100 Skills Every Man Should Know: 2008's Ultimate DIY List

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

WWJBD

What Would James Bond Do.

[NickD 202]

Ha, wife is always amazed at the things I can do, do have almost everything I need in the line of tools for, electronics, air conditioning, automotive, electrical, plumbing, woodworking, metal working, yeah, lath, milling machine, surface grinder, aluminum welding, yard including trees, three chain saws, painting, concrete, etc. But always wondering why I am buying more tools, LOL. Not that easy stuff either on cars, while I did sell my cylinder boring and valve grinding equipment, just too much stuff laying around that I was seldom using. AT went out in the motorhome, removed and overhauled for less than $500.00 in parts that I got cheap from a friend in the rebuilding business. Decided to replace everything with new.

What impressed her the most was repairing her 900 buck Sony digital camera that Sony said was unrepairable, and a watch her now dead dad had, she is wearing that watch now. And jewery, she is always breaking that. When doing work around the house, takes me longer, but super neat as to not mess up the rest of the home. Like to use AutoCad, and make three dimensional drawings of what it would look like, make a bill of materials, and do some pricing. Make my drawings in such a manner as to exactly how I would do the work. Some challenges she has giving me were too great, just said, let's put your ideas together, and build a new home. Would be cheaper in the long run. Always cleaning up her computer, but I cannot repair a 20 buck portable CD player that was junk before she got it. Also weak in medical, can repair small cuts with crazy glue, but just as soon leave the stitching to a qualified doctor, I am not Rambo, he's tough, prefer a bit of novacane first you can't buy.

Yes, I lowered the hem on many of her Venezuelan skirts, has a clothing requirement at work, no more than 3" above the knees, but the people that made that rule have big fat ugly knees, and she wants a blind stitch, thank God, my sewing machine can do that. Rather do uphostery work, with all that stuff, just a matter of measuring, cutting, and fastening whether it's doen with a needle or thread or a welder. I have fun. She is very artistic and a great interior decorator, tells me what she want, and I handle the mechanics. When I climb up 40' to top a tree, she stays in the house as she can't watch, and prays I don't get hurt, but been doing that for quite awhile. $1,500 bucks to remove a tree that takes all but a couple of hours, that is crazy.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I've heard the glue thing before and you can actually buy liquid band-aids that do the same job.

Its pretty hardcore though - feels almost exactly the same as rubbing salt into a wound.

[natty bumppo 297]

doing laundry didn't make the list. does this mean it's acceptable to wear clothes in the shower to get them clean?

[NickD 202]

doing laundry didn't make the list. does this mean it's acceptable to wear clothes in the shower to get them clean?

Wife and I have been single for some time, while we share the same washer and dryer, she does her clothes and I do mine. Ha, wearing clothes in the military while taking a shower was an everyday occurrence, haven't done that since. Since we both work, we share on the cooking, she loves my spaghetti sauce, make a huge pot of it and let it simmer for twelve hours, then freeze a bunch of it in small containers, everything goes in that pot, even the laundry, LOL. She really knows how to cook fish and a rice dish, and arepa of course, try to find an arepa maker in America, I did. Lot's of other dishes as well.

She never had a dishwasher before, and does not want to learn how to use it, so that is my job, do you think she is pulling something there?

[Amby 490]

missing from the list:

- undoing a bra with just one hand...because if you end up using both, you've killed the moment.

I'm teaching a class on that tonight at 8pm

btw I can do most of those things so am I a "real man"?

[amiquechu 0]

A real man should also know E-N-G-I-N-E-E-R-I-N-G-.

[natty bumppo 297]

Tape dry wall? wow .. what a man ....

what about hang dry wall ... or frame a wall?