Which autofocus mode should I be using?
Two decisions, not one — whether the camera keeps refocusing, and which part of the frame it is allowed to look at. Most missed focus comes from getting the second one wrong.
intermediate16 min4 min read
Lifestyle
Organisation, routines and everyday practical skills. The test applied to everything here is whether it still works on a bad week, not whether it looks good in a photograph.
812 guides
Why do my flash photos look so bad?
A flash on the camera is a tiny light source in exactly the worst position. Bouncing it off a ceiling or wall makes it large and off-axis, and that single change fixes most of what people dislike.
intermediate18 min5 min readWhy is my iron not producing steam?
Four things stop an iron steaming and three of them take under a minute to check — the setting, the water and the steam control — before scale becomes the answer.
beginner20 min5 min readAre pocket hole joints strong enough, and where should I not use them?
Pocket holes are strong in one direction and weak in another. The four places they are the right joint, and the four where something else belongs.
beginner12 min3 min readCan heat damage my camera, and how do I protect it?
Heat itself rarely kills a camera outright, but it causes overheating shutdowns, sensor noise and battery damage — and the condensation from moving between hot and cold does more harm than the heat.
beginner15 min5 min readDo I need fixative, and how do I spray it without ruining the drawing?
Charcoal and pastel need fixing or protecting; graphite usually does not. Where it goes wrong is spraying too close, too heavily, and indoors.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I brush paint a model without leaving brush marks?
Brush marks are a paint-consistency problem before they are a technique problem. The thinning, the loading and the one-direction rule that give a brushed finish an airbrush cannot be told from.
intermediate40 min5 min readHow do I cast on and cast off knitting neatly?
The long-tail cast on, judging how much tail to leave, and why a tight cast-off edge ruins an otherwise good piece.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I choose a sleeping bag?
Reading temperature ratings honestly, down against synthetic in British weather, and why the mat underneath decides half of it.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I clamp a glue-up so it comes out square?
Dry running the assembly, measuring diagonals rather than trusting a square, and the clamping pressure that causes bowing.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I clean and oil a sewing machine?
Lint under the needle plate is the cause of more machine faults than anything mechanical. What to clean, what to oil, and the two things you must never put near it.
beginner25 min6 min readHow do I clean suede and nubuck shoes?
Why suede needs brushing and abrasion rather than washing, dealing with shine and grease, and the honest limits of what comes out.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I close a cushion or a soft toy so the stitches do not show?
The ladder stitch: a thread that travels inside one folded edge, crosses straight to the other, travels inside that, and vanishes completely when it is drawn up.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I cross-hatch so it looks deliberate rather than messy?
Hatching builds tone out of separate lines. What makes it read well is even spacing, consistent angle changes and following the form — and what ruins it is scribbling.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I cut a mortise and tenon joint by hand?
Marking from one face, cutting the mortise first, sawing the tenon in the waste, and paring to a fit rather than sawing to it.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I descale a steam generator iron?
A generator boils water continuously, so it concentrates scale far faster than a steam iron — and the descaling method is model-specific because the boiler is a pressure vessel.
beginner40 min6 min readHow do I draw in perspective?
The horizon line as eye level, one-point against two-point, and the errors that make a room look like it is falling over.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I fix a dropped stitch in knitting?
Stopping the ladder first, picking the stitch back up with a crochet hook, and when it is quicker to unpick rows.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I flatten a glued-up panel without a planer?
Reading the panel first with winding sticks, then removing the twist before the cup — with a hand plane, a router sled or a sanding approach, whichever you have.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I get better at chess as a beginner?
Almost every game between beginners is decided by a piece left hanging, not by an opening. Where the improvement actually is, in the order it pays off, and what to ignore for the first year.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I glue a sole back onto a shoe?
Cleaning and keying both faces, using a contact adhesive properly rather than a general-purpose glue, and clamping the repair for long enough.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I go to the toilet outdoors properly?
The 30-metre rule, digging a proper cathole, what to do where you cannot dig, and how to manage it with children and periods.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I learn piano as an adult beginner?
Choosing an instrument with weighted keys, hands separately before together, and why slow practice with a metronome is the fastest route.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I learn to recognise bird song?
A method that works — a handful of species at a time, learned in the field with the bird in sight, using rhythm and quality rather than trying to memorise recordings.
intermediate30 min5 min read