Tools in Gear

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What to Spend on a Drill and Impact Driver, and What to Skip

A brushless two-tool kit for around $200 does 95 percent of what a homeowner needs, and the bits matter more than the badge.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The 20 Tools Every Homeowner Needs and What to Pay for Each

Spend where your hands go every time, save where they don't, and rent the rest. Real brands, real price ranges, and the four you shouldn't buy at all.

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build a picnic table with your kids in one weekend

Five boards for the top, four bolts per leg, and a job list a seven-year-old can actually do without you hovering.

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

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Tools & Organizing6 min read

How to Pick a Cordless Tool Platform You Won't Regret

You're not buying a drill. You're buying a battery mount you'll live with for a decade, so pick it on purpose and buy in cheap.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Cutting, drilling and filing steel without wrecking the bit

Steel punishes the habits wood forgives. Slow down, clamp harder, add oil, and a $25 file will do work you'll be proud of.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Router basics that keep your edges clean and your dados tight

Feed direction, depth per pass, and the reason your 3/4-inch bit won't cut a groove that fits 3/4-inch plywood.

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

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Your first bowl on a lathe and what goes wrong

Pick the right chunk of wood, mount it so it stays put, and cut in the one direction that doesn't tear the grain.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Pocket screws, mortise and tenon, dovetails, in that order

Three joints cover nearly everything you'll build. Pick the wrong one and the table racks by Thanksgiving.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build a real workbench from two sheets of plywood

A 67-inch bench with a shelf, a clamping overhang and no wobble, cut from two 4x8 sheets in a single Saturday.

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Start with a cutting board, not a bookshelf

Hard maple, six strips, one bottle of Titebond III, and the mistake that doesn't show up until you oil it.

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Bringing a rusty Stanley No. 4 back to work

A car boot plane, a sheet of 80 grit and an evening at the bench will out-cut most of what's sold new in the shops.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The mower that won't start, and the order to check it

Nine times in ten it's the fuel, not the engine. A working order for diagnosis, and the point where you stop and buy a new machine.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Turning a storage garage into a working shop

Light, power, wall space and one bench you can always get to. The order you do it in decides whether anything ever gets finished.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build the workbench first, and buy only four tools

Skip the floating shelves. Your first project should be a flat surface at the right height, and it takes four tools to build it.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Woodworking6 min

Measure and Mark So the Cut Is Right the First Time

Woodworking6 min

Build a sawbench first, then build everything else on it

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Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Everything I Do Differently After the Shop Hurt Me

Nobody gets hurt on the hard job. You get hurt on the easy cut, at the end of the day, on the tool you've used ten thousand times.

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Woodworking6 min read

Raise a burr, and the rest of sharpening follows

One skill, one piece of feedback, and about fifteen minutes to learn it. After that your chisels, kitchen knives and axe all get easier.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

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