100 DIY Skills For The Real Man
I'm not a man, but I can do everything on the list. Except for No. 71. :o
By THE EDITORS POPULAR MECHANICS Brains and charm are fine, but a real guy needs to know how to do real stuff. After months of debate among PM’s expert editors, here’s our lineup of essential skills for the competent man. Automotive 1. Handle a blowout 2. Drive in snow 3. Check trouble codes 4. Replace fan belt 5. Wax a car 6. Conquer an off-road obstacle 7. Use a stick welder 8. Hitch up a trailer 9. Jump-start a car Emergencies 10. Perform the Heimlich 11. Reverse hypothermia 12. Perform hands-only CPR 13. Escape a sinking car Home 14. Carve a turkey 15. Use a sewing machine 16. Put out a fire 17. Home-brew beer 18. Remove bloodstains from fabric 19. Move heavy stuff 20. Grow food 21. Read an electric meter 22. Shovel the right way 23. Solder wire 24. Tape drywall 25. Split firewood 26. Replace a faucet washer 27. Mix concrete 28. Paint a straight line 29. Use a French knife 30. Prune bushes and small trees 31. Iron a shirt 32. Fix a toilet tank flapper 33. Change a single-pole switch 34. Fell a tree 35. Replace a broken windowpane 36. Set up a ladder, safely 37. Fix a faucet cartridge 38. Sweat copper tubing 39. Change a diaper 40. Grill with charcoal 41. Sew a button on a shirt 42. Fold a flag Medical 43. Treat frostbite 44. Treat a burn 45. Help a seizure victim 46. Treat a snakebite 47. Remove a tick Military Know-How 48. Shine shoes 49. Make a drum-tight bed 50. Drop and give the perfect pushup Outdoors 51. Run rapids in a canoe 52. Hang food in the wild 53. Skipper a boat 54. Shoot straight 55. Tackle steep drops on a mountain bike 56. Escape a rip current Survival 57. Build a fire in the wilderness 58. Build a shelter 59. Find potable water Surviving Extremes 60. Floods 61. Tornados 62. Cold 63. Heat 64. Lightning Teach Your Kids 65. Cast a line 66. Lend a hand 67. Change a tire 68. Throw a spiral 69. Fly a stunt kite 70. Drive a stick shift 71. Parallel park 72. Tie a bowline 73. Tie a necktie 74. Whittle 75. Ride a bike Technology 76. Install a graphics card 77. Take the perfect portrait 78. Calibrate HDTV settings 79. Shoot a home movie 80. Ditch your hard drive Master These Key Workshop Tools 81. Drill driver 82. Grease gun 83. Coolant hydrometer 84. Socket wrench 85. Test light 86. Brick trowel 87. Framing hammer 88. Wood chisel 89. Spade bit 90. Circular saw 91. Sledge hammer 92. Hacksaw 93. Torque wrench 94. Air wrench 95. Infrared thermometer 96. Sand blaster 97. Crosscut saw 98. Hand plane 99. Multimeter 100. Feeler gauges |
You can weld too? I'm impressed ;)
I've got 'em all, except I've never done #69...but if it has wings I can fly it, right? :D |
You've never done 69???? You're missing out, my friend. ;)
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Well, got most of 'em ... but beg to differ on the premise.
Number 68 for example. Neither Bobby Lane nor Bill Kilmer could throw a spiral to save their lives. Anybody who contends they weren't "real guys" has had a concussion or two too many. :) |
101. Drink too much tequila on vacation, and say "I'm never ever going to do that again". Do it again the next night.
102. Bail buddy out of jail. 103. Have buddy bail you out of jail. 104. Forget parent's, sibling's, wife's, girlfriend's birthdays every year. 105. Lose remote control. 106. Buy universal remote control. 107. Find first remote control in couch cushions. 108. Stick head out pickup truck window, lose favorite baseball cap. 109. Use duct tape to remove dog's fur from clothing. 110. Know all lyrics to Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville". |
Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout
(Post 584071)
105. Lose remote control.
106. Buy universal remote control. 107. Find first remote control in couch cushions. |
One time I got summer job as hired hand at a large rural city water treatment facility. They had an entire staff of guys who did nothing but run out once a day and check this one big pipe and see if it was still there and the water was going where it was supposed to. Of course it always was. The rest of the day they used the land to hunt, ride ATVs, make holes with bulldozers and goof off.
I used the time to learn to weld. I made trailers, bike racks, outdoor grills, coffee tables, anything I could think of get enough materials for. The shop had a complete set of tools, a big TIG welder and a couple of arc welders and grinders. One the bike racks was really nice- I kept it for years. There's something reassuring about seeing a steel object that you made yourself with perfect beads to make you feel good. |
#103
103. Have buddy bail you out of jail.
A real buddy will be sitting next to you in the cell saying "Whew, that was fun!!!" |
111. Outdoor kitchen with kegerator.
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I question a list that says you need to "Master" the use of a sledgehammer........seriously? 60-64 was easy, I flew freight!!!!!!!
Also notice that "Understand what women really want" was not on that list!!!!! |
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