Man Cave Series: How to Insulate Your Garage

Well we are back from a blogging sabbatical, and this article is the first in a series on my man cave renovations. The project was to turn a standard builder's garage into the best man cave I could build with my own two hands [on a budget]. Step one was to turn down the heat a notch by adding insulation. 

Build Your Own F-16 Flight Simulator

Here at KTF we're all about finding hobbies and projects that inspire the hearts of men to come alive. If you still remember all the details about the first time you watched Top Gun this is probably right up your alley. Join us as we take a look at what it takes to build a flight simulator on par with what the pro's use.

Wooden Propeller: The Build

A few weeks back we gave you the plans for a wooden propeller, constructed the old fashioned way. This week, we'll reveal our progress on the build.

Plans For a Custom Garage Workbench

The workbench is the heart of any shop. It reflects the worker using it, and it's quality impacts the quality of the parts being built. I've designed this bench from some great ideas others came up with- I picked the ones I liked and the result is this bench which is great for a garage or basement. It features a transportable miter saw table, a heavy duty assembly table, plenty of tool storage and it's compact design allows it to fit in the workspace you have. The table can be built on a tight budget and with just a few basic tools.

Project Inspiration

Preview of the KTF Workbench Project

Recently I've been on a kick to build something. Anything. (Hence all the posts like this and this, and some of the ones that are in the works like how to build a workbench, and plans for a sweet man cave...) So before we go back to our regularly scheduled programming, I thought I'd share a neat tool I've found to help get all those mental masterpieces into a more tangible format.

Wooden Propeller: The Plans

Its no secret that Ruedi and I are huge aviation fans. Propellers are an icon for the golden age of flight when airplanes were simple and extraordinary. Ordinary men like the Wright Brothers, Manfred von Richthofen, and Charles Lindbergh were catapulted into stardom- the heros of young boys and grown men alike for generations to come. If you know what I'm talking about then this project is for you- bring a pice of aviation history into your home (or man cave) and try your hand at the lost art of propeller carving.

The Essential Toolbox List

One year when I was growing up, my dad had the great idea to help us start building a tool collection. That Christmas, all four of us little tykes (my sisters included) got a hefty, Craftsman tool box. Every year since, we get a little something to add to our box and by the time I moved out on my own I had tool boxes with enough tools to tackle most household chores. So if you find yourself using a butter knife to screw in hooks for a picture frame it might be time for a trip to one of men's favorite shopping grounds.

Spring Cleaning Part II: The Grill

Imagine digging into your fridge and grabbing some foul smelling ground beef then going to town to make some patties, or pulling out some hot dogs that are marinading in a dark brown sludge that smells like roadkill. Not exactly the ingredients you want to serve up to your friends or family... but generally we don't think about those things once they go on the grill. It's hot- so it has to be clean, right? To keep your food tasting as good as possible and your grill working to it's best it requires some maintenance. For this project we'll look at tackling the best part of our backyard- the grill and getting it ready for this year's cooking season.

Operation: Blue Wolf- The Review

I'm all for making plans and making them happen. Thanks to a church leadership that sees the value in guys spending time together, and a few key individuals that helped me plan and execute the mission I'd say Operation: Blue Wolf was a huge success. In the outline, I promised I'd give more details on how it went down, so before I forget everything, here's the practical side of how to pull of one of the coolest man-trips I've been a part of.

How to Paint MultiCam/OCP Camo

OEF Camouflage Pattern or OCP is one of the one of the best camouflage patterns in use today. It is currently fielded by the US Army, USAF, and US, UK, and Australian special operations forces in Afghanistan. (It was also worn during Act of Valor by the Navy SEALs). On fabric, the pattern is digitally printed, making complex patterns possible- and reproducing the pattern on your other pieces of kit quite challenging. Whether you're a grunt or hunter, I'll show you how to spray paint this unique pattern on your gear.

Spring Cleaning Part I: Household Inventory

Welcome to March, one of the more comfortable months here in the state of Texas- I thought it'd be good to share some inspiration for spring cleaning. I've got a few ideas for more "man of the house" type projects that we can get done that I'll post in later articles. As a famous Canadian philosopher once said: "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."

Operation: Blue Wolf

It's that time of the year when we start looking out the windows waiting for spring to get here. Well quit sitting around and start plotting. I've got an idea that you and your buddies will be talking about for years to come, and if you start planning now you'll have enough time to pull it off this spring or summer. I'm talking about an extreme game of capture the flag that will be the gold standard by which all your subsequent guy outings will compare to.

Bug Out Bags

If you search for Bug out Bags on the internet you’ll quickly realize there’s a cult-like following for these things. The designs cover the spectrum of woolly-faced mountain men and their wilderness survival gear to gadgetry for clandestine operatives on the run from agencies acting outside the bounds of foreign governments. (And then there are those obsessed with surviving a full scale land invasion of the undead, but I won’t even give a nod to that group as I am a grown man.) Chances are what you need is somewhere in the middle of what the Brawny man and Bourne would pack.