Tools in Trades & Careers

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Sharpen a kitchen knife on a whetstone without guessing

A dull knife slides off an onion and into your thumb. Twenty minutes, one stone, and the burr tells you when you're done.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Swapping a Switch and an Outlet, in the Right Order

The whole job takes twenty minutes once you know what to look at first, and exactly where it stops being a homeowner job.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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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.

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

PartnerDelicious.com

Skills6 min read

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.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

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.

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.

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

PartnerNames.com

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.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

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.

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.

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Plan a cook for eight people

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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.

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

PartnerShirts.com

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.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

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.

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.

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

PartnerCancerDefying.com

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.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

Skills6 min

How to hang a door so it closes with one push

Skills6 min

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

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

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GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 22, 20265 min

Read a tape measure right the first time

The marks, the sliding hook, the diamond at 19.2 and the one habit that stops you cutting a shelf a sixteenth short.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

Skills5 min read

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.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

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