On this page of “Our Recipes for Success”, we’ll look at all things from the workshop and garage. It will contain projects, tools, and ideas for the garage and workshop. I’ll discuss tools I like, and recommend, and many of the DIY projects they can be used for. This project list will include many things from vehicle repairs to maintaining your chainsaw. Although I am not a licensed mechanic or welder, I have my own tools and equipment and have successfully completed many projects on my own.
Once you have the tools and confidence to tackle some of these tasks, it has many benefits. You can make repairs when you need them; not when the serviceman can get there. You’ll also be more inclined to take on some of those “honey do’s” you’ve been asked to do, and who doesn’t need a few brownie points every now and then!! More importantly, you can save yourself a lot of money and it can be very rewarding.
As with anything, you have to know your limitations. There will always be projects and repairs that should be handled by the professionals, but by having some knowledge and experience it makes it much easier to select those professionals too! I think it also helps you appreciate the work that these professional do for us homeowners and we can all gain a mutual respect for one another. Who knows, you may even pick up a few pointers from them.
So I hope you follow along as content gets added to the site and I look forward to hearing your comments and please share your successes with all of us!
Basic Electrical Tools For Homeowners
Are you having trouble with a light switch or receptacle? Or maybe it’s time to update some old light fixtures in your home? With a few basic electrical tools, you can safely and easily handle some of these projects yourself. We’ll show you some of the basic tools you’ll need ...
How To Start Welding | Welding As A Hobby
I have been welding as a hobby for over 30 years and have enjoyed it immensely. It has helped me save time and money on many home repairs. I would love to share with you a few tips so you can learn how to start welding too. I've made repairs ...
Cutting Plywood With A Circular Saw Made Easy
In this article, I am going to share with you two of my favorite tips for cutting plywood with a circular saw. These two tips will allow you to properly support a full sheet of plywood and make nice straight cuts. The added benefit is you can typically make these ...
How To Troubleshoot Sway Bar Problems
When you’re driving down a road with a few bumps in it and you hear clunking noises under your vehicle, it’s trying to tell you something. Obviously, there are many potential causes for these noises, but one of the easiest things to check for are sway bar problems. Sway bars ...
Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Rear Shock Absorber Replacement
If you are driving a 2008 - 2012 Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner and it’s not riding as smooth as it used to, you’re going to want to read this article. When you hit a small dip in the road does the back of the vehicle keep bouncing and swaying ...
Portable Hitch Mounted Pickup Truck Crane
As I’ve gotten older I have done my best to adopt the idea of “working smarter, not harder”. One of the best investments I have made to help do this is to buy a hitch mounted truck crane. It’s great for lifting heavy items and setting them in and out ...
Broken Garage Door Spring Repair
Do you have a broken torsion spring on your garage door? This repair on a residential garage door, or pole barn door, is actually pretty straightforward and fairly easy to do. Let me walk you through how to make a broken garage door spring repair safely. It requires just a ...
Basic Masonry Tools For Homeowners
Many homeowners would be amazed at the number of DIY projects and repairs they can make if they have the right tools. A job like tiling a bathroom floor can be done with just a few basic masonry tools. The majority of these tools are fairly inexpensive and you can ...
Mower Deck Belt Guard Hobby Welding Repair
Is your lawn and garden equipment rattling or making funny noises? One possible cause is a drive belt guard has broken or come loose. We recently experienced just this type of issue. Come along and see what was found and learn how hobby welding was the perfect solution to the ...
Angle Grinder Safety Tips
If you were to ask a room full of carpenters, welders, masons, and assorted craftsmen and DIY’ers to list their top 10 favor power tools, you’re going to get a large list of tools. However, I bet each of those lists would contain the angle grinder. The number of different ...
How To Use 2 Part Epoxy Glue For Plastic Repairs
How many times have you broken something made of plastic and had to buy a replacement part? Instead of just throwing the part away, spending good money on a replacement, and waiting days to have it shipped to you, there is another possible alternative? Try using a 2 part epoxy ...
Basic DIY Carpentry Tools Every Homeowner Should Have
In our first article about tools every homeowner should have, we put together a basic tool kit for you. It covered many of the tools the average homeowner should have for every day repairs. In this article, we’ll look at some of the basic DIY carpentry tools to add to ...
Beginners Guide To A Basic Homeowners Tool Kit
I didn’t start out with a complete homeowners tool kit. Nor did my wife start out with all the handy appliances and gadgets in the kitchen. We started with the basics and added to our collections as the need arose and money allowed. This is how the average DIY homeowner ...
DIY Boat Cover Support System
If you have a boat, but don’t have a place to store it inside for longer periods, or through the winter months, here’s a great hobby welding project that can help solve that problem. This boat cover support system is inexpensive to make and will keep the rain and snow ...
Mower Deck Welding Repair
Do you have a lawnmower deck that has small holes starting to form? Ever consider taking up hobby welding to make your own mower deck welding repairs. Hobby welding is more than just learning to make artistic creations. Once you learn the basics of welding you’ll be able to make ...
Overhead Garage Door Maintenance Plan
Is your garage door squeaking, squealing, and operating jerkily? Maybe it’s time to develop an overhead garage door maintenance plan. Most of us are pretty good about keeping up on our vehicles maintenance or getting our homes heating and cooling equipment service, but how often do we think about servicing ...
DIY Pulley Welding Repair
As a hobby welder, I’ve been able to create many useful projects and make several repairs that have saved me time and money. On one occasion I was able to use my welding equipment to help out a family member with a “small” welding repair on a snowblower pulley. As ...
How To Change The Oil In A 2008 Chevy Silverado
For anyone who has a garage and a few hand tools, you can easily change the oil in most vehicles and save money. In this article, I will walk you through changing the oil on my 2008 Chevy Silverado. The procedure and parts below should be the same for all ...
Success Begins with Wearing PPE
I know what you’re thinking; what’s wrong with this guy! The fact is, this is pretty much my normal apparel, for mowing grass, on those hot, dry, sunny summer days. Wearing PPE, short for personal protective equipment, isn't just limited to using tools and equipment. My grass mowing get-up includes ...
Electric Chainsaw Sharpener Tips
Do you have a chainsaw that isn't cutting as it should? Is it creating sawdust instead of nice little wood chips? Maybe its time to have your chain sharpened. Now the question is, do you pay someone to sharpen your chain or do you sharpen it yourself? Let's take a ...
Snowblower Frame DIY Welding Repair
Have you ever had a garden tractor or other piece of lawn and garden equipment break and need to take it in to have some welding done on it? That can be a real pain! Did you know there is a simpler solution? Many of these issues can be fixed ...
Dewalt Cordless Power Tools for Home Projects
Why Should I Buy Cordless Power Tools? One of the keys to success for any project is having the right tools for the job. One group of tools I would like to recommend is cordless power tools. Sure, there are many “job-specific” corded power tools that are required for certain ...
How To Use Different Drill Bits Safely
Many DIY hobbies and home projects require drilling holes. For example, I wrote an article on a home electrical wiring project we did, that required drilling many holes. These holes did not need sharp, clean edges, or have to look nice, they just needed to allow a wire to pass ...
Chevy Silverado Headlight Bulb Replacement
Low Beam Bulb -BP1255H11 Halogen My 2008 Chevy Silverado needed a low beam, headlight bulb replacement. I did a little research and the estimated cost to have it replaced by a shop was between $60 and $80. This is a job I knew I could easily do myself, so I checked ...
Ford Taurus Serpentine Belt and Pulley Replacement
For those who would like to know how to change the serpentine belt and pulleys on a 2006 Ford Taurus, follow along. The other day I noticed my daughter's car had a small intermittent squeak, or squeal, under the hood of her 2006 Ford Taurus. So I opened the hood ...
Home Project Lockout Examples
How many of you have heard of lockout-tagout? Lockout-tagout (LOTO) entails removing all “potential energy sources” on anything you may be working on. In this article, you share some of the hazards you can face doing home projects and provide some practical lockout examples to help keep you safe. This ...