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Weekend Project: How to Assemble a Brick Pizza Oven in a Day

Everyone loves pizza and brick oven pizza is about as good as it gets. The whole point of the brick oven is to bake pizzas between 800 and 1000 degrees giving you that crispy layer of thin char over an airy breaded crust. Much better than the paltry results you can get with a conventional oven that only runs about half that heat.      … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to Make a Custom Copper Pipe Lamp

I love using the internet to find inspiration, design ideas, and cool materials for my next big project. But, I still think there's a lot of value in a simple, compact physical volume to invite both new makers and folks looking to step up their… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Staying Sharp: 9 Knives Every Man Should Own

A few months ago, in the midst of a day full of projects, I had a bit of an a-ha moment. I was in my workshop, using the table saw to slice up some Baltic birch plywood, when a timer on my phone went off, reminding me to take a break and go chop a bunch of vegetables to add to the slow cooked stock I was simmering in the kitchen. … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Make This: Leather + Walnut Cutting and Serving Board

There are plenty of times when a small wooden board is all you need to set out or serve something when entertaining. And it's even better when they look awesome and make whatever you're sharing look that much tastier. If you have a few scraps of hardwood (like walnut) lying around after a project, this is exactly what you should do with them: make a walnut cutting board!… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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8 Legitimately Good Thanksgiving Movies to Watch While You Digest

Halloween has its horror and December its infinite loop of sparkle-strung classics. Good or bad, they're the established traditions of their seasons.

But, if you will, allow me to make the case as November as perhaps the prime month for festive film watching. We can't all relate to being chased by ax murderers nor having the carolers sing as we find our soulmate under the mistletoe just as the snow starts to fall outside. But everyone knows the experience of returning home to break bread and spill gravy with family, or, perhaps, what it's like to strike out on your own for the first holiday not spent at your grandparents. The Thanksgiving table (and four days of being stuck in the same place) is the perfect setting for drama, comedy, and everything in between. Plus, all those sweaters. Here are our faves that get it right. 

… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to Install and Mount a Vise without Drilling Holes in Your Workbench

My first "workbench" was a simple table-style surface. 2x4 legs, 1/2" plywood top, held together with black drywall screws. I built it in my first apartment when I was twenty-two, with my first (and only) power tools: a circular saw and a drill. 

In the back left corner, I mounted a shiny, new, bright blue Irwin swiveling bench vise. It was awesome to have it there when I needed it - holding metal stock and angle iron for cutting, helping me bend rod and pipe, even keeping dowels and small wood parts in place while working on them. Unfortunately, these activities constituted a very small amount of the projects I was doing, and mostly, the vise just got in the way during the other 97% percent of tasks.

So, for the past few years, that vise has just been in a storage crate, and I get it out and try to hold it in place when I need it. Which, in case you can't guess, does not work. Ever. So, I wanted to come up with a solution that would allow me to install a machinist's style swiveling benchtop vise, without having to permanently install it, or drill holes in my benchtop and have to thread and tighten nuts and bolts every time I use it.    … 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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This is the Breakfast I Eat Every Morning. You Should Too.

Inspired by Bryson and David's post this week on their favorite breakfasts that make morning bearable, I thought I'd share the simple, nutritious plate that I eat most mornings. I can put it together in just around ten minutes, and it keeps me full, satisfied, and energetic well into (my typically late) lunch time.

  The argument goes like this: … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to Stock Your Home Bar on the Cheap (Yes, We're Naming Bottles)

Look, we love a solid cocktail bar. It's an awesome experience to meet up with some co-workers for happy hour, or connect with a friend or date over something shaken or stirred and served in a quality glass. But there's something to be said for sipping at home. Most importantly, it's much less expensive. Bar and restaurants try to keep their food and liquor costs to 20-25%, which means that $12 martini is actually made up of only $3.00 of ingredients. But we also can't argue with the value of staying home, whipping something up for your partner or friends on the fly in the warm, quite confines of your own living room. (Pajama pants optional).

And while we have no problem dropping some serious change on a truly elegant whiskey or craft spirit, the truth is: most mixed drinks don't actually require the highest end of spirits. So, if you're looking to experiment with crafting your own drinks, but don't want to invest mega bucks in a full fleet of top-shelf spirits, it's time to learn how to stock your home bar or bar cart on a budget.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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Why I'm Quitting the Glencairn Glass

It comes as no surprise that spirits and beverage industry has identified the ideal glass for tasting whatever product they're trying to sell. There are separate wine glasses for enjoying your pinots noir and pinots gris, a wide variety of glasses to complement a certain style of ale or lager, and specific glasses for "fully experiencing" tequilas, gins, and brandies.

Mostly, this is insider stuff, employed at competitions, industry events, and certain high-end bars and restaurants with expansive "programs." But there is one specialty glass that has made its way into the homes of consumers and fans since it came into production in 2001: the Glencairn whisky glass.   … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How I Finally Became a Morning Person

Let it be stated, for the record, that I'm naturally a night owl. I hate waking up in the morning.

I'm not one of those people who are wired to pop out of bed, to the tune of that Rossini piece that plays at sunrise in cartoons, with a spring in my step and a grin on my face. (Being a morning person is so out of my orbit that I don't know if that's how early birds actually feel, or if it's just my pre-coffee-grump perception.)

You know what I do love? The feeling of accomplishing so many of the day's to-dos, especially the things that are both short-term urgent and long-term important, and looking up at the clock to realize it's barely lunchtime. I love reaching the end of a work day with the relief that comes with giving the whole day my full effort. I love the feeling of being proactive, which means that, though being an early bird isn't my natural inclination, I love its effects.

So, how did I ditch the hoot owls and start rising to catch the proverbial worm? Read on for some tips that helped me.… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Inner DIYer

When you're new to the world of DIY, starting even the smallest of projects can be a daunting task. How much money will it cost me? How much time will I waste? Do I even know what I'm doing? Questions like these can easily deflate a well planned weekend of hard work when you're not comfortable with yourself and your abilities. … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to: Use a Swedish Flame to Cook Up Some Cast Iron Salt and Vinegar Potatoes

If you're a fan of salt and vinegar potato chips then you're gonna love this recipe for pan fried sea salt and basalmic potatoes. … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to: Add Additional Lighting to Your Workshop

Have you ever tried to do any woodworking, leather working, metal working or anything else in your shop if it’s dimly lit?­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­  It’s hard to see cut lines, find your tools and it can be really… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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How to: Make a Custom, Heavy Duty Tool Roll to Carry Your Tools Anywhere

95% of the time, a tool box is overkill. Whether taking some items to help a friend with a project, or just working on something in my own home two floors above my basement shop, the act of dragging out the toolbox, selecting the items from the pegboard and arranging them appropriately, and then lugging the whole thing around is simply unnecessary. 

… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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10 Projects You Can Make with Scrap Wood

From every project I’ve ever made, I always have a small amount of left over lumber or scrap wood from cuts that needed to be make. I have a feeling that I’m not alone in that category. Many times, those small pieces or scraps sit in the bottom of my wood pile for months or even years until I find a need for them.  Eventually, I'll working on a project that needs a small piece of walnut, oak, pine, etc. and that’s when I am thankful I kept those small pieces of lumber.  But! Those scraps don’t always need to sit on the shelf until you need them for the next big build.

There are also masculine, scrap, and easy projects that make great use of your scrap lumber.  Here are ten of our favorites:… Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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A New Twist on the DIY Standing Desk - How to Build a Wall-Mounted Work Station

I've gone on record countless times about my love of the standing desk, the research I've seen on the perils of sitting all day, and my own personal solution for long days on the laptop: the 5-second standing desk (on which I'm currently working.)    … Continue reading on ManMadeDIY.com

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