About Dale

Howdy, friend.

My name is Dale Carter. I’ve spent more than thirty years building other people’s houses. I started out as a finish carpenter doing trim, cabinets, and stairs. Later I ran a small crew of my own. I’ve built decks, additions, barns, kitchens, and more porch steps than I could count if you gave me all afternoon.

Linda and I have been married thirty-three years. We live on five acres outside a small town in the Missouri Ozarks. We’ve got two grown kids, three grandkids, and an old yellow Lab mix named Buck who considers himself the shop foreman.

Back in 2015 I finally built a shop of my own, a 24-by-32 pole barn out back. The first thing I built inside it was the workbench, out of oak. Linda had a sign carved for over the door that says “Dale’s Workbench, Est. 2015.” Said I finally had somewhere to keep my clamps besides the dining room. The name stuck.

In 2024, two herniated discs made a decision for me. No more crawling under floors. No more hauling plywood up ladders. I didn’t quit building, though. I just moved it all home, into the shop. There’s a wood stove in the corner and a radio that gets one country station and one ballgame. For the first time in my life, I’ve got time to write down what I know.

But that’s not really why I started this. Here’s why.

The winter the water quit

A few winters back, an ice storm rolled through. The forecast called it “light ice.”

The big oak in our yard disagreed. So did half the power lines in the county.

We were out of power for six days.

Now, here’s the thing about living on a well. The pump runs on electricity. No power, no pump. No pump, no water. Not for drinking, not for cooking, not for washing up.

By day two, I was hauling buckets up from the creek and boiling them on a camp stove. Meanwhile my grandkids were asking why they couldn’t flush the toilet.

I didn’t have a good answer for them.

That embarrassed me more than I like to admit. I’d spent my whole life being the guy who knows how to fix things. I could frame a house from a pile of lumber. And I couldn’t get my own family a glass of clean water.

So I did what a carpenter does

I went out to the shop and started figuring. I learned it the way I learned the trade. I tried things. I broke things. I kept what held up.

Water storage and filtration came first. Then backup power. Then food storage and the rest of it. I wasn’t trying to become a “prepper.” I just never wanted to feel that helpless again.

What I found out is that being ready isn’t about fear. It’s the same as keeping the gutters clean or putting good shingles on a roof. You build it right once, so it holds when it matters.

I call it prepared, not scared.

What you’ll find here

This is my workbench, more or less. I write about three things:

• Shop Notes. Stories from the shop. Hand tools, repairs, and the mistakes I make so you don’t have to.
• Projects. Things you can build on a Saturday, with cut lists and plain instructions.
• Be Ready. Water, power, and pantry basics, without the doom and gloom.

I’m not an expert with letters after my name. I’m not ex-military, and I’m not a survival guru. I’m a builder with thirty years of sawdust in his boots and a few hard lessons under his belt. When something is outside my lane, I’ll tell you, and I’ll point you to the folks who know better.

If you’ve got a question, a story, or a correction, send me a note. I read every one, usually before six in the morning with a cup of coffee.

Glad you stopped by.

Keep your tools sharp, — Dale