Tools in Side Hustles

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How to Land a Trade Apprenticeship and Get Paid to Learn

The application window, the aptitude test, the panel interview, and the six things that sink most candidates before they ever pick up a tool.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Paint a room in the order a painter actually does it

Cut in one wall at a time, keep a wet edge, and never stop for lunch halfway up a wall. The rest is prep.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Why Your Car Won't Start, Worked Out In Order

Listen to the sound it makes, check one number on the battery, and you'll know whether this is a ten-minute fix or a tow.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

PartnerDude.com

Skills6 min read

Tile Your Own Backsplash Without Redoing It Twice

The whole job in the order it's actually done, from killing the breaker to caulking the counter joint, plus the layout mistake that ruins first attempts.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Splitting a cord by hand without wrecking your back

The block height, the swing, the rounds that will never split, and how to stack so the bottom row isn't rotten by spring.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The tape hook is supposed to wiggle

Sixteenths, crow's feet, kerf, and the ten-second test that tells you whether your level has been lying to you.

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

PartnerShirts.com

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Why patios sink, and how to build one that doesn't

The flat patio and the wavy one get built the same way above ground. The difference is what happened in the first afternoon.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Sharpen a knife, an axe and a mower blade the same way

Three tools, three angles, one test. Do them in this order and you'll stop guessing whether the edge is actually finished.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

A four-by-eight raised bed, built in one afternoon

Four feet wide, nine inches deep, three boards and a box of screws. The build takes 90 minutes. Hauling the soil is the real work.

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

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GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Re-caulking a bath and shower without it peeling in a year

Most new caulk fails because of what happened before the tube was even opened. The order matters more than the technique.

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

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Basic Welding: A First Weekend With a MIG

Buy the helmet before the welder, burn a dozen practice beads on scrap, and learn to hear a good weld before you try to see one.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Why Fences Lean, and How to Set Posts That Don't

A fence never fails at the pickets. It fails in the first eight inches of dirt below grade, and that part is decided on day one.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Changing your own oil without making a mess of it

The order to do it in, the two mistakes that dump five quarts on your driveway, and the parts nobody tells you to buy.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

How to hang a door so it closes with one push

Most doors that stick were hung to a crooked frame. Set the hinge side plumb first and everything downstream gets easier.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Skills6 min

The running toilet is a fifteen-minute fix, not a plumber call

Skills5 min

Read a tape measure right the first time

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 22, 20265 min

How to stop a dripping tap in fifteen minutes

Water off, handle off, washer out, washer in. The job is small. The mistakes are the expensive part.

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

PartnerDelicious.com

Skills6 min read

The six multimeter checks that solve most problems

A multimeter does forty things. You'll use six of them, and they cover almost every dead battery, dead outlet and dead appliance you'll meet.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

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