Before diving in, it helps to know what to expect. These are the steps I usually follow when someone writes to me to take on a project, a repair, or a specific question about tools and materials.
Write to me by email or call and describe the job in your own words: what object, what problem, what tools you have on hand. If you can, send a photo of the current state. The more specific the starting point, the better I can guide you.
I read the message, compare it with similar projects from my notebook, and put together a response with the likely steps, the materials you will need, and the parts where things usually get tricky. If something is not documented on my end, I will tell you straight.
Depending on the case, it may be a written guide, a shopping list of supplies, or a recommendation on which tool is worth getting first. If the job goes beyond what I can support remotely, I will make that clear before we continue.
With a clear plan, you start on your own. I stay available for specific questions during the process: a cut that doesn't close, a joint that doesn't hold, an adjustment that doesn't come out clean. The idea is that you don't get stuck halfway.
When you finish, write to me about what worked and what didn't. That feedback feeds the notebook's notes and helps the next person who starts the same project have better references. Mistakes get documented too.
If you want to first see which practice areas the notebook covers, go to the topics that get documented or check out concrete repair cases before writing.
The tracks you will find on this page are practice topics, not courses with enrollment or certificates. There are no levels, no spots, no class dates. What there is is a series of entries grouped by trade, with step-by-step photos, material lists, mistakes I made, and the solution that ended up working. If I have not tried something yet, I say so. If something went wrong for me twice, that too.
When in a note I talk about measurements, gauges, or times, they are the ones I used in that specific job. Your wall, your pipe, or your bike may call for something else. Take it as a reference, not as a closed recipe.
These are not courses or certifications. They are the workstreams that recur across the entries: each one groups projects, tool tests, and home repairs, with step-by-step photos, material lists, and the mistakes that came up along the way. If you are just starting, pick the track that is most within reach and follow the notes in order.
Benches, shelves, wobbly chairs, and reinforcements with 2x4 pine. This track brings together hand saw cuts, squaring and marking, gluing and screwing in the same step, and the use of clamps to keep things square while they dry. There are also notes on when to accept that a piece is not worth repairing.
See applied tracksAdding an outlet in masonry, identifying live, neutral, and ground, stripping wire without damaging the copper, and choosing the gauge based on the expected load. The whole procedure starts by switching off the breaker and checking with a voltage tester before touching anything, and ends by measuring voltage before connecting a device.
See materials and notesRear derailleur adjustment, cable tension, H and L limit screws, and V-brakes with centered pads. It also documents the chain noise that is often mistaken for a shifting problem, and the minimum tools needed to do maintenance at home without taking too much apart.
Follow the notesSoft soldering on copper pipes: sand until shiny, apply flux, heat evenly with a torch, and bring the solder close without resting it in the flame. Alongside this are the notes on organizing the workshop on a two-meter wall and the criteria for buying supplies by quantity or by unit.
Back to the notebook indexNotebook practice tracks
These are not courses or certifications. They are the topics documented entry by entry: what was tested, what failed, and what ended up working at the workbench.
Building benches, repairing loose chairs, and glue-ups that hold up to daily use. This includes hand saw cuts, squaring with a try square, and the habit of checking before driving screws. If you are just starting out, this track helps you organize the process: choose the wood, measure twice, glue and screw at the same time, and let it dry without rushing.
Adding an outlet, identifying live, neutral, and ground, stripping wire without damaging the copper. All with the breaker off and a voltage tester on hand, because the scare comes when you get overconfident. It documents wire gauge according to expected load, the use of terminal blocks instead of twisting wires together, and the final measurement before connecting any equipment.
Adjusting shifting, cable tension, derailleur limit screws, and V-brake pads so they don't rub. A bike that shifts poorly ruins the ride, and the problem is almost always in the barrel adjuster or a badly calibrated limit screw. It also covers when to replace pads due to wear and why you shouldn't lubricate the rim.
Copper pipe joints with solder and torch. Clean until shiny, apply flux, heat evenly, and bring the filler close without resting it in the flame. The first joints come out porous; after several practice runs the rhythm appears. Ventilation, gloves, and eye protection are not optional when the flux spatters.
Panels, hooks, and guidelines so every tool has its place on a small wall. Group by trade and by frequency of use, hang what you use every day, and store in a drawer what shows up once in a while. Order isn't aesthetics: it's time not wasted searching.
What is worth buying in bulk and what by the unit so you don't stockpile too much. Screws and fasteners, wood glue, solder, and flux have different consumption rates, and the criterion comes from practice, not from the catalog. The idea is simple: keep what gets used often and don't fill the workshop with things that expire or rust.
If you want to see how these areas apply to specific projects, check out the use cases or review what gets published on each front.
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