(I've raised the lamp since I too this photo. I can see the chalkboard when I am seated at the worktable, but it is smack-dab in the center of the view from the couch.)
I wanted a picture hanging line to run below the chalkboard I painted in the work area of the room, but I wanted it to be wire and not string/cord, because of the way fiber tends to stretch and sag. I did a little searching about for something simple to buy, but when I looked at the product, I knew it could be made for significantly less.
I headed to the hardware store and purchased:
- 8 feet of 1/16 inch wire rope @ $0.10/ft = $0.80
- 2 1/16 inch cable ferrules @ $0.50 each = $1.00
Buy the wire rope longer than the intended length of your line, as you will need wire to loop through the ferrules and to accomodate the placement of the studs in the wall.
I also used tools and supplies I had on hand.
- stud finder (could be optional, but with our plaster walls, if I want the screws not to pull out, they need to go into a stud.)
- measuring tape
- screwdriver/drill with screwdriver bit
- wire cutters
- pliers
- painter's tape, masking tape, chalk line (If your floors are level, you don't need this; you can just measure.)
I knew where I wanted the picture line, but because of our ancient plaster walls, I also knew I needed to screw into the studs in the walls, so the screws didn't just pull out. I was lucky; there were studs fairly close by.
Next, you would measure up from the floor and mark the wall on each end so your line was straight. Because our house is rather old, the floors (and sometimes the walls) are not level. So, to compensate, I measured down from the chalkboard, and then ran painter's tape across. That way, I could adjust the "straighteness" of the line visually.
Install the two screws, but don't screw them all the way in yet.
Feed one side of a ferrule onto one end of the wire rope.
Then, feed wire rope back through into the other side of the ferrule, creating a loop.
Adjust the size of the loop, slip over the screw, and tighten the screw into place.
Use pliers to clamp the ferrule closed and trim the end with wire cutters.
Take the other end of the wire rope over to the second screw, and using the second ferrule, make a second loop.
Adjust the tension of your line, slip the loop over the screw, and tighten the screw down. Clamp the ferrule, and trim the wire.
I used bulldog clips to hang images from the line, but binder clips, clothespins, or paperclips would also work.
My total cost was $1.80 plus tax, and installing the wire line took no more than ten minutes.
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