Taking Good Care Of Your Tires

For many of us, it is not until we have to think about their tires that we seldom do think about them but it is vital for you to realize that your tires are one of the most important parts of your vehicle, and if you want to be safe when driving, you need to take good care of your tires. It is actually very easy to take care of your tires, as long as you know what you need to do to take care of them; here are three easy, important steps to taking good care of your tires. 

**REPRINT** Green Tips -Good Tire Care...Helps the Environment and Saves You Money 

Air your tires: Not only will you keep your tires in better shape if you keep enough air in them, but you will also help to save money on gas. At least once a month you should check the air pressure in all four of your tires, you should make sure they are aired up to the proper level. You can find the prescribed pressure right on the tires themselves, and you can usually find air for free. 

Goodyear i7000 12-Volt Direct Drive Heavy-Duty Tire Inflator 

Rotate your tires: At least once every six months, you should rotate your tires. This will ensure that the wear on your tires will be even from front to back. This will not only keep you safe when you are driving, but will also save you money as you can replace all four tires when they truly need to be replaced, instead of replacing all four when only two need to be replaced. 

Watch what you drive over: Potholes, curbs, bumps in the road, and any other obstructions in the road can all wreak havoc on your tires; by avoiding as many obstacles and obstructions as you can, you will keep your tires in much better shape. 

Taking good care of your tires will keep you safe, and will save you money – and the best news of all is that taking good care of your tires is easy to do, as long as you make sure you follow these simple tips!

What You Need To Know About Oil Painting

Have you ever wanted to learn how to oil paint? If you have some experience with other painting mediums, this can be a fun thing to learn. Oils are fun to work with because you have such a long time to work with them before they dry. They can produce stunning pictures which are almost life like in color and detail. A truly skilled painter can put out stunning works that can be enjoyed by all. 

Becoming a skilled painter takes time and knowledge that is why I would not recommend oils for the beginner. Having said that if you really want to learn oil paintng, you should consider finding a good technique book such as The Encyclopedia of Oil Painting Techniques to learn as much from. You will need some painting tools to begin experimenting with. 

Having an easel is very handy when you do oil painting. This safely holds your canvas both when you are working on your project and while you are not. A palette is another must have. Some people prefer to work off of a wood palette while others prefer plastic. You will find arguments for both, but it comes down to your preference. 

As far as brushes go, get a few different style brushes to play with. You will want to purchase a variety of shapes to play with. This will help you to learn how each of your brushes work. Some people swear by natural bristle brushes such as hog or sable, but there are a number of synthetic brushes that work well also. You will need to play with each to figure out your favorite. 

Oils are not able to be cleaned with soap and water like acrylics. You will need a solvent such as turpentine  to remove the oil paint. As you work towards mastering them, oils can be challenging but quite fun and enjoyable.

You Can Build Your Own Picture Frames

Some people really enjoy photography but hate to purchase frames for them because the frames are so expensive, then you should consider making your own mats and frames. With the correct material, making frames isn’t that difficult, and you can really save some money. 

Molding from the store can make for great frames, if you learn how to do it correctly. First you will need to measure the picture you wish to make a frame for. Chair rail can be quite decorative when made into a frame. When you have picked out the board you wish to use, you will need to take a router and cut out a notch along the entire length of the board. This will be the notch the glass lays into when the frame is completed. 

Logan STUDIO JOINER Logan Framing Tool Hardware 

After that is done, simply take a miter box and saw and cut a 45 degree angle from both ends. This will give your frame that classic mitered look at the edges. Once that is completed, you can mock up the frame with a picture to make sure it is the right size. This is the time to make adjustments before the frame is put together. 

With some wood glue and a picture frame miter clamp, you can put the frame together. This will keep the frame together while your glue dries. You will also want to stabilize the joints by using a small set of finishing nails. 

Now you will have to measure the dimension of the notched out area where the glass will sit. This will give you the measurements needed for cutting your glass. Believe it or not, cutting glass is very easy; you just need a glasscutting tool. Once this is done, simply place the glass into your frame. Cut a piece of cardboard out to the same size as the glass and place over the picture to make a sandwich between the glass and the cardboard. The final step is putting little nails around the inside edge to keep the picture in place.

Other tools:

Pushmaster Picture Frame Joiner Kit 

Logan Pro-Framing F300-2 Pro Joiner 

Record Album Frame 6 pack special