#diy
249 episodes
#5810: Standoffs, Anchors, and the Outlet Behind the Whiteboard
A missing whiteboard, a metal-stud surprise, and the thread mismatch that turns one fastener into two.
#5789: Build First, Ask Later: Hermits Who Dug Cathedrals
No permits, no blueprints, no training. Two categories of builders who did the unreasonable — and what they share.
#5784: The Cheap Knife That Lies to You
Why a cheap sharp knife is worse than a dull one, and how to pick tools for stripping cable without nicking a conductor.
#5781: Measuring Keyhole Spacing: Why the Tool You Want Doesn't Exist
A digital slider that reads millimeters? It's actually two tools — and for keyhole spacing, the right answer might be no measurement at all.
#5780: Why Keyhole Slots Never Line Up
Keyhole slots are on everything and standardized on nothing. Here's why the spacing never matches and which screw actually works.
#5779: Tunnel Girl Dug 80 Feet Under Her House
No engineering degree, two books, and ten dead jackhammers. How one woman dug an 80-foot tunnel under her Virginia house — and got it permitted.
#5707: Epoxy vs Superglue: The Tooling Gap Nobody Talks About
Epoxy beats superglue on every measurable axis — so why does everyone still grab the tube? The answer is metering, and the tools that fix it.
#5704: Superglue: One Drop, Two Reactions, Five Mistakes
One part, no mixing, seconds to set — and most of us have been using it wrong since we were nine.
#5676: DIY Cable Guide: Barrel Jacks, XLR, and What to Avoid
Soldering your own cables won't save money — it buys exact-length runs. But some connectors hide polarity traps and tooling costs.
#5675: Wiring a UK Plug: Copper, Tools, and the 1mm Rule
How much copper should show on a UK plug? Why one stray strand matters, and the flush cutter that beats electrician's scissors.
#5655: Organizing the Electronics Repair Bench
Why phone repair benches resist order, and the trays, lights, and magnification that fix it.
#5645: Who Teaches You to Fix Your Own Home?
Wiring a plug but never welding metal — why hands-on skills have holes, and what a real DIY curriculum would cover.
#5635: Why Your VHB Tape Keeps Falling Off the Wall
VHB tape is a viscoelastic acrylic foam, not glue — and it fails on dirty grout, cold tile, and no roll-down pressure, not on bad tape.
#5610: Magnetizing Screwdrivers: Do the Cycles Wear Out?
Can a screwdriver be magnetized forever, or does the magnetism wear out? A deep dive into magnetizer blocks, coils, and demagnetization.
#5579: Cutting Things With a Dremel: What Actually Works
Cut-off wheels vs cutting bits, RPM by material, and why lateral cutting is fine with the right attachment and fatal with the wrong one.
#5541: Re-terminating a Keystone Jack After a Bad Ethernet Run
A DIY Ethernet run came up at 80 Mbps on 2.5G fiber. Here's what went wrong and whether re-termination is a skill worth learning.
#5529: 15 Forgotten Hardware Parts Your DIY Kit Needs
A 64-drawer parts bin reveals why you keep buying the same screws twice — and the 15 fasteners worth actually stocking.
#5516: Wall Anchors: Why Your Holes Keep Failing
Nylon anchors don't fill gaps — they multiply grip. Here's what actually works when your hole is compromised.
#5514: Drilling Concrete: Jigs, Anchors, and Fidelity
Why your hammer drill wanders off mark, which wall-capable jigs actually grip, and how to match drill bits to anchors.
#5513: Why Phone Mounts Fail (And What Doesn't)
Suction cups, vent clips, and magnets all fail at the same point. Here's what heavy-duty mounting actually looks like.
#5376: Why a Zello Pager Wearable Doesn't Exist Yet
Pagers blink until acknowledged. Zello beeps until you tap. But nobody's shipped the wearable that bridges them.
#5372: 10 Power Tools, Ranked by What to Buy First
A purchasing sequence, not a wish list: the 10 power tools a homeowner should own, in the order you should actually buy them.
#5371: Corded vs Cordless Jigsaws: What Actually Matters
Amps and SPM are the least predictive specs on the box. Here's what actually determines whether a jigsaw cuts square.
#5366: Packing a Medic Belt: TQ First, Then Everything Else
Tourniquet at ten o'clock, radio at four. How medics build a belt kit that works in seconds — and what goes in a reduced version for non-medics.