Posts Tagged ‘numbers’
The Skinny on Billboards
Several years back the billboard people put a big picture of “Sharlene Wells, Miss America” on billboards all over town. She was everywhere. The clever use of the girl had two purposes; the first was to cover up all the unsold boards. The second was to show the effectiveness of billboard advertising.
Surveys were conducted before and after the one month showing of Sharlene’s pretty mug. Before, only 1.5% of people surveyed could recall her name when asked “Who is Miss America”. After, the number jumped to an amazing 12%.
The billboard people pointed to this example as proof of the power of outdoor advertising. It gave them the open door to pitch hundreds of potential new customers.
If you bought 50 billboards in your town and used the Miss America approach, people would surely know your name, too.
Here’s the skinny on outdoor advertising; billboards.
You MUST Plan Ahead First, outdoor is not a “quick fix”. If sales are down, you can’t quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers. You must plan ahead. Lead time is not short when using outdoor. The best use of boards is for image building and brand awareness. They are not cost effective for one time only sales or non-repeating special events. Billboards are image builders. Using billboards is akin to TV, it can mean you have “arrived” as a formidable business.
Most are sold for a minimum of one month. You pay twice. First for the board location and second for the media used to put your ad on the board, paint, paper or plastic.
Paints Painted billboards are the oldest form of outdoor advertising. They are painted with special outdoor paint that is weather resistant. Some outdoor paints are specially formulated to resist fading. Painted billboards are also known as “painted bulletins” but most commonly as “paints”.
Papers Poster Boards may be the best known. We have all seen the billboard guy hanging off the ladder with the swirling wallpaper-like panels being pushed into place with the big glue broom.
Poster Boards are printed on 8 to 30 sheets of heavy paper, depending on the size. Posters with 8 sheets (6 x 12 feet) are called juniors. Regular boards use 30 sheets and make a 12 x 25 foot sign, counting the heavy metal frame. They are called 30-sheets.
Some old timers refer to poster boards as “papers” and “paper bulletins”. Papers look good for about a month, depending on the weather. Nothing looks worse than an old paper board, unattended for long periods where the wind and weather has ripped and torn the panels torn away revealing layers of old signs.
Plastic All the rage now is the use of vinyl on boards. This allows for better color, longer life and very fine graphics. If vinyl boards had been available when they did the Miss America test, people would still be in love with the lady on the board.
Vinyls are printed with a special printer, not unlike your computer printer. Once sprayed with the ultra-violet finish coat, vinyls can last for years. Vinyls are easy to spot. They look brighter and better than traditional paper boards, Wind has a tendency to get under them can make them ripple, as they are normally not glued to the surface, but attached at the edges. These are called “flex vinyls” and can be moved from board to board without damage. Some vinyls are slipped over old paper boards like a sack and you can see the outline of the paper board’s metal boarder under the vinyl.
Bulletins are the giant boards you often see along Interstates. They can be as big as 20 x 60 feet or as small as 10 1/2 x 36 feet. Many of these large boards are supported by one huge metal pipe in the middle. Rotary bulletins are the same as bulletins but are moved every 60 days (hence the term rotary).Some bulletins are painted, most use plastic.
Showings Boards have ratings like TV shows, called Gross Rating Points (GRP). Each board has a traffic count, and when divided by the population, the result is a GRP. Billboard sales are usually made in GRPs. Meaning you buy a 25 showing or a 50 or 75 or 100 showing. A 25 showing would mean that at least 25% of the population would see one of your boards at least once a day. A 25 showing could take one board, three or many, depending on the traffic count and the population. It is possible to buy only one board, but not cost effective. After you decide to use outdoor, you have to pay for printing the paper or vinyls and they usually come in units of 10.
The best goal is to get a 100 showing. Studies have shown that in a 100 showing, advertisers can reach 88% of the adults 28 times a month. In a 50 showing, advertisers can reach 83% of adults 15 times a month.
Cost For example, a recent 50 showing in Salt lake City included 84 boards and cost $22,512 for one month (the 1- Month Rate). Buying that many boards brought the cost per board to under $275. Don’t expect a rate this low for smaller markets or a one or two board buy. In most cities the average billboard costs $400 to $600 a month.
Some board locations are stacked. Opinions vary as to whether top or bottom position is better. Some boards are “tri-vision” mechanically turning small panels to reveal 3 different ads every 30 seconds.
There are other forms of outdoor. The giant single pole super boards along the Interstates are best used for spur of the moment sales “next exit” and “clean restrooms”.
Small 4×8 painted boards stuck on a post in a farmer’s yard must be fixed and redone by you regularly. Let it sag or fall over just once and you image can go with it.
Here are BIG Mike’s Tips for Better Billboard Advertising.
+ Buy at least a 50 showing and do it every other
month. Many times if the board is not sold after
your time runs out,it will remain up for free
until
replaced.
+ Be sure some if not most are lighted locations.
+ Choose stand alone rather than stacked
if you have a choice.
+ Don’t let the board salesperson select
the locations for you.
+ Buy vinyls instead of paper or paint and bleed
the graphic off the edge (so it wraps around the
back of the board). Makes you ad look even
bigger
+ Keep the concept short and clever. Offer a
solution to their problem, entice them with
something new. Avoid same ol’ same ol’.
+ Use the rule of never more than 8 words and one
picture. Remember, most readers will be zooming
by in a car or truck.
+ Don’t put your picture on the board. Remember
the cardinal rule of sales. It’s not all about
YOU,it’s all about THEM.
+ Make outdoor a budget item and plan in advance.
Spend most of your time working on the concept
and
design, ’cause once it’s up there, it can’t be
changed and will been seen by everybody.
Final Thought FYI – Miss America 2004 is Ericka Dunlap.
For more about advertising, get my article “What the Newspaper Won’t Tell You” MailTo:NewspaperAds@BigIdeasgroup.com
©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com
Subscribe to “BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas” Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net
Securing Your Accounts With Well-Crafted Passwords
In the past I’ve never really paid much attention to security issues when it comes to user names and passwords. Frankly I figured it was all a lot of overblown hype. This led to an unfortunate incident that involved my website being attacked, apparently by a skillful youth with a propensity for mischief.
The main security flaw with my website was probably the simple fact that the username and password were exactly the same. Granted I did realize that this wasn’t highly intelligent but I didn’t have the power to change it myself, and I didn’t think it really mattered enough to bother about it. Having an identical username and password is a massive “no-no” in computer security. Your username and password should not even be related along the same line of thought. A username of “Dragon” and a password of “Fire” is not a secure combination.
For maximum security, passwords should not be cohesive words or phrases and should not be too obviously related to something like your birthday or the birthday of someone close to you. Personal information is one of the first things used when people attempt to break passwords. Having a password of “Password” is indeed humorous and ironic but it is not in the least bit secure.
A “brute force” password hacking technique involves using certain rules and guidelines to take a guess at possible passwords and generally works through a dictionary of sorts, trying combinations of possible words and common characters. Your best bet at creating a secure password is to pick a random collection of letters, numbers, and symbols, including varying case changes (in a password the letter “a” is not the same as the letter “A”, so alternating at random between upper and lower case will increase the difficulty encountered in cracking your password). Selecting a sequence of characters on the keyboard (such as “asdf” or, worse, “1234″) definitely does not create a secure, random password.
Having symbols in your password is an easy way to greatly increase security. These are the special characters accessed by holding the “Shift” key and pressing one of the numbers at the top of the keyboard. If you want to truly expand your arsenal of special characters, try holding down the “alt” key and pressing a combination of numbers on the num pad (the rectangular collection of numbers on the right hand side of most keyboards) then release “alt”. For example, holding “alt” and pressing numbers, 1 then 6 then 8 and releasing “alt” will give the character “¿”. Most combinations of 3 numbers will enter a different symbol into your password. This may make it a little harder to enter your password but it makes it a lot harder for anyone else to crack it.
To make passwords easier to remember you can use something original, like the name of your favorite character in a book (personal information that other people won’t know). Then add some numbers to it, perhaps use the “Leet speak” (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet for exact definition) method of changing letters to numbers and generally mix things up so that to you it seems coherent and memorable but to an automated pattern recognizer it seems random. For example, “jAm35_5m1Th¿” (“James Smith”) is actually surprisingly secure. In this case the password’s meaning is obvious to a human reader but it will take a lot of work for them to divine the password without prior knowledge (unless you’ve used your name or a close relative/friend’s name which, as we’ve already discussed, is not a good idea).
For additional security you should not use the one user name and password for every account that you have. If you do and someone manages to get hold of your details for one site they pretty much have the run of your digital life. It is not particularly vital to have perfect passwords for less important accounts (e.g. web based email from Hotmail, forums you visit etc.). These sites can quite happily be accessed using the same password. However, bank accounts, work email etc. should be made as secure as possible.
Hopefully a few of these tips will assist you in making your online activities more secure. Keep these guidelines in mind, change your password on a semi regular basis, and with any luck you’ll be able to avoid the hacking menace that befell me.
Daniel Punch
M6.Net Web Helpers
http://www.m6.net
Are Online Degrees Valid to Prospective Employers?
Online distance learning has gained rapid popularity with the advent of the internet, which has proven to offer great supporting facilities and convenience for online education. However, just like everything else with pros and cons, the internet has also opened doors for the widespread sale of bogus online degrees. According a report by USA Today, there were already 400 diploma mills in the year 2003 and the numbers are rising. In fact, many of these unscrupulous operations are run by organizations in an industry that is worth $500 million a year.
However, amidst the negative hype about online education, there are actually many distance learning colleges offering valid degrees and diplomas. These institutions do not sell bogus certificates, but actually aim to provide quality education as alternatives for on-campus higher education. Valid online courses with online video lectures as well as online library facilities and test examinations conducted are often deployed to ensure that students truly qualify in their areas of study and graduate legitimately. Sadly though, many employers only see the negative side of things, and easily brush off online education degrees as equivalent to bogus degrees.
In view of the confusion, the National Education Board of the U.S. government has authorized 6 accreditation agencies to provide institutional accreditation to education institutions, as a measure to differentiate legitimate universities from the crooks. This means that students choosing their universities will be assured that these universities would have met minimum criteria set forth by these agencies for learning institutions. Additionally, there is also The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) which provides accreditation specifically for distance learning institutions. The DETC is an accreditation agency that is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Furthermore, there is also specialized accreditation for specific programs of different areas of specialization. These programs which are found to have attained excellence will be awarded accreditation by various professional accrediting agencies depending on the area of specialization. For instance, the International Association for Management Education (AACSB) gives accreditation to accounting related programs while health programs are accredited by the American Health Information Management Association. It is also important to know that only accreditation agencies recognized by the Department of Education or CHEA are considered accreditation agencies which are acknowledged.
What does accreditation mean to a student? An institutional accreditation agency evaluates the various aspects of universities or colleges against minimum standard criteria to determine if the particular institution meets their list of basic requirements and quality of education. College accreditation is necessary to ensure that the education, facilities and support provided by a college or university adheres to basic levels. On the other hand, specialized accreditation evaluates excellence in individual program regardless of which institution the program is being delivered within. In this type of accreditation, course content and program curricula is evaluated against pre-set standards of the institution.
All accreditation does is to assure employers, students and parents that the graduates who are awarded degrees from accredited colleges have undergone quality and adequate training in their respective areas of specialization. This also means that colleges that are not accredited by the proper accreditation body would not have met the standards imposed by the agencies. However, courses taken by prospective employees that are accredited by the respective agencies would have met standards imposed on the respective specialized areas.
It is totally up to the judgment and decision of the employers on evaluating the validity of an online or on-campus degree. With the recent hike in bogus degrees, employers can’t help but be stringent in their applicant screenings and consider those with degrees that have been accredited. This may prove tedious and sometimes employers may get confused. Therefore, if your accreditation is provided by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education, then you will need to explain to your prospective employers on the background of the accrediting bodies. This way, you can avoid employers from sidelining your application based on something that they may be unclear about and increase your chances of being short listed for a job interview.
Rose Musyoka is the editor of http://www.distance-learning-college-guide.com where you find answers, information and advice on distance learning colleges, accredited online degrees and online courses. See more related information on distance learning colleges and why college accreditation is important.
From Employee to Entrepreneur: Taking the Plunge
Before you decide whether or not running your own business is right for you, start by pinpointing your area of expertise and assessing your aptitude for business.
Starter Questions
Ask yourself the following questions:
- In what areas do people approach me for advice and assistance? From what parts of my job do I get the most satisfaction?
- What do I like doing so much that I would do it even with no pay?
- What hobbies or interests could I “spin off”into a small business?
- Do I enjoy budgeting and financial planning?
- Do I enjoy making cold calls, tele-marketing and selling?
- Do I have enough self-discipline to work on my own?
- How easy is it for me to bounce back from rejection & setbacks?
Proceed with Caution
Before you take the plunge, it’s important to “wade in gradually” or you may just find yourself swamped. Before I started The Training Oasis, Inc. I tested the waters for a few years by doing some freelance facilitation and design work while I was still employed. I enjoyed it.
At the time, it seemed that a logical transition would have been to become an associate of one of the firms that used my design and facilitation skills from time to time. Things don’t always go as planned. Despite persistent effort, I couldn’t find a consulting firm that was willing to add me to their regular “string” of freelance trainers. This puzzled me as I consistently received excellent ratings from course participants. Even in the 1990s, many firms were not sure how the majority of their clients would react to a Black female trainer. In short, it was perceived as just too much of a risk.
I realized that I would have to do it on my own if I was to do it at all. I put together some training material in the area of personal marketing strategies for professionals who wanted to make career changes.
Let Your Network Work For You
I discovered that networking is one of the best strategies for building a business. For example, by joining a professional association related to your area of interests, you can make contacts and increase your profile. To be successful, it is important to go with an attitude of giving rather than just getting.
Write articles for the newsletter, volunteer to help out at meetings and conferences. Join a committee to help the organization plan a special event. Mentor some of the younger members who are just entering your profession. To get you must give. Gradually, people will get to know you but it takes time. You’ll need a lot of contacts when you’re out on your own.
One word of caution… don’t overdo it. At the end of each year, if membership in a particularly association is not resulting in buiness, then don’t renew it. I once did a total of what I had spend on associations memberships, conferences and sponsorships over a few years and it was a staggering $50,000. My business leads were not coming from the contacts I made through the associations. I should have caught this long before it became a big ticket item and such a serious hit to my bottom line. Don’t let the same thing happen to you. If a particular membership is not yielding desired business results, you can always pay the non-member rate to attend a specific session or conference that is of value.
If there are structured networking events in your area, attend them regularly. These are usually more cost effective. They don’t involve a membership and the focus is on generating business leads. I attended Bette Myer’s networking sessions at The McGill Club as well as ConnectUs hosted by Donna Messer and Vicki Vancas.
Advice From the Pros
Identify people who can give you advice about how to make your move and follow their advice. I am going to stress this. Make sure you send a prompt thank you note. If you are ever in a position to give these people business referrals. DO IT!! After 9/11 when the crunch hit me and a lot of other trainers, I’ll never forget wondering what happened to all those people to whom I had given free advice that helped them launch their careers. Most of them never said thank you or looked back once they had achieved their goals.
Bette Myer made it possible for me to have a mastermind session over the phone with Dottie Walters. Later on when I was in a position to do so, I used her to conduct a networking session for a organization when I was on the board.
More about the Dottie Walters consultation. When I told Dottie that I was thinking of using public workshops as my transition strategy, Dottie cautioned me that public workshops were a hard sell and extremely difficult to market. She advised me to target the corporate market, advice that I was not ready to hear.
To me, the obstacles seemed insurmountable. How could I make myself available to corporate clients when I was working full time? How could I ever hope to compete with the large consulting firms when I didn’t have their big budgets to invest in glossy brochures and large ads in prominent magazines? I struggled with these questions for a long time. While I don’t have all the answers, I experimented and eventually found some ideas that worked for me.
Start Again
There is no point in waiting for everything to be perfect. Your first attempts may not turn out exactly as you planned. What you’ve got to do is learn from them, start again and see what happens.
Bearing Dottie Walter’s cautions in mind, I decided to run my Career Makeover workshops at prestigious women’s clubs such as The McGill Club and The Elmwood Club in Toronto. I came up with the workshop and promotional material but, for the life of me, I just couldn’t find a name that captured the essence of my business and my vision of training. So I picked a name, New Directions, even though I knew it wasn’t exactly what I wanted.
I tried a variety of approaches to marketing the workshops. I distributed my flyers at bookstores, women’s clubs and through mailings sent out by some of the professional associations to which I belonged. I soon learned that the world of marketing public workshops was very different from marketing courses within a corporation. For example, I naively believed that, you could distribute 200 – 500 flyers and have 20 people attend your workshop. After all, that’s the way it worked inside the corporations where I have worked as a management development specialist. It’s not so easy when people are taking the money out of their own pockets to pay for a workshop.
The most effective method for me was going to structured networking events, generating leads and following up on them. I enjoyed moderate success, 6 – 8 people per workshops. This was certainly a lot less than what I had anticipated. When I called Dottie Walters again, she assured me that I had been more successful than most people who had attempted to offer public seminars. The participants loved the workshops and found that the techniques which I taught really helped them.
Have Frequent Checkpoints
Re-set Your Course
Checkpoints are important. I paused and evaluated what I was doing, I realized that, while I learned a lot and had satisfied my customers, the numbers I was generating were not nearly enough to make it possible for me to “give up my day job”. It also became clear that it was the phone calls and not the flyers that were resulting in registrations. Working all day. Trying to get my toddler settled and to bed on time so that I could hit the phones at night was bringing me closer and closer to burnout.
Next, I tried to hire someone who would work on commission to do the phoning for me. The result – it bombed. She was unable to close a single sale. As an entrepreneur, a lot of your initial success will come from your own enthusiasm. Sometimes, it’s difficult for a third party to convey your vision with the same passion level of passion that you bring to it. If you do use someone, pay them stictly for results. If you pay them a base plus commission, they will never be motivated to hustle for you.
You’ll need to re-set your course time and time again. I had to do it when the NSDAQ tanked in 2001 and most of my clients were in the high technology sector, after 9/11 and after SARS. When companies significantly cut their spending on training, I spun off the executive consulting services and executive retreats into a new company Executive Oasis International.
Re-Charge Your Batteries
So, I rested for a while and spent a lot of quiet time by bodies of water and near the fountain in front of my dream house. I listened to motivational tapes and books and read my Bible while I contemplated my next steps. The vision for my business became clearer and clearer. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I took the advice that many people had given me and decided to target the corporate market. For a long time, a name for my business was elusive . It was a long process that took a lot of reflecting. Then, one day “out of the blue” I woke up with the name The Training Oasis. It fit my vision of training as a creative, colourful, energizing and refreshing experience perfectly. I wondered why I hadn’t discovered it before. I guess I had just been too tired.
Get the Creative Juices Flowing
Through mind-mapping and brainstorming with Donna Messer, Bette Myer and marketing guru Jerry Goodis, I was able to come up with some creative ways to market my services. You can use the same techniques that I did to come up with creative marketing approaches that reflect your vision. Instead of sending out letters, I distributed gift bags filled with some of the toys and energizers I use in training. I found stationary with an energizing waterfall in the background that captures the essence of The Training Oasis to produce a one page “teaser” and I started meeting with some corporate prospects.
Only You Can Make It Happen…..Think Again
Taking that plunge isn’t easy but, if it’s for you, you’ll eventually come to a point when you just have to do it. It’s scary giving up that pay cheque. After I attended a two day speaker’s school sponsored by the Canadian Speaker’s Association and saw other people succeeding, I realized that I could do it too. I approached my boss, Marc Berwald, and told him what I wanted to do. He was very supportive. With his help, I developed a business case to propose converting my role from employee to consultant as an interim step. He championed it for me and it resulted in a consulting contract with my former employer. I kept marketing myself and networking and I gradually obtained more clients. It wasn’t easy and, like the desert before the oasis, there have been dry spells and the inevitable setbacks. In spite of this, during my first year of operation, I made more money than I had ever dreamed of earning as an employee. Over the years, running my own business has allowed me to:
- have more balance in my life
- go to auditions and slowly build my acting career
- spend quality time with my son
- send my son to private school and involve him in a range of athletic and recreational activities (even though I am divorced and assuming the primary responsibility for his care)
- travel to Asia 7 times and visit many beautiful places while I was there and in transit (Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, Penanag, Melacca, and Kuching, Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai, Paris)
I could never have done this as a full time employee and this would NEVER have worked without the support of friends, family and, most of all God.
Before Diving Off
Running your own business is not for everyone but it can be fulfilling if it’s the right thing for you. So, get started. Clear off those credit card bills. Set aside 20% of your income in a slush fund to provide yourself with start up capital. Conventional wisdom used to be that you should sock away enough to cover 3 months worth of living expenses before you take the plunge. In this turbulent market in which dry spells can be long, setting aside enough money to cover 1 1/2 to 2 years worth of living expenses is more prudent. So delay your launch date so that you can really give yourself a chance to make a success of it.
Make sure that you get your mortgage and line of credit approved. Take care of your dental treatment and any major medical bills that your company health plan will cover. Develop a clear and focused pictures of what you want to do and then just keep at it. Get high quality business cards, stationary and your web site in place before you give you your day job.
Surround yourself with positive and supportive people, attend conferences and courses that will move you closer to fulfilling your dream. Never let anyone tell you can’t do it. Keep those pessimistic tire kickers as far away from you as possible.
Finally, when the time is right…and only you will know when that is….go ahead and take the plunge! It may be the refreshing change you’ve been seeking.
© 2005 Executive Oasis International – All Rights Reserved
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Anne Thornley-Brown is the President and founder of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based consulting that helps executive teams in Canada, Jamaica, Asia, and Dubai generate strategies to thrive in a turbulent economy. For more information about their services, visit their web site:
Executive Oasis International, Specialists in Executive Retreats and Executive Consulting: http://www.executiveoasis.com
Taking the Plunge from Employee to Entrepreneur is available as an interactive keynote: http://www.thetrainingoasis.com/keynotes.html
You can find more articles by Anne Thornley-Brown in:
Spice of the Month: Accelerated Learning Ezine http://thetrainingoasis.com/ezine.html
Creative Visualization: How to Supercharge Your Goal Setting
Do you know the single best way to “supercharge” any goal setting program you use is through visualization?
What is visualization? And how do you do it for maximum goal achievement?
Actually, it’s quite simple and something you do all the time.
Simply create a mental picture of the end result of your goal. Completely visualizing your desired goal is also an extremely powerful way to change one’s subconscous programming for the better.
For example, if your affirmation is “I easily make $1,000 or more each week” then you simply create a mental picture of:
The list is endless and only limited by your imagination. So let your imagination go wild…
Here’s a chance to daydream like you did as a kid.
Let’s assume your affirmation is “I weigh 110 lbs” (or whatever weight you wish to weigh)
Simply create a mental picture of you:
Again, allow your imagination to take over and have fun with your visualization.
Each time you visualize your desired goal, feel free to change the mental picture or use the same one repeatedly. If you like, make your visualization into a mini “mental movie.” Add as many senses as possible to the movie.
This is often called “complete visualization” and gives your subconscious mind a very clear picture of what you want to accomplish.
Here’s how a complete visualization, using the above example, would go:
You hold in your hands 10 fresh $100 dollar bills.
You can feel their crispness and notice their fresh ‘money’ smell.
You look around you and see your local bank.
As you wait in line to deposit your money, you begin to feel the excitement of knowing you now have $1,000 or more to deposit every week.
As you approach your favorite bank teller, you hear them say “Welcome to ABC National Bank. What can I help you with today?”..
Did you notice how you combined all 5 senses and the crucial element of positive emotions into your dream scenario?
You probably even felt a little excitement reading the above visualization.
That’s the power of visualizations!
Again, let your imagination have fun and form your own unique “mental movies”
Did you know that if you spent 5-10 minutes every day doing this simple “daydreaming” you’d be on the effortless road to accomplishing any goal you wanted?
Ever wondered why certain people seem to accomplish their goals with seemingly little to no effort?
M. Anthony teaches these little known Secrets of Abundance, prosperity, love and effortless success at http://abundancesecrets.com
You can also find your daily dose of motivation from his hand picked Inspirational Quotes
Woodworking Tools: Right Selection And Care Will Save You Money, Part 3
Woodworking: Tools Of The Trade, Part 3 – Tools For Measuring & Marking
A civilization’s maturity and intelligence is judged, in part, by the diversity and sophistication of its tools. When it comes to woodworking, the human race is quite advanced. There are general tools that work well in many situations, and there are specialty tools made for one specific purpose. There are tools that require only manpower and a rudimentary knowledge, and others that utilize computer programs, a wide range of knowledge, and a powerful motor. We have even learned how to harness power for our tools and package it in a small battery component, giving us the freedom to take our tools wherever we need them.
It is truly amazing and wonderful to contemplate the vast number of tools and all that woodworkers are capable of doing and creating with the help of these tools. And for many people, working with tools is one of the thrills, or even obsessions, of woodworking.
Woodworking and related tools have become so popular that there are numerous companies that manufacture these tools and thousands of places to purchase them. Combine that with the vast numbers of different types of tools and it can get overwhelming, especially if you are new to woodworking. Our experts helped us focus on the basics to develop an overview of those tools needed to get a good start in woodworking.
In the most basic terms, a woodworker needs four kinds of tools. They need a place to work, tools for cutting and shaping, tools for assembly, and finishing equipment. This simple statement provides the basis for the following discussion of woodworking tools.
The tools listed and described here represent just the tip of the iceberg. In keeping with the philosophy that it is best to learn the basics first, and to not invest large sums of money until a person is certain that they have an ongoing interest in woodworking, the emphasis is on hand tools, with a few basic power tools thrown in. These tools should prepare you for a variety of beginner projects and give you a solid foundation of equipment and knowledge to build upon.
Tools For Measuring & Marking
Most basic measuring tools are not complicated instruments that require special care. Yet making proper cuts is a key component of basic woodworking skills. It is important to have an accurate rule, a means of marking angles, and something to mark with.
Rulers
There are several types of rulers, but the most common are a metal tape measure, a 24-inch wooden folding rule and a wooden zigzag rule, which can be as long as eight feet. Tape measures have a long tape wound up inside the case and are especially handy for jobs with long pieces of wood. They also have a lock to hold the tape at the desired length.
Selection Tips
When buying wooden rulers, look for sturdy material with both standard and metric markings and a catch or pin for holding the rule closed when folded. Tape measures should also have both types of measurements and a sturdy tape. You should be able to find quality rulers for under $10. If buying used, be sure that all the numbers and markings are legible and that the spring to retract the tape measure and the lock to hold the tape are in working order.
Care & Maintenance
Most rulers simply need to be wiped down from time to time, especially the metal rulers that are susceptible to rust. Also with a metal tape measure, it is a good idea to hold the blade and let it return slowly back into the case. Simply releasing the lock and letting the blade whiz back inside can result in the tape coming unsprung.
Squares
A square is used to make angles and check for true and square joinings. It also has measurement markings. There are many different types and as with other tools, certain squares work best for certain types of tasks.
A miter square is for marking 45-degree angles. A try square is shaped like an “L” for marking 90-degree angles and checking for true squareness, and a sliding bevel is adjustable and is used with a protractor to mark angles up to 180 degrees. A combination square has settings for both 45 and 90-degree angles.
Selection Tips
Generally these three items will provide what you need for marking angles with reasonable accuracy. Those made from wood and metal are usually less expensive and slightly less accurate, but are fine for most general projects. You can purchase wood and metal squares at hardware stores or home centers for $10 to $15, although a good combination square may be quite a bit more.
Care & Maintenance
Squares are low maintenance tools. They need to be wiped down after use and the material should be checked periodically for rust or rot. The rivets or locking nuts should be checked for tightness and function. Beyond that, they don’t require much additional maintenance.
Marking Tools
A sharp pencil can be used for marking, however many woodworkers feel that a marking knife is a better choice due to its superior accuracy. Unlike a pocketknife, a marking knife is beveled on one side and flat on the other to allow for a thin, straight mark. In addition, the small cut can help guide the cutting tool. A marking knife is one of the most inexpensive tools to purchase.
An awl, which is a sharp, pointed piece of metal attached to a round wooden handle, looks similar to an ice pick. It is typically used to mark or start nails and screws. Its sharp point can also be used to scratch a marking in a softer wood. Awls typically sell for under $10.
Some woodworkers use a marking gauge, which has a fence to keep it flush to the board and a writing tool on the other end to mark the cut as the tool slides along the edge of the board. Other measuring tools include a compass or divider for drawing circles and marking increments and plane gauges or other tools used to determine if a piece of wood is flat and true. A quality woodworking compass can be expensive to purchase, often costing over $30. Most gauges are under $20.
Care & Maintenance
The care and maintenance for these marking tools depends on the tool and the material from which it’s made. The main consideration is that the tool be sharp. Most can be sharpened with regular sharpening methods, either by you or the hardware store.
Accurate measurements, correct angles and true joins are the basic elements of good woodworking projects. In addition to the items listed above, there are many gadgets and specialty tools for measuring and marking. Beware of fad gadgets and stick to the essential tools you will need to get started. As you gain a better understanding of different measuring and marking situations, you will be able to determine which tools you need to add.
Tool Summary
This completes part 3 of the condensed overview of some of the tools that are commonly used in beginning woodworking projects. As you can see, this topic could and has provided the content for entire volumes of books and in order to fully understand the possibilities in woodworking and create quality projects, it is critical that you develop a more in-depth knowledge of the tools you plan to use.
It is also important to note again that each type of tool has its own care and maintenance needs that are often more specific than what has been touched on here. The details have been left out of this book to avoid overwhelming someone who is brand new to woodworking. However, their omission does not mean they aren’t important.
“Failing to care for your tools is ridiculous from a financial standpoint,” stated shop teacher, Kevin Warner. “Why spend $20 on a good quality handsaw or clamp and then allow it to go dull or rust? Not only will you loose money, your work will suffer because your tools won’t perform as intended. And it will take you more time in the long run. Taking good care of your tools is one of the first steps in becoming a serious woodworker.”
Copyright © 2005 by Ferhat Gul. All rights reserved. You may redistribute this article in its unedited entirety, including this resource box, with all hyperlinked URLs kept intact.
Ferhat Gul is the publisher of the brand-new “Woodworking Beginner’s Guide – Tips From Experienced Woodworkers to Help You Get Started”, made just for people who love woodworking. This comprehensive, yet compact woodworking introduction for beginners is easy to read and helps to save time, money and effort.
Creating Dynamic Window Coverings Without Breaking the Budget
When creating dynamic window coverings, it’s important to choose carefully, because your window coverings will become the focal points of a well-decorated room. But choosing the right window treatments, at the right price, takes some thought about not only the look you’re hoping to achieve, but also about the nature of the space itself.
The first consideration will be how much exposure the fabric is going to receive. All fabrics are susceptible to sunlight, but many homemakers invest in acrylic, modacrylic, polyester, or another glass-based fabric in order to get the longest life out of window treatments. Although it gives a room an elegant feel, silk is most vulnerable to sunlight.
I save money on window treatments by using some imagination and creativity. For example, I often create a custom look by covering a tension rod with a thicker piece of PVC pipe. To avoid having the PVC’s printing bleed into my fabric, I sand off the numbers, but the printing can also be neutralized by using PVC primer, acetone, or even fingernail polish.
I’ve found PVC pipe to be very versatile. I’ve spray painted it black to look like wrought iron or brown to look like wood, and I’ve sponge painted it with copper and dark green over a light green for a verdigris effect. I’ve also painted it to reinforce an accent color or to look like gold or silver. It’s not expensive, and PVC’s decorating uses seem to be endless.
When it comes to longer window spans, wooden closet dowels, stronger than PVC, cost considerably less than drapery rods. I’ve also used copper pipe, which works well for curtain rods and looks great for significantly less money. If the curtain fabric will be touching the copper, though, I spray the copper with a clear gloss. That way, my fabric doesn’t get stained if the copper should happen to oxidize.
To save even more money, I also get creative with the decorative hardware when creating window treatments. For instance, I’ve used the braid cords and tassels from Christmas tree decorations to add a touch of class to my window coverings, at a fraction of the cost of what similar drapery accessories would cost at a window fashion center.
I also love to create unique treatments by using unusual tieback holders. For one remodeling project, I found some old lamp finials and used them as tieback holders. I’ve also created a nice, airy atmosphere in a room by forming delicate swags of sheer lace curtains by securing them with clear fishing line.
Dynamic window treatments are a vital part of the overall look and feel of a room, but they don’t need to break the budget. If you’re creative and allow your imagination to run free, your decorating choices are truly endless.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Jeanette J. Fisher
Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.newsletterjournal.com
