If you happened to get a new tool for Christmas, and need a place to store
it, we have the answer. Screws make great pegs for hanging things on the wall.
They're quick and easy to drive into a garage stud and they're strong and inexpensive.
Unlike a nail, a screw can be easily removed and reused, or relocated. Unfortunately,
an unprotected screw can scratch a new tool.
To enjoy the simplicity, speed and cost effectiveness of screws, without damaging
your tools, add a layer of protection. We suggest a little plastic tubing or
rubber tubing. Our example uses a 2-inch screw and 1-inch tubing, but the size
can vary depending on your needs.
- First, use a 2-inch drywall screw (the standard kind has a flared flat
head). They also are black in color and have heavy threads and very sharp
points that make them easy to drive.
- Next, buy a 1-inch length of plastic or rubber tubing. Clear, colored or
black—your choice.
- Cut the tubing to 1 inch in length so that the leftover portion of the screw
will penetrate into the wall at least 1 inch. In this example 1 inch is half
the length of the screw. However, the relationship between screw and cover
will vary based on screw length and what weight it will be expected to hold.
Begin with 3-sixteenth-inch tubing if you can find it, or experiment with
other sizes. Home centers and auto parts stores carry myriad tubing types
and styles.
- Next, slip the screw into the tubing.
- Finally, drive the screw in until the end of the tube rides snugly against
the wall and until the flared screw head seats just inside the other end of
the tube.
Do-it-yourself cushioned pegs work well anywhere. Take a look around the house
(not just the garage) and put leftover screws and tubing to good use.
Did you ever have a tube of leftover caulk or adhesive that dried out and
had to be thrown away? Caulking—especially the silicone kind—can
get expensive, $6 a tube and up. Yet it often is available in quantities several
times greater than what most of us need. For that reason, we find ourselves
replacing the cap and storing the leftover caulk until next time, only to find
that it has dried out and must be thrown away. It doesn't have to be that way.
All you need is a screw-in eye or hook—your very own personal caulking
cap and storage hook. Tube tips can vary in size so to be on the safe side,
purchase a handful of screw-in hooks and-or eyes in varying diameters from about
1-8th of an inch to 3-8ths of an inch. Length isn't as important as diameter
since the seal will occur at the very tip of the container. Here's how to do
it:
- First, select a hook or eye where the screw portion is about a 16th- to
an 8th of an inch or so larger than the opening at the end.
- Apply a small amount of the contents of the tube onto the threads (as a
sealant).
- Screw the hook or eye into the opening until the fit is snug.
- Hang the sealed tube where you can find it next time you need it.
Want an easy-to-fill, easy-to-pour watering can?
Better yet, do you want one that's easy to make—and is free?
Recycling things you would normally discard is good for the pocketbook and
the environment. You'll love this one. Take your old liquid laundry detergent
bottle and use a little bit of ingenuity by modifying it to make a watering
can.
- First, rinse the bottle out thoroughly.
- Next, remove the cap and drill a series of 8th-inch holes in the top of
the cap.
- Drill a half-inch hole just above the handle of the bottle itself. This
one is for pressure equalization so that water will flow freely.
- Finally, fill with water, replace the cap and begin watering.
Some of these laundry detergent bottles are ergonomically designed to be comfortable
to use.
