Guides

Plain answers with their sources: charts, rules and methods, the same figures our apps use.

Music and sport

• Drum tuning notes chart: what note to tune each tom, snare and kick
  Starting notes for 8 to 18 inch toms, the 14 inch snare range and kick drums, with lug pitches, interval spacing and the sources behind every number.
• How to tune a drum, lug by lug
  Six steps from a new head to an even, in-tune drum: seating, finger-tight rods, the star tightening pattern for 6, 8 and 10 lugs, the note, and evening the lugs.
• How much tension do tennis strings lose, and when should you restring?
  Measured tension loss during and after stringing, why polyester drops faster than nylon, a restring schedule by how often you play, and how to track loss at home.
• Little League pitch count rules by age, and the rest-day chart
  Daily pitch limits by league age, the calendar days of rest after each pitch count, the catcher rules and a worked example, from Little League Baseball's Regulation VI.

Sewing, knitting and making

• How to draft a bodice block from your measurements
  The measurements to take, the ease to add and the steps to draft a close-fitting bodice block, the base pattern for fitted tops and dresses, with checks before you cut.
• How to price handmade items: the formula, with your time and the fees included
  Work out what one handmade piece really costs, then price it three ways (cost plus, keystone, target margin after fees), with a worked example and the formulas.

Collecting

• State quarters list by year (1999–2008), with mint marks
  All 50 State Quarters in release order with their year and mint marks, plus the 2009 DC and territories quarters: what a complete set is and how many coins it takes.
• America the Beautiful quarters list (2010–2021), with the W mint marks
  All 56 America the Beautiful (national park) quarters in release order with year, state or territory and mint marks, including the 2019 and 2020 West Point W quarters.
• Lincoln penny dates and mint marks, 1909–2025
  Which mints struck Lincoln cents every year from 1909 to 2025, what no mint mark means, the 1965–67 and 2017 exceptions, and the low-mintage dates.

Car audio

• Sealed vs ported subwoofer box: which to build
  How sealed and ported subwoofer boxes differ in size, depth, output and cone control, how your driver's parameters decide, and a worked example with the formulas.

Backyard birds and livestock

• Egg incubation chart: days, temperature and humidity for chickens, ducks, geese, quail and more
  Days to hatch, lockdown day, humidity and candling days for chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, quail and seven more birds, with temperatures for both incubator types.
• Rabbit gestation period and breeding calendar
  How long rabbits are pregnant, when to palpate, when the nest box goes in and comes out, and when to wean, as a day-by-day breeding calendar with an example.