No Vise, No Workbench, No Problem: How to Hold Your Woodworking with a Simple Wooden Batten

I'm a lucky guy. My family has allowed me to dedicate half our basement into a dedicated shop space, complete with a custom woodworking bench and a growing collection of tools. It's bright, clean (at least right now), and I'm slowly turning it into a functional workspace that will allow me to be as productive as possible. 

But it took me a long time to get here. For nearly fifteen years, I worked out of dining rooms and back porches and portions of the garage, lugging my tools around in plastic totes and home center toolboxes, setting up shop on the washing machine, folding tables, and 1/2" plywood scraps screwed to 2x4s.

And, in the early days, it was that lack of a proper workbench that prevented me from thinking I could could use hand tools. Without a vise and hold downs, how could I safely secure my work for handplaning, chiseling, or sawing?The answer: a batten, which will take you 5 minutes to make and turns any flat surface into a work bench. Let's make one!   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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This Isn't the Only Way to Install a Screw Hook, but It Is the Best

Okay, friends. This is one of my all-time favorite DIY hacks. I learned it more than fifteen years ago from a book I got from the library, and committed it to memory. I only need it about once or twice a year, but it works every. single. time. I'm always super grateful to have it on hand, and so today, I'm sharing so you too can stop busting your hand and banging your knuckles every time you need to install a hook somewhere.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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The Best $15 You Can Spend for Your Kitchen This Week

Every so often, a new idea is presented to the world that seems to have already belonged there for years. Like a perfect pop song, it's fresh and exciting, yet feels like it's been part of you for your entire life.

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'Jumanji' Tops the Weekend and $500M Worldwide as 'Insidious 4' Scares Up Strong Debut

Heading into the weekend Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ranked #7 on the list of movies that had never reached #1 at the weekend box office. After Friday's estimates the film ranked fourth on the list, but as of today it no longer occupies a position after a stellar third weekend saw the action comedy lead the way at the weekend box office while topping $500 million globally. Additionally, Universal's release of Blumhouse's Insidious: The Last Key finished with a strong second place...

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17 Things You Should Probably Give Up This Year

The first week of January is often about adding things to our list. "This year, I'm going to do this every day, or execute a hundred of those..." Instead, perhaps 2018 is the year you drop some of the stuff that just isn't serving you well. We have a few ideas.    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Use Benjamin Franklin's "13 Virtues" to Help You Be a Better Person in 2018

As far as the truly great characters from U.S. History to which we might look for timeless advice, it's hard to beat Benjamin Franklin. (We still love you, Mark Twain!) Franklin was born into a family of very modest means, but he manage to use his basic education (he stopped going to school at age ten) to become a successful author, scientist, statesman, printer, politician, inventor, humorist, civic activist, diplomat, and $100 dollar bill appearer.

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How to: Make Everything Taste Better this Winter with DIY Charcoal Salt

In the summer, it's easy to get those deep, blackened and charred flavors in your weeknight meals. During grill season, you simply head outside, and cook your meal over an open flame.

And then comes January, where the produce is poor, and everything lacks that certain zing that the warm sun and fire-seared foods provide.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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