Solutions

• Problem: When installing a sound system in an existing room with a dropped ceiling, wires must be pulled from one side of the room to the other. Is there an easy way to do this without disturbing the tiles?

• Solution: Most rooms don't have a diagonal measurement greater than 30 ft. Remove the ceiling tiles from both ends of the wire path. Use a 50-ft tape measure with a wide blade. Extend the tape, attach the wires to it, and retract the blade.

Contributor: Ralph Bauer, Sewing Technician, JM Originals, Ellenville, NY.

• Problem: Sometimes there is a need to divide a sheet of material into equal strips where size is not important. How can the material be easily marked without using a measurement?

• Solution: Take a straightedge that is longer than the sheet is wide and mark it off with equal segments for the number of strips required. Lay it on the material at a diagonal with the first mark at one edge and the last mark at the other. Make a set of marks on the sheet. Repeat the process at another location. Draw lines through the marks. Now the material is equally divided no matter what the width is.

Contributor: Steve Deren, Engineering Associate, KSM Shelburne Mfg., Shelburne, Ontario.

• Problem: Foot-operated hand washbasins have valves that frequently wear out and have to be replaced. Is there an easy way to replace them and eliminate the problem?

• Solution: Eliminate the foot-operated mechanism by mounting a motion sensor about five feet above the basin in an enclosure with a hole in the bottom. Wire the motion sensor contacts to a water solenoid valve. Now repairs should be easy.

Contributor: Jose Govinden, Maintenance Mechanic, Sandmeyer Steel Co., Philadelphia, PA.