Bird Box Dimensions That Birds Accept
Most folks think you need a workshop full of expensive, vibrating power tools to figure out how to build a bird box, but they've got it backwards. I remember one afternoon teaching a lad at the college who was sweating over a circular saw, trying to cut thin cedar boards for a nesting box, only […]
Ppe You Will Actually Wear
I remember a lad I taught back at the college, bright enough, but he spent more time fussing over the brand name on his safety goggles than he did checking if they actually sat flush against his face. He’d bought the most expensive kit in the catalogue, thinking a high price tag meant he was […]
Working Alone With a Machine Running
I remember a Tuesday afternoon back in the nineties, working a solo renovation on a draughty old terrace in Leeds. The smell of damp sawdust was thick in the air, and the only sound was the rhythmic scritch-scritch of my plane. I’d slipped on a rogue shaving, my hand went flying toward a chisel, and […]
A Cold Frame From Reclaimed Timber
Most people think you need a shed full of expensive power tools and a pile of pressure-treated timber to get started, but that's a load of rubbish. I spent forty years on sites seeing men struggle with heavy machinery only to end up with wonky joints and wasted wood. When it comes to learning how […]
Four Kinds of Pliers and When
I remember a lad on my site back in the nineties, a bright enough boy, but he spent more time fumbling with a massive, cheap set of multi-purpose grips than he did actually working. He’d be sweating, cursing at a stubborn wire or a misplaced nail, while I sat there with a single pair of […]
A Coiled Extension Lead Gets Hot
I remember standing on a dusty site in the nineties, watching a lad try to daisy-chain three cheap, thin extension leads together just to power a heavy-duty planer. The smell of scorched plastic hit me before the smoke even did; that cord was cooking itself from the inside out. Most people think knowing how to […]
A Dowel Jig That Actually Lines Up
I remember standing in a workshop back in the eighties, watching a young lad try to force a joint together with a cheap, plastic jig that was wobbling like a jelly on a plate. He was sweating, cursing, and fighting the tool more than the timber, and all the expensive power accessories in the world […]
Reroofing a Shed in a Day
Most people think that fixing a leaking shed requires a trip to the big-box hardware store for a mountain of plastic sealant and a noisy nail gun. They spend a fortune on "quick-fix" sprays that peel off after the first frost, leaving them right back where they started. But if you want to know how […]
Fixing a Post Without Digging It Out
Most people think that when a fence starts leaning, you need to go out and buy a whole new kit of heavy machinery or tear up the entire garden to fix it. They see a wobbly post and think it’s a job for a massive excavator or a pile of expensive, plastic-molded braces that’ll snap […]
Bracing a Gate Correctly
Most people see a gate dragging against the gravel and think they need to go out and buy a heavy-duty replacement or a massive new set of hardware. They’ll spend a fortune on a fancy cordless drill and some oversized screws, thinking more power is the answer, but that’s usually where they go wrong. I’ve […]