Wireless Picture Hanger is on The Level, Unusual Looking Handsaw Cuts Flawlessly • HouseCalls Newsletter

Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day. ~ Dalai Lama

Innovative Picture Hanging Device is Quick, Accurate and Self-Leveling.

If you’ve ever tried to hang photos, artwork, mirrors or just about anything else that needs to be precisely placed on the wall, you know how frustrating it can be dealing with wires and conventional hooks. Well, here’s a simple device that eliminates guesswork and virtually guarantees that whatever you’re hanging will end up exactly where you want it, perfectly level and certain to stay that way. It’s the modern day version of the French cleat.

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Strange-Looking Handsaw Slices Through Wood Like a Hot Knife Through Butter

Nearly all saws in the Western world cut on the push or the stroke moving away from the user. This is not true of the Japanese handsaw. Nor was it the case with some of the earliest saws used by the Egyptians and ancient Chinese. The modern Japanese saw, like its historic predecessor, cuts on the pull stroke. While this may seem like an insignificant dissimilarity, it’s really not. Once you try one of these tools, you’ll immediately feel the difference – it’s more like slicing than sawing. While, admittedly, the majority of my wood cutting is done with a power saw, I’ll always have one of these in marvelous tools close at hand.

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Stripped Screw Holes Score Big

Last week's article on Four Ways to Fix Stripped Screw Holes in Wood drew a lot of traffic and a great many comments. Several of you suggested additional ways to solve the problem such as boring out the stripped hole and gluing in a piece of dowel, using a golf tee, wrapping the screw with teflon tape and forcing steel wool into the hole. I haven't tried the teflon, but I will. As for the steel wool, you need to pack it in quite firmly and there is one caveat -- steel wool will rust, so I wouldn't use it where there is any possibility of exposure to moisture. Thanks for all the great ideas.