Tools in The Self-Employed Man

Only Tools: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Tools stories and video. All of Self-Employed Men →

Your Mower Sat All Winter and Now It Has Opinions

The box says pull the cord. The box hasn't met your shed. How to wake a hibernating mower without wrecking your Saturday or your shoulder.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

A drill outlives its battery. Buy the battery first.

The motor will run for years. The pack that feeds it won't. Here's how to buy a cordless drill that's still useful in 2035.

Ask BRO

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

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GuideWoodworkingDean ShawOct 8, 20266 min

The cut takes nine seconds and the setup takes twenty minutes

One pine board, one rip cut, two very different Saturdays. The difference has nothing to do with the cut.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Cars6 min read

Changing your own oil in the driveway, the way it really goes

The video says twenty minutes. Plan on ninety, a shower and one trip back to the parts store. You'll still come out ahead.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

StoryTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 7, 20265 min

The Weekend Rate Isn't a Personal Challenge

What you learn standing in the Saturday line for a floor sander, and the lesson inside every line you'll hear before your name gets called.

GuideHomeWes DunbarOct 6, 20266 min

Hanging a heavy picture straight on the first try

One frame, two hooks, zero extra holes. The way it really goes, plus the bathroom scale trick nobody mentions.

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

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideCountry BroDean ShawOct 3, 20267 min

Set up the block so your worst swing hits wood, not your shin

Most splitting injuries are decided before the maul leaves the ground. Get the block, the stance and the wedge right, and a bad swing costs you nothing.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

StoryTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 7, 20265 min

What Gets Said in Aisle Nine Before the Coffee Kicks In

A breaker labeled with a question mark, a paint chip called "wall color," and the real lessons hiding behind every line at the Saturday counter.

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 3, 20267 min

Sweating a Copper Joint Is Mostly About Getting the Water Out

The torch is the easy part. A dry pipe and clean metal decide whether the joint holds, and most first-timers skip both.

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Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideCarsDean ShawOct 3, 20267 min

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gapping, torque and the hand-start habit that keep a simple plug change from ending with a stripped aluminum head and a tow truck.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 6, 20265 min

How to Build Flat-Pack Furniture and Still Be Speaking Afterward

The box says two hours and one person. It's wrong about both, and the argument usually starts at step one, not step nine.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 3, 20266 min

The anchors that came in the box are why the shelf fell

A cordless drill isn't hard. The clutch, the pilot hole and the right wall anchor are the whole game, and almost nobody explains them.

BRO TakeBe a ManMarcus ValeSep 23, 20265 min

Apologize for what you did, never for what you are

Men have picked up a reflex of shrinking on request. Real apology is a tool worth keeping. The hedging is dead weight, and it costs you more than you think.