Shop in Country Bro

Only Shop: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Shop stories and video. All of Country Bro →

GuideCal Brennan23 Sept 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.

Rain Off the Shop Roof Will Water More Than You Think

Pick Three Local Businesses and Give Them Your Regular Money

How to get into plumbing and last the first five years

Call the shops before you call the school, keep your hours on paper, and buy the pliers good. The rest you learn in the ditch.

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw8 Oct 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.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideHunting & ShootingWes Dunbar2 Oct 20267 min

Caping a buck for a mount means cutting less than you think

Most ruined capes aren't ruined at the shop. They're ruined in the first hour, by a knife that went one cut too far.

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

PartnerDelicious.com

Autos6 min read

A supercar is bought. A coachbuilt car is argued into existence

The one-off cars from Rolls-Royce and Ferrari cost millions. The rules for commissioning one scale all the way down to your local shop.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw5 Oct 20267 min

Build a pair of sawhorses you're allowed to cut into

Five two-by-fours, one afternoon, and a design that expects you to saw through it. The best first shop project there is.

GuideStyleDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Your watch is probably two sizes too big

Case diameter is the number everybody quotes and the wrong one to shop by. Measure your wrist, then measure the lugs.

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

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideHomeWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

An Open Garage Door Won't Save You From a Generator

Cracking the door a foot feels like ventilation. It isn't. What actually keeps carbon monoxide out of your garage, your shop and your house.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

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

What to wear to an interview in the trades and in an office

A suit's wrong at the diesel shop and a flannel's wrong on the third floor. Both interviews have a uniform, and you can hit either one cheap.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

GuideHobbiesDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Start Welding in Your Garage With a Flux-Core Machine

For about the price of a decent grill, you can join two pieces of steel forever and start fixing things instead of replacing them.

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

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 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.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20267 min

How to Lay Out a Real Shop in a One-Car Garage

Twelve by twenty-two feet is enough room to build furniture, if you chalk the floor before you buy a single tool.</title> <dek>Twelve by twenty-two feet is enough to build furniture in, if you chalk the floor before you buy a single tool.

GuideStyleTobias Reed23 Sept 20265 min

How to shop the thrift rack without bringing home junk

The shoulder seam decides it, elastane is already dead, and a $6 jacket with a $60 tailoring bill is still a bargain.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw23 Sept 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.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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