The condition of a saw chain is crucial for cutting firewood efficiently. The quick video above shows by what my biggest and fastest saw does with a hard maple log when a freshly sharpened chain is at work. Click here…
Steve Maxwell, Canada’s Handiest Man, doesn’t accept excuses, and explains how simple it can be to work on DIY home improvement projects.
We’ve been pasturing beef cattle here on our Manitoulin Island, Canada property since 1987, and I’ve learned that the best pastures have much more growing in them than just whatever wild plants happen to be there. Productive pastures also have…
Question: “I bought plans to build a workbench and the instructions mentions making the top from quartersawn lumber to guard against warping and cupping. I don’t know what quartersawing is. I plan to use 2x6s for the top, but how…
As gross as this looks, it’s not what you think it is. These cylinders of soybean paste are especially formed for testing toilets. And testing like this has done a lot to improve the performance of toilets around the world. Read on to see how . . .
If you rely on a sump pump to keep your basement dry, then you need a good system that keeps on working even when electric power goes out. I often hear from homeowners who’ve endured a catastrophic basement leak that…
Back in 2018 I got the chance to try Milwaukee’s then-new 18 volt cordless electric chainsaw. You can see me cutting some hard maple firewood logs using this saw in the video below. I know cordless tool battery technology has…
Power tool technology is the same as every other kind of advancement in the world. New stuff is expensive and exclusive at first, then it gets cheaper and more widely available over time. So what kind of new and interesting…
The world is faster, more demanding, less free and more competitive than it used to be, and I find that staying sane in the 21st century requires mental and lifestyle strategies to match. Then there are personal issues which are…
Want to install wainscoting along the side of a staircase? This short video shows an overview of an actual installation I was part of on a century home. We used a kit for this job from an outfit called Elite…
Question: As the weather warms up in spring I sometimes hear a faint drip-drip sound coming from the attic of my 17 year old bungalow. Water stains and dripping also showed up on the ceiling. When I opened the attic hatch,…
Masonry wasn’t my favourite homebuilding material when I got involved in building and renovation back in the mid-1980s, but 35+ years of dealing with reality has changed my mind. Brick veneer, in particular, offers the best combination of quality and…