Sagging Summer 2017 Comes to an End with a Whimper

It has been 25 years since Labor Day weekend has not seen a new film debut in over 1,000 theaters. The largest "new" release over Labor Day weekend 2017 is Sony's re-release of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which will be ushered into 901 locations followed by The Weinstein Co.'s Tulip Fever, which recently moved up to take advantage of the absence of a wide release, but will still only launch in 765 locations. Otherwise, Lionsgate is releasing Pantelion's...

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Note to Self...

A Note to Self: Thursday, August 31, 2017:   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to: Make Simple Wooden Triangle Shelves

Executing a well-designed project doesn't always have to involve high-end materials, elegant shapes, and complicated techniques. Sometimes, the most affordable wood will do, and to bring it together: just a little math.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to: Make a DIY Surplus Ammo Can Speaker Box

Okay, begin witty caption contest for this rugged DIY speaker system...now! "You can play your explosively good music?" "For use only when you really need to blast your tunes?" "Only plays songs that charted number one with a bullet?" "Solder up this stereo, soldier?"… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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7 Idioms, Adages, and Classic Sayings That Are Actually Pretty Good Pieces of Advice

You know the ones. Those classic, advice-supplying stock phrases that might be from Shakespeare but could be a religious text and/or folk wisdom, yet we all seem to absorb nonetheless. Those simple, stock phrases that are always shared by well-meaning people in sometimes appropriate, but often in irrelevant situations that don't actually apply.

But, I suspect that we all have a few of these things that actually do make sense to us. True, "a penny saved is a penny earned," doesn't really resonate with or motivate me. But I know it's a code that many people honestly organize their lives around. Nor do I agree that you should "never go to bed angry." In my experience, nothing gets truly resolved when you're both worn out; and sometimes, eight hours of rest is exactly what you need for both of you to realize you got triggered, but you still love each other and the new day is a fresh start. In my view, the better aphorism should be "never have a hard conversation after 9:00pm," because, seriously, no one is at their best when you're exhausted.

But there are a few of these sayings – some old chestnuts and some a bit more contemporary – that I really do say to myself often, and they work for me. So, these are the ones I keep around, and perhaps they'll be helpful to you, too. I'd love to hear which ones motivate you as well.… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'Hitman's Bodyguard' Repeats at #1 During Worst Box Office Weekend in Over 15 Years

No need to sugar coat it, this was a miserable weekend. The combined gross of the top twelve failed to total over $50 million, something that hasn't happened in an August weekend in over 20 years. In fact, the combined $49 million for the top twelve is the worst since the top twelve combined for $43.5 million in late September 2001. Making matters worse, with next weekend seeing no major, new wide releases things aren't going to improve until It arrives on September 8. Keeping things t...

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Summer Staggers to a Close as Mayweather and McGregor Fight Takes Center Stage

We are looking at what may be the worst August weekend in over 20 years with a top twelve that could struggle to reach a combined $50 million, something that hasn't happened in August since 1993. In fact, while this will undoubtedly be the worst weekend of 2017 thus far, it could be the worst weekend for the top twelve since early September 2014 should Mojo's current forecast hold. For more context, August is currently pacing 36% behind last year and expected to be the first August since 20...

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Yes, Kolache are the Ultimate Breakfast Food. Here's How to Make 'Em.

Lately, I've been on a quest to find better breakfast foods. Without getting into much personal, and overbearing, health details, most breakfast foods just aren't all that great for you. Whether it's a pile of dried wheat or a sugary toaster pastry, grabbing something good on the go can be so dang hard! Well, no more! Kolache to the rescue!

… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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6 Simple Tools Every DIYer Needs

Have you ever had to cook dinner at a friend's kitchen only to find out they don't even own a cutting board? Not only have I had that happen for me, I've noticed this kind of thing happening in my friend's workshops. It's easy to get caught up in… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Shop Update: Rehabbing & Fixing Up My New 8" Delta Jointer

For the last couple of years, I've been mostly set on woodworking tools. I've been collecting my large, stationary machines for nearly ten years now, and although I do plan to upgrade a few of them, I've been able to accomplish most of what I've set out to do with a little creativity and patience.

The one standard machine that's been missing from my shop is: the jointer. I knew I didn't want to buy a tiny benchtop machine, or even a too-small 6" model. I told myself I'd wait until I was in my "forever" shop, then get the machine I wanted and could use for the rest of my life.

Once we bought our house last year, I started a Craigslist alert, and painfully watched every listing from ubiqituous Harbor Freight tools to overpriced secondhand Jets and Craftsman from people who are selling for their friends and parents and don't know what they actually had. 

Over the last eighteen months, only a few 8" models even came up for sale. The woodworking community in my town snatched them up as soon as they were listed, and so I waited patiently.

And then - enter this Delta DJ20. Built in the 80s when machines were machines. Complete with parallelogram beds, dead flat and coplaner tables, and an awesome fence, this was being offered at less than the price of a new Grizzly, plus no shipping, no assembly or degreasing, and it came with a mobile base.

I made my offer, went to check it out, and - boom! - I'm now the owner of a vintage 8" Delta jointer.    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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7 Things I'm Totally Obsessed with This Month (August 2017 Edition)

These are thoughts, the artwork, the news stories, the tools, the food, the conversations, and whatever else we just can't get out of our heads this month.      … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'Hitman's Bodyguard' Tops Weekend with $21M+ Opening as 'Logan Lucky' Falls Short

Lionsgate and Summit's action-comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard finished ahead of pre-weekend expectations and took the #1 spot at the weekend box office while WB and New Line's Annabelle: Creation scored a second place finish over its sophomore frame. The weekend wasn't too kind, however, to Bleecker's Logan Lucky, which did manage to finish third, but was unable to crack double digits from over 3,000 locations. As for the weekend overall, the top twelve narrowly escaped becoming the worst wee...

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(How I Totally Screwed Up) Trimming Out My Shop Windows

When I built out my basement shop space last fall/winter, there remained a couple of unfinished spots that I knew I'd need to deal with. Case in point: this obscure glass window. (This half of the shop was intended to be a bathroom, and this would have sat right over the tub.)

Last week, I got a new, very large, very heavy stationary woodworking machine (more on that soon), which I'd planned to store right along this wall. So, I figured if I didn't trim it out now, I'd never do it, and it'd look exactly the same in twenty years. 

So, I got to work. And it was kind of a disaster.    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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This is the Only Way You Should Be Wrapping Up Your Headphones

Yesterday, I offered the thesis that if you're only going to learn to tie one knot, it should be the bowline: it's simple, can be easily untied, and is incredibly versatile for all sorts of situations. 

And all that is true. But, it's not the "knot" I employ most often. Because the reality is, most of us don't handle rope on a daily basis. We do, however, in the age of smartphones and podcasts and the entire history of recorded music available at your fingertips, engage with another long, stringy thing that needs to be dealt with on the regular: your headphones.

Or ear buds. Or ear phones. Or whatever you call those wired transducers that deliver all that sweet, sweet audio to your brain. And because you take them with your everywhere, they regularly get knotted and tangled up in your pocket or bag.

This is completely unnecessary. Because there's a five-second "knot" that can completely eliminate this problem, and it doesn't take any longer than other storage methods. So, now, I present to you, the actual most useful knot in the world.    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Summer Slows to a Crawl as 'Hitman's Bodyguard' and 'Logan Lucky' Debut

The downward trend continues this weekend. Two new releases arrive in theaters and neither will debut with enough to even marginally turn the summer box office tide. In fact, we may be looking at the worst weekend at the box office this year with a top twelve that could struggle to generate a combined $80 million. As for the new releases, Lionsgate's release of The Hitman's Bodyguard will do what it can to challenge Annabelle: Creation for the weekend's top spot while Bleecker Street's rel...

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According to Science, the Most Important Ingredient in Your Whiskey is...Water

Here's the kind peer-reviewed scientific study and journal article that we can all get behind: how to make your whiskey taste better. This year, scholars Björn C. G. Karlsson & Ran Friedman took a look at the molecular makeup of whiksey, and specifically, how dilution with water affects the presence of flavorful compounds that make the sipping experience even more enjoyable.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to Tie the Most Useful Knot in the World

This how-to is not for sailors. Nor anglers, mountaineers, first responders, or anyone else who need to know a huge diversity of knots, their strengths and weaknesses, and what situation calls for each.

This is for the rest of us. Those of us who go through normal life and its adventures, and encounter rope, twine, string, line, paracord, and the like, and when we need to secure it, say "Should I tie this like my shoes, or in a square know that I know will be nearly impossible to get off when I'm done."

The truth is, at this point in our lives, we're probably not going to learn how to tie a complex calvalcade of knots, and even if we did, would probably not have enough opportunity to practice them in real world situations in order to commit them to long term memory.

But, still, we should all know how to tie at least one pro-level option, and so we say to you — if you're only going to know how to tie one kind of knot, let it be:   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Shop Skills: How to Care For Your Cast Iron Table Tops

If you're like me, the cast iron in your shop sits atop the most prized tools you have. Those tops are solid, durable, stay dead flat, and make working wood just a bit easier. But to keep them at their best takes a bit of routine work, fending off rust and staining doesn't take much but make sure you do it. Here's how.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'Annabelle' Sequel Shines as Summer 2017 Box Office Continues to Fade

It's a great weekend for Warner Bros. which saw Annabelle: Creation, the latest installment in the Conjuring franchise, top the box office with $35 million while Dunkirk topped $150 million domestically. However, fellow new releases struggled to give the box office much of a jolt as the top twelve brought in a combined $103.8 million, down 6% compared to last weekend and the fourth lowest weekend of 2017. Overall, the summer movie season is still down 12% compared to last year. With an...

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How to Stop That Annoying First Song from Playing Every Time You Plug Your Phone Into Your Car

It might not happen with every smartphone and car stereo combo, but if you know what we're talking about, this tip is for you. You get in, you fasten your seat belt, you turn the car on, you plug in your phone, and.... 

THE. SAME. &*$%. SONG. COMES. ON. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

It's easy to figure out why this devilish contrivance occurs. It's the song who's title comes first alphabetically in your library. On my phone, it's A.M. 180 by Grandaddy; on my wife's, it's Vampire Weekend's A-Punk. And it just... starts playing, at whatever volume your stereo is set to.

Here's how to stop that first song from playing when your plug your phone into your car:   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Weekend Project: Make a DIY Reclaimed Wood Wall Bike Hanger

There's a great adage in the home decor and organization field...you've probably heard it on one of those room makeover TV shows. The phrasing varies, of course, but the central idea, "When you run out of floor space, you've got to go up."

… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'Annabelle' Sequel Eyes $30+ Million Opening as Summer Slow Down Continues

Last weekend saw the top twelve films gross a combined $110.4 million, less than half of what the top twelve grossed over the same weekend last year. On top of that, last weekend's overall cumulative gross for all films reached $122.7 million, almost $11 million less than Suicide Squad's $133.6 million opening last year alone. Unfortunately, this weekend is actually looking to be even worse. Of the weekend's three new wide releases, the Warner Bros. and New Line horror, spin-off sequel...

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July 2017 Box Office Marks Third Straight Month in Decline

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10 DIY Beard Oil Recipes

Anyone who's read ManMade for more than a week or so can attest: we're never gonna wax poetic about the beard. Some men look better with them, some do not. Some can grow a full one, and some can't. There's no magic in the beard. It's a choice, and if yours looks nice, it's good to have options. Personally, I tend to wear one in the fall and winter, and then go clean shaven in the warmer spring and summer. 

What we do know is: having a beard is much more than just not shaving. You've got to care for it, clean it, trim it, and keep it healthy.    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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ManMade Essential Toolbox: The Key to Keep Yourself from Going Crazy in the Workshop

Small-parts storage is one of the biggest steps you can take in creating the perfect workshop zen. When all those little fasteners, nails, washers, odds and ends all have a home you can work in peace, not pieces.

… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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If You're Not Doing This Every Time You Grill, You're Missing Out on Serious Flavor

During summer, it's my goal to bust out the charcoal and chimney starter as much as possible. Call it a masculine stereotype if you must, but I never miss an opportunity to take advantage of extended daylight to cook dinner outside. It avoids heating up the house with the oven, and, of course, makes everything taste amazing.

And, if you want you grilled food to taste even better, here's my tip. It takes all of five seconds to set up, and takes your meal up to the next level:     … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Shop Skills: How to Clean Your Saw Blades

Maintaining your shop tools starts with keeping those blades sharp and well lubricated. Here's a quick overview on how to tune up your cutting edges.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'The Dark Tower' Tops Lowest Weekend of Summer 2017 Yet

Sony's The Dark Tower topped the softest weekend at the domestic box office since early April, opening with less than $20 million. Among other new releases, Aviron's Kidnap had a modest showing, squeaking above $10 million, while Annapurna's Detroit was unable to take off in its nationwide expansion. Overall, with the top twelve films grossing $111.5 million makes this the lowest grossing weekend of the summer season and sixth lowest of the year as the 2017 summer movie season is currently...

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How to (Safely) Age and Antique Hardware for Your Woodworking Projects

 

Let's face it: modern hardware leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, it's inexpensive and abundant, but visually, it looks...well, cheap. No character. You spend weeks on a project, choosing wood grain carefully, sanding and planing to a glass smooth finish, and then you're forced to add some blindingly shiny yellow brass or bright blue metal to finish your project. 

Of course, there are high-end hardware makers out there producing specialty hinges and components for period furniture, but I wanted a less expensive way to transform general home center hardware into something I actually want to use on my projects.

So, I called my dad.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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'Dark Tower' Looks to Top Slow Weekend as Summer Slump Continues

Around this time last year Suicide Squad debuted to the tune of $133.6 million and gave the 2016 summer movie season a much-needed jolt. This year the summer movie season is in the midst of a slump, off nearly 9% compared to last year and don't expect this weekend to turn things around. Sony's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower should top the box office, but only with an opening around $20 million while fellow new wide release Kidnap appears unlikely to crack double digits. Meanwh...

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Hit the Trails: 6 Next-Level Gear Items to Take with You On Your Next Car Camping Trip

There's something about a winding road. It's still a bit wild and rebellious, like nature hasn't completely given in to the straight line of civilization just yet. That's the kind of highway that I think of when I want to take a road trip, and no road trip is complete without a day or two of car camping. For me, car camping is a great mix between roughing it and going posh in a rented bed. I just seem to find a lot more enjoyment when I can bring just a few more pieces of gear along, but still sleep outside. Here are a few of my favorite pieces I take with me on every car camping adventure these days.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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