In the North, dads have basements. In the South, they have shops. Both accommodate man things, including woodworking, small engine repair, and isolation from the fairer sex.

As a kid in Ashdown, Arkansas, I saw basements on TV shows and wished we had one. My dad said the water table was too high where we lived, so a basement would flood. Instead, he used our garage to do man things. And he included me.

Whether it’s a basement, garage, shed, or shop, it’s ultimately a man cave. The ladies have the house. Men have the man cave.

The projects tackled in man caves are often framed as manly pursuits, but when I was growing up, they most often were things we couldn’t afford to pay other people to do.

So dads made you feel that the Y chromosomes were spending quality time together, when in reality you were being taught how to be self-reliant.

For that, I am forever grateful.

It may not seem like much, but knowing how to bleed the brakes, change the oil, replace the points and condenser, or rebuild a carburetor were, and still are, valuable things to know.

The same goes for replacing doorknobs, fixing the screen door, repairing a broken window, and reattaching the head of your sister’s doll.

Don’t ask.

There was also an unwritten rule that you watched before you helped. Dad would show you how to do something, then hand you the wrench. If you did it wrong, he showed you again. Eventually, you were expected to know which wrench he wanted before he asked for it.

That was part of the education.

On Thanksgiving Day 1974, my dad and I assembled a metal storage building that came from Sears. I learned how to read instructions and do a parts check to make sure we had enough screws.

We didn’t.

Part of that day included scavenging for extra parts to finish the job. I also learned why men never throw away leftover screws, washers, and nuts from previous projects.

Every shop has a coffee can, jar, or drawer full of miscellaneous hardware. You may not know what any of it came from, but throwing it away guarantees you’ll need it the following Saturday.

In addition to projects, most days in the man cave were sprinkled with stories of days gone by, when my dad worked on things with his dad or grandfather.

Knowledge was handed down. It provided the next generation the opportunity to learn how to fix and repair their things. It gives a man a feeling of independence. It also saves money. Money that I didn’t know at the time we didn’t have.

The old adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” is not only true, it’s needed.

There’s no better feeling than solving your own problems. Sometimes the repair doesn’t look exactly like the factory intended, but if it works, doesn’t leak, and doesn’t catch fire, you can usually call it a success.

My dad’s father was a blacksmith. He said that anything you need, you can make. If you can’t make it, you can buy it. But don’t buy it, because if you try hard enough, you can make it.

That philosophy was passed down through our family along with tools, old coffee cans full of bolts, and the belief that almost anything deserves at least one attempt at repair before being hauled to the curb.

When we moved to our homestead many years ago, I completed a shop on the property. It’s not huge, but it’s large enough to fit a vehicle, lawn tractor, and percolator.

Every man cave needs a percolator.

When I work on things, I sip coffee and think of my dad and grandfathers. They all taught me a lot. How to fix what I have, how to do it safely, and how to pass it down to my kids and grandkids.

And passing it down may be the most important part. A repaired lawnmower eventually breaks again. A rebuilt carburetor will someday need rebuilding. But showing a kid how to figure something out stays with him.

Recently, I had air conditioning installed in my shop. My grandfathers would almost assuredly consider this less-than-manly, but whatever razzing I may face in the afterlife, I’m willing to take.

Besides, there’s nothing in the man cave rulebook that says you have to sweat while changing the oil.

In a society where most things are now considered disposable and many men only use a man cave for grilling and watching sports, I take pride in the fact that my boys and I still like having a broken lawnmower at our feet. Even if we are working on it in the air conditioning.

Welding, lawnmower repair, changing the oil, and knowing which end of a wrench to use are becoming almost lost arts.

Let’s keep ’em around.

I’ll make the coffee.

 

© 2026 John Moore

John’s new book,“Write of Passage: Vol. 3,” and his other writings are available on Amazon. Write him at John@TheCountryWriter.com.