Under the Roof Hang and Level Picture Hanging Tool

Raise your hand if you're completely lacking in any and all ability to hang a picture on a wall. Good. Now, if your arm is in the air, you're one of the people who has helped put the Hang and Level Picture Hanging Tool in the Amazon top 100 sellers in home improvement (#59 as of this writing).

The Hang and Level is a tool that facilitates the "so where do I put the hanger?" question of the picture hanging process. What you do is hook the picture to the tool, position it where you want it, remove the picture, and then press a litle button into the wall which leaves a mark right where you want to place the nail/hanger. It also has two built-in level vials for fine tuning.

The Under the Roof website tells us that their picture hanging tool has been mentioned in the New York Times and that it was awarded Outstanding Product at the '09 Hardware Show. We're sure the that tool is functional and in a way it's clever, but do people really need it? We just moved into a new place and over the past few weeks we've hung more pictures than the curator at the Louvre, and all we use is a tape measure, a pencil, and a little simple math. Works pretty well for us.

So we don't know. Maybe we're wrong, maybe this is the best idea since the cordless drill. Maybe everybody needs one. Or maybe we're all relying so much on gizmos, gadgets and technology that we can no longer do even the simplest tasks without assistance.

At Amazon

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Screwpop 4-in-1 Keychain Tool

Helloooooo stocking stuffer! Meet theScrewpop, or as we like to say, "SCREWPOP!" The SCREWPOP! is a little keychain gizmo that quadruples as a screwdriver (Philips and slotted), a 1/4" hex, and the obligatory bottle opener.

We've had things like this in the past and they seem to sit somewhere in between, "pretty cool," and, "have only used it once in four years." But still, you could do a lot worse for $5. And like we said, it would probably make a good stocking stuffer.

At Screwpop

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Black & Decker MSW100 Ready Wrench

Our socket set is a mess. It's fine when it's sitting in our shop and we're the only ones using it, but the instant it enters the construction site, pieces start disappearing. It's like there are ratchet-eating elves living under the excavator or something. And oddly enough, it's always the most common sizes that vanish, so it doesn't take long for the kit to be rendered practically useless.

Black & Decker has come up with a new tool that might help the situation. The Ready Wrench is an interesting looking item that's sort of one-stop shopping for the 16 most popular socket sizes. Each end of the tool has a rotating piece with 4 different socket sizes. It looks like they get to the 16 number by including both SAE and the similar metric size, which actually aren't identical, so there's likely a little slop in 1/2 of the sizes.

This looks like a potentially handy tool. Probably more of a space-saver than anything else, or something for the DIYer who has no need for a complete wrench set. It reminds us of the space-age HK1 Adjustable Wrench that we reviewed way back in February. While the HK1 has a wider range of sizes (it's fully adjustable), the B&D looks easier to use on the fly.

The Ready Wrench costs about $30, which could be worth it if the tool has some durability to it.

At Amazon