Ordering Tools And Hardware Through Magazines

If you enjoy popping open a magazine to see what's inside, it can be a goldmine for household and home improvement projects. Magazines often include listings of vendors who offer tools, hardware, building materials and other supplies. You can use the information in these listings to order the supplies direct from these vendors.

There are two benefits to this strategy: firstly you likely won't find all of the items you need at your local hardware store or lumber yard. Secondly, some items may be available at discounted prices if you buy them through a catalog or online retailer like Home Depot instead of going out to make brick-and-mortar trips for everything.

Turn to the pages of your favorite magazines for hardware. Popular home improvement magazines like the American Home, Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Homebuilding, and House Beautiful usually include a section with listings and prices for hardware, tools and building supplies. Use this information to order everything that you need from a single source.

(Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_5249234_ordering-tools-hardware-magazines.html) [ARTICLE END]

How To Make A Wrought Iron Bar Stool?  Need metal stools for your patio? How about some wrought iron bar stools ? They're fun and easy to make . . . and I'm going to show you how.

What You'll Need: A piece of 1/2" thick steel. If you're using steel tubing it's a 20" length. Anything 12" or longer should do, but keep in mind that you may need to cut it down and re-weld it. (You don't want your sliding seats to be too tall!)  A 1040 - 1/4" deep Forstner bit (you can find these in sets of 3 or 4 at Home Depot). You can also use a half-inch deep holesaw with a metal cutting blade installed; that's what I did for mine. A pair of bar clamps. A hammer and some steel punches or a large nail. When you're finished, you'll have a bench that your kids will love, and it will be safe and strong enough to hold most people sitting on it.

I'm not going to show you how to cut out the seat in this article, but you can find that info elsewhere (see The Iron Furnace ).

You can also find more information on the history of wrought iron bar stools here .

To make these, all we need is a piece of 1/2" thick steel (or tubing) 10" long;  I used 12 gauge steel for mine.

The bar stool slides on these channels which I cut into one end of the steel. The channel at the top is for a welded MIG or TIG seat to sit in; and the one at the bottom is for a cast iron dowel pin to hold a movable seat.

This shows the channel that will hold the sliding seat. After I cut it, I smoothed out any rough edges with my angle grinder and cleaned up any metal filings with my shop vac. 

Now we're ready to start shaping our bar stools . This next bit is very simple, but you have to do it before you get started on cutting your channels.

Conclusion: These are not only affordable and fun to make, but they also look awesome on your patio, deck, or porch. If you're like me, you'll enjoy the whole process of making them even more than the finished product!

How To Build A Kitchen Island

Kitchen islands are very useful for many different things. Some people have used them for prep stations to help with food preparation in the kitchen. Others turn them into bars to serve drinks or appetizers to their guests. They can also be used as much needed storage areas for utensils and ingredients that may take up too much space in the main kitchen cabinets. Building one yourself is a great way to save money and ensure that it is made just how you want it.