USE
Browse By Tag
Buying rough lumber can save a lot of money and offers the opportunity to find and use interesting varieties. However...
Table saws are a versatile staple of DIY enthusiasts, home woodworkers, and jobsite contractors, capable of accuratel...
Muriatic acid, a less-pure variant of hydrochloric acid, is available in high concentrations for use in a host of hom...
Learn how to use much-hyped, multipurpose coconut oil for everything from home maintenance to wound healing.
You’ve no doubt heard the carpentry proverb “Measure twice, cut once” and may even have made it a mantra for your own...
Labels are confusing. Consider, for example, organic, non-GMO, and cage free. They all have one thing in common—they ...
Composting is great for your garden and the environment. Instead of dumping vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass c...
Q: I like to use a bleach mixture to clean and disinfect around my home, but lately I’ve noticed the unused portion i...
Follow these recipes to get extra mileage from a cleaning agent that’s been used for generations.
Sodium hypochlorite—more commonly known as “chlorine bleach” or just “bleach”—is often used as a laundry additive for...
Whether you’re looking to add shiplap, install trim, or tackle one of the hundreds of other carpentry projects, a nai...
Q: I suffer from seasonal allergies, and a friend suggested I buy an air purifier for my home. What does an air purif...
It may sound fancy, but a French cleat is simply a sturdy beveled support board, a secret that builders and craftsmen...
Q: I recently moved into a new apartment, and the small drawer under the oven puzzles me. Is this an extra space to s...
Stop for a moment and consider the number of appliances in the home that run on gas. These days, many stoves, furnac...
Badly scratched hardwood flooring, rotted window frames, and chipped furniture are common problems that can be time-c...
While it’s true that spare change—those pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters that seem to multiply in your pockets—doesn’t stretch as far at the grocery store as...
Life is expensive. Between the mortgage, insurance, car payments, and unexpected repairs, homeowners have a lot of money going out. It’s understandable, then, tha...
Every homeowner encounters a bit of drilling sooner or later in their list of projects—whether that's installing curt...
Olive oil is most commonly thought of as a kitchen staple, but for thousands of years it's also been used for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with foo...
Commonly used as paint thinner, mineral spirits—an inexpensive petroleum distillate—is also a versatile cleaner. Whil...
Heavy-duty dirt, grime, mildew, and mold accumulations call for powerful household cleaners. And chances are you have...
Changing your antifreeze is an important part of preparing your car for cold weather. Antifreeze (also known as coola...
Water is everywhere around us, and in most of the United States it's so safe and plentiful that we often take it for granted as we use it to drink, cook, clean, b...
Subscription services promise to simplify your life, but there are so many out there that it can be hard to figure out which are worth their cost. Before you know...
Incandescent light bulbs are known to occasionally shatter in their fixtures—and when they do, it’s both difficult an...
During a power outage, a generator that runs on gasoline can provide enough juice to keep your lights on, your grocer...
Lugging around a heavy toolbox gets old after a while, but you often need half a dozen tools just to complete even a simple do-it-yourself repair. Make it easier ...
Ammonia is pretty amazing! As a gas, this hydrogen and nitrogen chemical compound is pungent and dangerous. But the d...
Caulking is one of the easiest and most affordable home fixes. By sealing off unwanted cracks in places like windows ...
Anyone serious about woodworking or DIY eventually wants to add a table saw to their power tool arsenal. Named for th...
Drinking straws seem to have only one purpose, but they have become a DIY darling. It’s not hard to see why: They’re produced in an endless range of fun colors an...
From powering vehicles and generators to garden tools, gasoline makes our world go around. But unused remnants of the...
Whether doing fine woodworking or tackling a kitchen or bathroom remodel, chances are you’ll need to create some curv...
You already know toothpicks are great for holding sandwiches together and for cleaning under your fingernails in a pinch, but you probably don’t know how these ti...
This fizzy refresher and cocktail mixer has many surprising uses beyond the bar. Here’s how club soda can simplify your household cleaning and maintenance routines.
Ice cubes can transform any beverage into a refreshing treat. But did you know that ice has myriad practical uses beyond chilling your drink? Ice can solve a bevy...
Most people associate chalk with elementary school blackboards and sidewalk hopscotch games, but chalk can be a surprisingly handy helper to have around the house...
Long a makeup-bag standby for dry skin and chapped lips, petroleum jelly has so many around-the-house uses that it deserves a place in your tool box, too.
When hanging heavy mirrors, bracing large furniture, wall-mounting a new television, or erecting shelving, you need t...
Fire extinguishers are like insurance: You have it in hopes of never needing it (and there’d better be at least one i...
At some point in the never-ending list of do-it-yourself projects, nearly every handy homeowner encounters a stripped...
Planning a carpentry project? Quick, grab a speed square! Also known as a rafter square or triangle square, this simp...
Plenty of DIYers find themselves eager to start a project only to come to a full stop when confronting rivets. The fa...
Few things are as frustrating as trying to drive a screw into a tight corner or over your head, only to have it fall ...
Once reserved for engineers and electronic technicians, multimeters—sometimes called “multitesters”—have come down in...
Looking for a quick way to remove old layers of paint? Your best bet might be a heat gun—and it's easy enough to use ...
Stymied by a stripped screw, or a screw without a head? No worries! There’s a brilliant little tool that can help you...
For committed do-it-yourselfers, extension ladders are a must-have. When you’re using them, though, it’s important to...
Delicious and versatile, eggs are on the ingredients list for countless favorite recipes. But while the yolks and the...
Of all kitchen appliances, the dishwasher must rank as one of the greatest, don't you think? It's a true time-saver. ...
Unless you’re planning to hire a lawn care company to handle your yard maintenance, you’ll need to learn how to start...
Make sure that when you're using a slotted screwdriver, you're not doing it the hard way. Here's how. Be sure you're...
Using a chalk line is a quick way to give yourself a straight line as a building guide. Here's how. Find the endpoint...
Next time you tackle a big exterior paint job, try using a power sprayer. Start at the bottom and work your way up, ...
When you're using a Phillips-head screwdriver, make sure that you're not doing it the hard way. Here's how. Be sure ...
Professional builders use a plumb bob to make sure their walls are vertical. Here's how. Measure two inches away fro...
Before you repaint your house, you have to remove all loose and peeling paint. A pressure washer makes the job go fa...
A chisel is one of the most useful tools in the workshop, but it's important to know how to use it. For example, aft...
Checking your work for level and plumb is crucial. Here's how to select and use the right tool for the job. I recomm...
Give your carpentry work that professional look by concealing nails or screws with wooden plugs. Use a dowel bit to ...
This wooden-handled hammer may look strong enough to pull any nail but because the grain of the wood is actually wea...
Where stripping paint is concerned, there's just no easy way out. Here are some tips. Cover the floor under your wo...
Here's how to get professional results when using a caulking gun. Caulking guns aren't expensive, so don't skimp her...
If your home improvement project calls for new walls, you might want to consider metal studs. They fit together lik...
This is a tool for minimalists, for those who admire simplicity of form and function beyond all else. That's because ...
The controls vary from one drill press to the next, but there are a number of elements that remain largely the same....
Power planers are to jack planes as portable circular saws are to handsaws. Both the planer and the circular saw are ...
Very few workshop tasks can be as satisfying as putting a wood plane through its paces. There you are, just you and, ...
The rafter square is designed to take advantage of the geometric laws of the right triangle. For example, the right t...
At first, I felt a bit foolish explaining how to use a hammer. Most of us have seen children banging away with toy ma...
Despite its name, the portable circular saw (or any circular saw, for that matter) cuts only straight lines. The name...
This tool has ancient origins. Evidence suggests that Egyptian architects used plumb bob-like tools to establish vert...
A miter box is a simple, affordable tool that allows a DIYer to make accurate cuts in wood. Since this wood angle cut...
As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, Old Man Winter gears up to blow squalling snow all over our decks ...
Fall is full of football, hot apple cider, and pumpkin pies. And leaves. For some, lots and lots of leaves. A leaf bl...
Even though the words are often used interchangeably, concrete and cement are not the same thing. Portland cement is ...
Every time you use a power saw, you put your very own flesh and blood at risk. I've worked with more contractors than...
Unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime, the best choice for do-it-yourself floor refinishing is the ran...
The first time I saw my father cut a piece of stock with a handsaw, he made it look easy. When I tried it, I discover...
Are you tired of using a brush and messing with a tray whenever you paint? Consider investing in a paint spray gun. S...
Follow these simple guidelines for working with a wood plane and you are sure to have superior results: Assume the Po...
