Articles 

Hanging Things

2011-02-23

Starting with the earliest instance of a caveman driving a nail into a wall so that his mate could hang up a picture (or whatever), the variety of hardware for hanging things has changed little. The forces acting upon the object remain the same; be it a picture, wall decoration, moose head or stuffed fish. The engineering force aspects (vectors) are downward (gravity), and slightly outwards (as in the case of a decoration that protrudes from the wall, i.e., moose head). The differences in hardware have been mostly dictated by the substrate to which the object is attached more than any other factor. While an article that discusses every kind of hanger hardware would be too lengthy, this article will attempt to list the various types of hardware mounted into walls and used primarily for pictures and hanging wall decorations. The optimum use of such hangers and a short discussion of the pros and cons of each type along with some advice as to how to utilize each type’s properties to their fullest will be a first attempt at a subject long ignored.