The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

This fall more and more men and women be tackling a wide range home improvement projects from simple repairs to major renovations Many wilt waste considerable time and energy by not using proper tools As the doityourself wave continues to grow and more tools appear on the market ihesearch for the right tools can become even more difficult For this reason the experts at Stanley Tools have developed the following suggestions and tips that can be used when searching for such commonly used tools as extendable tape rules levels crosscut saws and hammers Measure twice but cut once is a fa- write phrase of many seasoned carpen ters who know the importance of having a Quality extendable tape rule in collections serious doityouselfer should be without one either Quaht extendable tape rules should include a bladelocking device that locks the tape firmly in place a truezero tape hook highly visible life guard yellow tape a slowly re tracting tape a durable belt clip and a chromeplated case for rustprotection in outdoor applications Practical extend able tape rules such as Stanleys popular Powerfock II tape rule are compact lightweight and can be used to incisure lengths from of an inch up to 30 reel Tape rules are available with measur ing capabilities over 30 feet for use in measuring property lines gutters and sports fields The experts say quality long tapes be easy to hold FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT Wednesday September 1989 Quick easy home repair By GRAHAM BLACKBURN Its Saturday night and all of your yucsts have arrived expecting the party of a lifetime Conversation and champagne ire flowingeasily Your party seems des tined to be a rave when strikes all of the power in the house pies out You can see out your window that the neighboring houses all have power What should you do Although some homeowners are idated by the thought of fixing problems in the home not much skill is actually needed and it can be quite cost effective blackout like the one described above is typical household emergency and no mutter how well you prepare there will be an unexpected disaster which strike when you least expect it If an electrical circuit becomes for any reason the power will be shut off to that circuit at the service box This is accomplished either by a circuit breaker or a ruse Before attempting to the power back on by resetting the breaker or replacing the fuse some of the load off the circuit con- by unplugging or switching off ap pliances or lights Now proceed to the service box If it is with circuit breakers all you to do is to look for the one that is in he off or tripped position and witch it back to the on position All of the switches should be roperly labeled so that you can identify circuit is which this helps when want to turn off the power in a area If the switches are not marked you can identify them by a pro cess of elimination turn everything on and note which switch controls which lights and appli ances etc A word of warning Just be cause you find the breaker that controls the light in any particular room that does not necessarily mean that neighbor ing outlets are dead they may well be on a different circuit If your service box has fuses they will probably be one of the various kinds shown in the illustration The plug fuse consists of a visible metal strip inside a glass screwin unit When the metal strip is broken or the glass has become blackened the fuse is broken It should be replaced by one of the same amperage The dual element fuse has a spring- loaded that permits tempo rary overloading such as occurs when an electric motor starts up Otherwise it looks just like a plug fuse A third type is the cartridge fuse Big or small the only way to know whether this type is blown or still working is to re place it with a known good fuse When something electrical stops work ing he first job is to identify the blown fuse in the fuse box If the lights should go out in the bedroom for example it is easy to fix if the fuses are properly la- beled Having first turned off other items on that circuit shut off the main power making sure that you are not standing on a wet floor and that you have a flashlight handy Then unscrew or remove the fuse in question and replace it with a new fuse of the same amperage and turn everything back on again It is a good idea to main- tain a supply of the fuses that your- box contains so that you always have one handy The most common reason for a blown fuse is overloading too much electricity being used at the same time If a fuse blows immediately after having placed but with fewer items operating there may be damage somewhere in the circuit such as a short in a loose plug or a frayed wire At this point unless you are a qualified electrician call in If you prefer the idea of circuit break ers but your house is equipped with plug fuses you can replace them with button breakers which look just like screwin plug fuses with a button sticking out of the center When this kind of breaker trips the button pops out and all you need to do is to push it back in to reset the and reactivate the circuit Maintaining and repairing your own home can be cost effective Before call ing Tor outside help look the situation over yourself instead of immediately de claring The waters out call the plumber You will be surprised at what you can fix yourself often faster and cheaper with a little patience and some understanding of the problem Editors Note Graham Blackburn is a professional furniture maker and is au thor of Quick And Eaiyftfcme Repair I Some pointers on selecting tools for home improvement projects TO MAKE ALL CUTTING JOBS EASIER aded aw an aggroMlve design like Stanley Tool new Short Tool Box Saw which cut op to percent faster than conventional saw The unique catling tool also has a handle iith builtin 45 mod mitre and square angles for convenient matting lize a rustproofed steel tape and should have a handy foldout handle for effort less tape winding A variety of projects also call for the use of a dependable level Leels can help guide the installation of many materials from posts and poles and blocks to shelves doorsdecks and even wallpaper When selecting a level choose one made from nonwarping lightweight metal A practical level also should uti lize liquidfilled vials that are read able from any angle and can be replaced easily if one should ever break Most professional levels utilize three vials filled with an alcohol mixture so the wo outside vials can be set in either the horizontal or vertical direction depend ing on the projects requirements Because the majority of wood cutting projects involve cutting against the woods grain the experts suggest pur chasing a quality crosscut saw To make all cutting jobs easier select a crosscut saw with an aggressive tooth design to make the saw cut faster and more effi ciently To handle a majority of applications efficiently the saw should utilize an opti mum number of eight teeth points per inch Crosscut saws with more than eight teeth per inch deliver a fine and slow cut and those with less than eight tend to give a rough and fast cut When choosing an allpurpose ham mer one of the most important things to consider is the weight of the hammer head A hammer head thai is too light makes the work harder than has to be and one that is too heavy will be difficult to control An allpurpose hammer say the experts should have a hammer head that weighs around 16 ounces A dependable hammer head should be made from highcarbon steel and have a heattreated face for strength and dura bility The face also should be convex to increase nail driving efficiency Hammers with curved claws make better allpurpose hammers than those with rip claws Curved claws with sharp doublebeveled edges make the nailpulling process easy Books as books about carpentry 20 o 50 OFF ON INSTOCK CARPET WHILE QUANTITIES LAST WERE DIFFERENT- WE GIVE A FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY ON OUR INSTALLATIONS QUALITY AND RELIABILITY 00 MAKE A DIFFERENCE BUDGET SAVER SAXONY STAIN RELEASE 99 I INSTALLED 22 AREA RUGS from SCULPTURE STAIN RELEASE 99 sq yd INSTALLED INCLUDES UNOERPAD LABOUR SHOP AT HOME SERVICE BRING THIS AD AND SAVE SALES TAX ON ALL IN STOCK PURCHASES CLARENCE Kennedy Rd S Brampton 4560971 Acton Brampton Georgetown 8732355 WESTERN CARPETS VINYL