Tools in Side Hustles

Only Tools: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Tools stories and video. All of Side Hustles →

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.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawSep 23, 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.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideWoodworkingDean ShawSep 23, 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.

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

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BRO for Her5 min read

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.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideStyleDean ShawSep 23, 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.

GuideMen's GroomingDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Wet It, Aim It, Set It, And Thick Hair Behaves

Coarse hair that stands up all day isn't a product failure. It's a drying failure, and the fix takes about ninety seconds.

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

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GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Your fingers go white in the cold and that's the tool talking

Vibration white finger creeps up on weekend builders too, and by the time you notice it, most of the damage is already permanent.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideCountry BroCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

The concrete dust you can't see is the part that gets you

Cutting block, pavers or a slab on your own place? The rules are simple, the gear is cheap, and the damage doesn't heal.

GuideMen's GroomingDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Safety razor, cartridge or electric, compared without the sales pitch

Three tools, three very different mornings. What each one actually costs you in time, money and neck irritation.

Ask BRO

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

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GuideWoodworkingDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Build a cedar sauna bench and a backrest worth leaning on

Every fastener goes underneath, every edge gets rounded over, and nothing gets a finish. The rest is just careful ripping.

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

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GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawSep 23, 20265 min

Shed Kit or Build From Scratch, and What Each Costs

The foundation isn't in the box, the door is always too small, and one of these two routes will cost you a month of Saturdays.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideBRO SeniorsMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

How to hand down tools, land and heirlooms without a fight

The estate fight almost never starts over money. It starts over a hand plane worth sixty dollars and a promise nobody wrote down.

GuideWoodworkingDean ShawSep 23, 20265 min

Cheap tools that work and cheap tools that'll waste your wood

A $60 circular saw with a good blade cuts cleaner than a $200 one running the junk it shipped with. Where to save, where to spend, and what to buy first.