Drawers coming apart? How to get them back on track
The best-built drawers have side panels joined with dovetail joints, a set of depressions or cutouts in one panel matched by projections in the other — usually with interlocking triangular...
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Step up to a versatile adjustable ladder system
Ladders come in many shapes and sizes, made of metal, wood and fiberglass, each with a duty rating: how much weight it's designed to carry. The common advice is always...
Beyond the pegboard
Your father, and likely his father, displayed home repair and improvement tools on sheets of perforated hardboard, otherwise known as Pegboard. The die-hards even drew outlines of each tool so...
How to avoid a home renovation scam
The worst way to pay for home improvements looks like a bargain upfront but turns into a nightmare that could cost you your home. The Federal Trade Commission says it's...
3 ways to get that annoying tree stump out of the yard
When trees come down in a storm or you fell them on purpose, there are several ways to deal with the seemingly immovable objects left behind: the stumps. The remains...
Big-ticket rentals: Save money by renting big expensive tools
You can't have too many tools. That premise prepares you for any project, accumulates an impressive array on the pegboard, but costs a lot of money. So with big-ticket tools,...
Specialized drills play more than a bit part
Picture a bow and arrow, but with the bow horizontal. As it's drawn back and forth, the bow winds a string around a vertical arrow, making the arrow whirl. That...
Despite ban, lead paint still a risk
Problems with lead paint just won't go away, even though the material was banned in 1978. New sources prompted recent recalls of lead-painted toys made in China. Old sources have...
A few clamping devices that deserve a hand
Many projects around the house could use an extra pair of hands. They could hold the light, steady the level, read the ruler, or keep the door from sagging while...
Change of seasons perfect time to check home safety systems
At some point, houses will have an equivalent of the dreaded engine light. When it pops up on a house sensor panel the way it does on the dashboard, you...