you hand over instead of doing yourself.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan23 Sept 20265 min

Turn the iron down and stop taking the same pass twice

Most heat damage isn't the tool, it's the temperature you never changed and the third pass you take because the first two didn't hold.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideTools & OrganizingNina Castellan23 Sept 20266 min

A Home Tool Kit for Women and Where to Actually Keep It

Twelve tools, about $300, and a storage plan that puts the right one within twenty feet of wherever the thing broke.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The workbench your grandkids will still be flattening

Mass, real joinery and a top you can plane flat again. Skip the screws and the polyurethane and this bench outlives everyone who uses it.

GuideStyleDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Sneakers that work with real clothes

Running shoes are tools. Here's which sneakers actually hold up under jeans, chinos and a jacket, plus the fit fixes nobody tells you.</title> <dek>Running shoes are equipment. These are the sneakers that hold up under jeans, chinos and a jacket, plus the fit fixes nobody mentions.