About Me & WG!
First off, welcome to the site. My name is Brandon English, the creator of the site. Thanks for visiting!
I’d like to tell you a bit about myself and why I made WrenchGuru!
In my life I’ve done quite a variety of things–and using tools for this and that is just a part of it–so I’d like to give you a bit of a profile.
On WG, you might notice that sometimes I post articles that are somewhat removed from tools, especially impact or demolition tools. Occasionally I may post articles about why you should follow your dreams or what I believe the most important part of a business is. While there may not appear to be a direct connection to, let’s say, Makita’s AVT demolition hammer, I beg to differ!
I believe that inside each person exists a desire to accomplish something, do something, or be something. Whatever that “thing” may be, it’s your special and unique YOU and you should be true to yourself and follow that. For me, part of being honest about who I am is sharing my heart and following the path I believe I should follow, rather than simply following the crowd. So, in short, if I believe it is valuable, then I will share about it.
One of the things I like is history and I’ve learned, for example, that the samurai of Japan from long ago believed that the greatest samurai wasn’t simply a fighter, but rather a “well-rounded” person. The most famous samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, believed in both this “person as a whole” mentality, as well as a minimalist lifestyle. He wrote books, painted, dueled dozens of men, fought in battles, and took good, daily care of his tools.
He also believed that a man’s tools were his most important asset and that he should only have that which he needed in order to effectively and efficiently get the job done. Due to this belief and practice (key point: he lived it!), he was able to move at the drop of a hat (or perhaps katana, I guess) and get anything done that needed to be done with little advanced warning.
I recognize that this is also an important point for my own life, as well as yours.
Having the correct tools, caring for them, learning everything about them, storing them, and utilizing proper methods is a multi-faceted key to our success.
My Life With Tools
When I was a child I was very much into all things which required nailing, pulling, screwing, opening, attaching, detaching, closing, building–you name it. My family wasn’t what I’d call well-off by any means of the imagination but my dad did have a few essentials lying around, being a welder himself, as well as a painter and general carpenter.
I often utilized this assortment of tools to attempt to either build or “fix” a variety of things, from my mammaw’s black-and-white- TV to my bicycle, or even a four-wheeler. I didn’t have much wood at the time so I tended to focus mostly on what materials were at hand, which was quite often old electronics or bikes. By the time I got to high school, I had received the nickname “MacGuyver” due to the fact that I was able and willing to figure out just about anything and how to either repair it, replace it, or make it go.
I installed multiple cassette decks and even CD players in cars and trucks, as well as constantly playing around with various sizes of speakers, building boxes and trying my best to get the best quality and bass out of them–I even built some of them out of shoe boxes or cardboard! One of my proudest moments was getting an old rear-engine Yazoo lawn mower running again, which was something my dad wasn’t able to accomplish and he didn’t believe me until he saw the stretch of freshly-cut grass in the backyard.
I’m still proud of that to this day.
When I got older, I continued to do various types of work in different industries but it’s very difficult for me to recall all of them because there were so many. However, I have decided to create a list for you of how many different jobs or positions I’ve held, which is viewable on my personal site, in order to give you an idea of just how easily I get bored, how I have often lacked focus, and what a Jack-of-all-trades I really am.
While I am no expert, I will add some highlights as to my tool-focused credentials:
- I’ve made numerous repairs to my own cars and trucks, including replacing things like water pumps, belts, hoses, radiators, starters, batteries, solenoid switches, A/C parts, seats, shocks, radios/CD players/cassette decks, speakers, amplifiers, equalizers, lights, grills, tool boxes, and more.
- I’ve built thousands–yes, thousands–of cabinets, including base and uppers for kitchens and bathrooms, desks, vanities, end tables, coffee tables, bookshelves, entertainment centers, wardrobes, custom-made stands, shelves, and tables, chairs, jewelry boxes, and more.
- I’ve also undertaken quite a number of DIY home-related projects, such as laying tile (sticky, ceramic, and slate), moving a door, drywall, painting, washing, concrete, fences and gates, lighting, range hoods, outlets and light switches, water heater, installing cabinetry, faucets and plumbing, repairing toilets, and a lot more I can’t remember.
- Currently, I have an electric motorcycle and have learned about some new things I must consider and will be sharing what I learn along the way, including which tools I feel are most beneficial.
Now, if you haven’t checked out my video yet, I encourage you to do so! It explains my comprehensive tool review process in which I use a combination method involving myown research coupled with that of others in order to provide you, essentially, a one-stop-shop for the best overall image possible of what you’re getting into without you having to fork out the dough first.
What I offer here is completely free of charge and the only benefit I (might) get is a small commission from an affiliate partner such as Amazon if you decided to click a link and make a purchase–and this is something that I am up-front and honest about.
Remember that I do not get paid any extra for promoting any particular products over another!
My aim is to provide you all of the best information we can so that you can find the tool that’s best for you in the end.
In order to keep from being one-sided, I offer a few different types of articles:
My reviews section is what offers my primary, comprehensive product reviews on a wide variety of power or hand tools. If you are looking for a more detailed look at a particular tool then this is where you will find it.
The Advice section offers more general assistance with everything from how to care for your power tools to the best impact gun buying guide on the internet.
My Blog is more of an open-topic area where I may post whatever is on my mind, but I do sometimes keep it connected to men for the most part, so it might have something to do with how to become a better man for your girlfriend or why family is so very important for us guys.
That’s all for now, folks! Thank you again for visiting WrenchGuru and be sure to visit our contact page if you have any questions.
-Brandon