Things break. It’s one of the worst things about things. We live in an age where broken things are usually get replaced or thrown out. Which sucks, because it’s wasteful and makes us feel hopeless, like we can’t fix anything. But this is Tough Guy Book Club! We love putting our heads down and doing the hard work nobody else wants to do.
Each month at TGBC we issue our members a challenge. In February 2025, the challenge was #Protip: Fix, reuse or repurpose something that everyone should really know how to fix. Based on the results, we now present to you the extremely official Tough Guy Book Club Guide to Fixing Everything.
DRAWERS, CABINETS, DOORS
Lube up the rails to make them slide more smoothly. Get a screwdriver and tighten a thing so they close properly. Rehang a thing so it doesn’t drag on the floor. If you’re not sure, look it up on YouTube.
ENGINES, BIKES, CARS, OLD MOWERS
Get your hands dirty or put on some gloves so you don’t. Open up a casing and clean a carburetor. Oil a chain or remove a spring or replace a screw. Restore the instrument panel in a 1973 Datsun 1200 coupe if you want. If you’re not sure, look it up on YouTube.
WATCHES, LAPTOPS, IPODS, PHONES
Get a really tiny screwdriver for those tiny screws. Buy a cheap replacement thing on eBay and replace your cracked screen or dead battery or sticky space bar. If your dusty old laptop turns on now, troubleshoot it. If it doesn’t, ask a friend whose laptop works to look it up on YouTube.
TROLLEYS, HAND TOOLS, WHEELBARROWS, HOSES
Restore your old hand trolley or tool so it feels new again, and you feel new using it. Put a new wheel on your barrow and you’ve got yourself a new wheelbarrow. Cut out the bit of hose your dog chewed and replace it. If you’re not sure… you get the idea.
KEGS, WASHING MACHINES
Turns out, lots of washing machines break. Crack ‘em open and fix the electric motor if you can. If you can’t, turn the tub into a homemade ice bath! You can also cut a keg in half and use it as a rotisserie. Those two sound like they might go well together.
OLD T SHIRTS, PANTS, AND SHOES
Cut up your best-loved band tee shirts and put them in a picture frame, or sew them onto the back of your gnarly denim jacket. While you’ve got the needle and thread out, fix that hole in your trousers. Glue the soles back on your shoes. You’re ready for a night out.
BANANAS
Did they go brown? Make banana bread. It’s not complicated.
ACTUAL HANDYMAN SHIT
Build a shed in the yard. Or storage in your garage or bathroom, or an entire kitchen if you have the skills. Make some stairs so your geriatric dog can jump up on the bed (when he’s finished chewing the hose). Turn an old wood pallet (which apparently go to waste at a rate of about half a billion a year) into a chair or a coffee table.
SAYING ‘I’M NOT THE MOST HANDY GUY’
Cut that shit out. Did you try? Did it work? Great! If you saw a thing that needed fixing and had a go at fixing it, you’re pretty handy in our book. If you fucked it up, don’t worry. You can always try again. Or look it up on YouTube.
Or you could search the TGBC Pool Hall under the hashtag #protip. Turns out there’s plenty of men on there ready and willing to share.
