These days, you can outsource almost any job—but some things you need to know how to do yourself. Now you can explore how to perform life's essential skills. Study this master list with step-by-step tips from the experts, and test your DIY aptitude each step of the way.
- Fix a Bike Flat Tire
Once you remove the wheel, force the deflated tire off the rim, starting opposite the valve, then separate tire and tube. If the leak is a large tear, throw the tube out. To locate a pinhole leak, inflate the tube and feel for escaping air. If necessary, dunk the tube in water and look for bubbles.
Apply a patch over the hole. The repair should last the life of the tire. Before remounting the tire, wipe the inside of it clean with a dry cloth to remove any sharp objects that might puncture the tube. Then work the lip of the tire onto half of the rim.
Tuck the tube inside the tire, and insert the valve into its rim hole. Pump some air into the tube to reduce its chances of getting pinched between rim and tire. Then work the tire onto the rest of the rim, starting at the valve. Split the wheel into quarters. Work one-quarter down either side from the valve. Then repeat the process on the other half of the tire. This final step may require two bike levers.
- Escape a Sinking Car
The moment your car hits the water or before, if you have the presence of mind lower your window. (The electric motors should work, even in saltwater.) If the car floats for a few seconds, slither out the window. If it sinks right away, water will rush in and fill the interior. Sounds bad, but it's actually good: It equalizes water pressure, allowing you to open the door. If the windows don't open, "keep a tool like a spring-loaded center punch to break a door window," says Jamie Hyneman of the MythBusters, who escaped from a sinking car in an episode of their TV show. Co-host Adam Savage adds: "You're not always in your own car, so in that case the skill is not to panic as you hold your breath and wait for the car to fill with water."
- Parallel Park
Use the parked car in front of the space as a guide. Start turning the wheel to the right when the side mirror lines up with the front car's front door. When the front seat is even with the rear bumper of the front car, straighten the wheel and aim straight back for the far corner of the space. When the right front bumper just clears the left rear bumper of the front car, cut the wheel quickly to the left and finish backing into the space. To straighten out, turn the steering wheel to the right and pull forward.
- Paddle a Canoe
For flat-water cruising, the sternman's J-stroke is key: It keeps the canoe tracking in a straight line. Reach forward so the "catch"--the start of the blade's pull through the water—is well in front of your knees.
At midstroke, the blade should be vertical and fully immersed. The upper arm extends diagonally across your body as though delivering a cross-punch and finishes on the outside of the gunwale (top edge of the canoe). The motion delivers power through a lever action; use the shaft hand initially as a fulcrum, then pull back on the shaft.
The second half of the stroke traces the hook of the letter "J." When you draw the blade out of the water, the power face (the side pulling against the water) is parallel to the canoe, with the thumb of your top hand pointing down. Your paddle is acting as a part-time rudder.
- Build a Campfire
To find dry fuel, look for standing deadwood and broken branches stuck in tree limbs, says Tom Laskowski, director of Midwest Native Skills Institute.
Place the material next to your cheek; if it feels cool, it's too wet to burn efficiently. To fuel a 1-hour fire, gather two large fistfuls of tinder--such as cattail down and crushed pine needles--and about 30 twigs, 20 pencil-size sticks and 10 wrist-thick pieces. Form a tepee with three 6-in.-tall sticks and place smaller sticks on the floor as a platform for the tinder.
Lean the smallest sticks on the tepee, leaving a doorway to face the wind. Place the next size of sticks on top; repeat twice. Pack the tepee with the tinder and light it. Slowly add the 10 largest sticks in a star pattern.
- The Perfect Pushup
Feet should be no farther than 12 in. apart, hands about shoulder-width. "Your body is in a straight line from heels to shoulders," Kaplan says. Bend your elbows to lower your body as a single unit until your upper arms are parallel to the ground. Return to the starting position, with arms fully extended. Repeat until ordered to stop.
- Move Heavy Stuff
The favorite heavy-moving tool of Chris Wells, driver-owner-operator of A-Mrazek Moving Systems, is ... a blanket. "Tilt one end of the object up and bunch the blanket underneath, then tilt the other end up and pull the blanket through, so that the object is sitting on the blanket. Then it's easy to pull it wherever you want it to go."
- Paint a Room
Good paint jobs start before the first can of paint is opened.
Prepare the room by removing all hardware (door latchsets, receptacle and switch plates). Don't just fill small holes in the plaster or drywall; enlarge them first so the compound can be pushed in place, and wet the hole to slow drying. Sand rough spots, wash dirty areas, then prime.
Paint the ceiling, then the walls. Use a 212-in. brush to cut in the finish color at all corners and against the trim. Switch to a roller, apply paint in a W pattern and fill it in. After you dip the roller in the paint tray, 70 percent of the paint comes off on the first downstroke; avoid splatters by starting at least 9 in. from the corner. Apply two coats.
Finish by painting the woodwork and trim with a gloss or semigloss paint. It's safest to mask off the walls beforehand, although pros often skip this step. If you do mask, use a tape designed for the purpose so the adhesive doesn't pull the paint from the wall. Once the final coat dries, reinstall hardware.
- Fillet a Fish
Set the scene with a flat surface and an appropriate knife--any long, thin, flexible and sharp blade will do, but for larger fish you might need a stiffer blade. Make your first cut behind the pectoral fin or gill cover, angling the tip of the knife slightly toward the head.
Cut down to the spine, but not through it.
Next, turn the fish end to end and run your knife head to tail along the dorsal fin and backbone, pushing the knife deep enough to bounce the blade off the fish's rib cage.
Then run the knife carefully over the rib cage until you reach the spine. Pull the fillet back as you cut, which will help you see what you're doing.
Repeat the process through the bottom half of the fish, and you're done with that side. Flip and repeat for two boneless fish fillets.
TIP: "One side of the fish is always easier to cut than the other. It's a matter of physiology: Right-handed people find it easier to cut from left to right; lefties, vice versa. Do the harder side first. The fullness of the fish will make it easier to control on the cutting board."
- Sharpen a Knife
Use a combination stone that has a coarse side and a fine side. The trick is to hold the blade at the correct angle. According to Bob Montagno, an expert sharpener and plant manager at Norton Pike (the first American sharpening-stone maker), most European blades have a 22- to 25-degree blade. "That's about the angle of a book of matches," Montagno says. "Japanese knives and fillet knives are 12 to 15 degrees."
First, lubricate the coarse side of the stone with mineral oil or water; then push the blade across in a sweeping motion, like you're cutting a thin slice off the stone. "Flip the knife and work the other side until a slight burr forms along the edge," Montagno says. "Switch to the fine side of the stone, lift the blade to a slightly higher angle and hone off the burr to create a razor-sharp micro bevel."
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