Picture Hanging Jig Construction

Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. Recently, we showed you a couple episodes where we showed you how to take the unpleasant task of hanging artwork and pictures in your home from something that's uncertain and trial and error to getting it perfect the first time. In one of the episodes, we showed you a frame hanging jig that we used to do the job right. Well, how do you make this? Stay tuned and I'll show you how we did it. Okay, let's get started on your picture hanging jig. You'll begin by selecting a piece of nice, clear 1x2 stock that's straight and is long enough to be used for the majority of pictures you'll be hanging up. Around the home, we found that about 30 inches works just fine. This will be the cross arm that screws will be placed the distance apart you intend to place hangers on the wall for your artwork or decor. Now, I know this sounds a bit confusing, but it'll become clear later on. You have three things you need to lay out on this cross arm, and the order you do them in is your choice. You'll need to indicate the center point of the 1x2 and place a nice bold mark that's easy to see. You'll also need to run a dividing line that runs along the entire length of the piece of the wood. You will be drilling along this line, and this assures accuracy and equal support around the holes and screws you'll be placing in the holes when you use the jig. Lastly, start from the center point and work both to the left and the right and mark in one-inch increments along that line. Now, let's get to work drilling. First, choose a diameter bit that allows the screws you select to be driven in easily but are not too loose in the hole. When you use this jig, you'll likely use one and a quarter to one and a half inch long screws, so drill along the dividing line on the one-inch increment lines, including one at the center mark. The center hole will be used later for the jig handle, and notice you don't need holes immediately to the left and right of the center as you won't be hanging any pictures that need the wall mounts that close together. To increase the utility of this jig, I made a simple handle out of a strip of half-inch MDF. Now, the actual size is not critical, but this one's about four inches wide and about 20 inches long. I nipped off the corners at 45 degrees to make it a little bit kinder on my hands, and I put a simple wood drawer pull to make it easier to hold on to. And while it was at it, to reduce scratching from the jig when it's laid down or in use, I recessed the screw head so it sits below the surface of the handle. Now we're ready to assemble. Next, I countersunk mounting holes in the cross arm, attached the handle at 90 degrees to the cross arm, and centered on it. You can use glue for this step if you like. The handle that we put on this jig serves two different purposes. One, it gives you a place to lift the whole picture with it suspended so that it's easier to handle. As importantly, it gives you a place to mark the top edge of the artwork so you know the distance from the top edge down to the wire. Now here are the type of screws I like to use to hang pictures. Notice they have coarse threads, and now that the jig is usable, I insert the screws into the jig, two of them equal distance from the center point. In this case, the screws are 12 inches left and right of the center point, so 24 inches apart. This will give a very stable attachment to the 36 inch wide piece of artwork that I'm hanging up. And there you have it. It's simple, inexpensive, and eliminates guesswork on how far your artwork will hang above your mounting screws on the wall, and you'll get it right the first time with no trial and error. I think you'll find this tool to be very helpful for you, and you can find how we used it by checking out the other videos. You can follow the links that are listed in the description down below, or just stick around for just a few seconds and click on the end panel. It'll take you directly there. If you found this video to be helpful, won't you like it? Better yet, if you haven't already, won't you subscribe? It's very helpful to us. Until the next time, this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com.