How do I clean a camera lens safely?
Blow, then brush, then wipe — in that order — and the household products that permanently damage lens coatings.
beginner10 min3 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
How do I display a collection without damaging it?
Display and preservation pull in opposite directions. The four agents that damage displayed objects — light, humidity, dust and handling — and how to reduce each without hiding the collection away.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I do a panel line wash on a model?
A wash that flows into the recesses and comes back off the flat surfaces makes moulded detail readable. The gloss coat that makes it possible, the removal that makes it look right, and the acrylic alternative.
intermediate45 min6 min readHow do I edit a voice recording so it sounds professional?
A fixed order — clean, cut, correct tone, control dynamics, then set loudness. Applied in that sequence, five modest adjustments produce a recording most people would call broadcast quality.
intermediate25 min4 min readHow do I get my pottery fired if I do not own a kiln?
Studio and community firing services, what they will and will not accept, the two firings your work has to go through, and how to prepare a piece so it comes back rather than being rejected.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I join a new ball of yarn?
Joining at the edge rather than mid-row, the two joins worth knowing, and why a knot is the one thing not to do.
beginner5 min4 min readHow do I keep a sketchbook and actually use it?
Choosing a book you are not afraid of, the first-page problem, and making sketching a habit rather than an event.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I make candles at home?
Matching wick to container size, the pouring temperature that avoids sinkholes, and why the first burn decides how the candle behaves.
beginner1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I paint metal armour and weapons on a miniature?
Metallic paint behaves differently from every other paint because the pigment is a flake, not a particle. What that changes about thinning, brushes and shading, and the non-metallic alternative.
intermediate45 min5 min readHow do I repair leather with adhesive so it stays flexible?
Leather flexes constantly, so a rigid adhesive cracks and a surface bond peels — the sub-patch and flexible adhesive method that survives real use.
intermediate45 min5 min readHow do I set recording levels so my audio does not clip?
Digital recording has a hard ceiling with nothing above it. Aim peaks around minus twelve, leave headroom for the loudest thing you will do, and raise the level afterwards where it costs nothing.
intermediate14 min4 min readHow do I sew in an invisible zip?
Two things make an invisible zip work and both are counter-intuitive: it goes in before the seam below it, and the coil has to be rolled back and held flat while you stitch.
intermediate45 min5 min readHow do I sew over thick seams without the machine jamming?
Why a machine stalls at a seam crossing — it is the presser foot tilting, not a lack of power — and the four things that get you over it without a broken needle.
intermediate15 min5 min readHow do I start calligraphy or modern lettering?
Choosing between broad edge and pointed pen, the paper that stops feathering, and drilling basic strokes before letters.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I stop a green wood carving cracking as it dries?
Cracks come from one part drying faster than another. The four things that cause that — end grain, uneven walls, the pith, and heat — and how to remove each.
intermediate15 min3 min readHow do I stop static in my laundry?
Static is dry synthetic fabric rubbing against itself in a dryer, so the fixes are moisture, separation and stopping short of bone dry.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I store a bike over winter without it seizing up?
What actually deteriorates in storage — tyres, cables, chain and battery — and the short session that prevents a spring full of problems.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I take close-up macro photos?
Close up, depth of field collapses to millimetres and every tiny movement is magnified. Macro is mostly a problem of holding things still and getting light into a very small space.
intermediate20 min4 min readHow do I true a slightly buckled bike wheel?
Correcting a small side-to-side wobble by quarter turns of the nipples, why you always tighten one side and loosen the other, and the point at which this stops being a home job.
advanced1 hr5 min readShould I buy or rent a first instrument?
Rent where the instrument is expensive, needs servicing or has to change size. Buy where it is cheap and stable. Plus what to check on a second-hand instrument before handing over money.
beginner25 min5 min readWhat order should I assemble a woodworking project in?
Sub-assemblies before the whole, glue-ups you can still reach into, sanding before you box yourself in, and the dry run that tells you whether the plan works.
beginner15 min3 min readWhich needle and thread should I use for which fabric?
Needle points, needle sizes and thread fibres matched to fabric, and why a ballpoint needle stops jersey skipping stitches.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy does my home recording sound echoey and muddy?
Room reflections rather than equipment, the mic distance that fixes most of it, and cheap treatment that genuinely works.
intermediate45 min4 min readWhy does my thread keep twisting and knotting when I hand sew?
Thread twists because you are adding twist to it with every stitch. Four habits that stop it, and the one that fixes a thread that has already gone.
beginner10 min5 min read