Hanging Wall Buddies?

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KL Smith

KL Smith

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Posts
277
Loc
Jordan Village, ON, Canada
What do you recommend customers use for hanging a piece with wall buddies on it?

Until now, I have suggested inserting two expansion plugs (rawl plugs) into the wall board / sheet rock, and threading a screw into them to hang the wall buddies on. Thinking about this now however, I wondered if ordinary 40lb, or higher picture hooks would also work.

What do you think?

Thanks,
 
The wall hooks that come with the wallbuddies are good for quite a bit of weight. I hung one of those big win-devon serigraphs with matting and a 3 1/2" frame 2 days ago, probably around 40 x 60, and do so pretty regularly. We used wall anchors with wallbuddies to hang a really thick, large mirror and it worked. Hung it up for a couple weeks in the workshop first


Anyway, we use the hooks that come with them. Ordinary wall hooks seem like they would stress too weird because of the angle.
 
Johnny:

I don't know about the hooks you are referring to. My wife is the one that picks them up from our suppliers. I believes she buys a couiple of dozen at the same time and I've never seen any hooks provided.

Your point about regular picture hooks is well taken.

Thanks,
 
I believe the hooks are specific to that hanging system. You would just have to see one to know what I'm talking about but yest they come with em.
 
Here is the hooks that are specific to WallBuddies
hwr_wallbudwoodlgLG.jpg
 
If you buy the polybagged Wallbuddies, you will get the special hooks and a sticker with hanging instructions to apply to the frame backing. These hooks are great because the weight of the framed piece tends to keep the hook tight to the wall. The only time I would switch to specialized fasteners is for today's newer homes that have drywall so soft you could use your fingertip for a drill
fire.gif
. In that board, the frame's weight may cause the hook's nail to tear a "keyhole" and come loose.
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Rick
(This newer drywall seems as though it's made of powdered chalk held together by paper attached using spray adhesive.
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)
 
It looks to me that the "Best Ever Picture Screw" still requires wire which pulls at the sides of the frame, thus weakening corners over time. It is my understanding that WallBuddies prevents this because the gravity force is straight down thus causing no strain on the corners.

Personally, that concept makes complete sense to me and my customers like the idea!
 
I'd hazard a guess that the Wall Buddy concept is licensed in the UK as Hangezee.

I've been using Wall Buddies for at least 17 years - probably longer.
 
Yeah, ....... right Ron. That would be some trick, I'd say!! :eek:

Framerguy
 
I use the 'large'wb's with the supplied nails....if I have a worry over weight I use the wallboard anchors that look like BIG screw-ins where the screw that actually holds the piece goes into the middle of the large piece...get the nylon ones NOT the 'plastic' ones---those are ok at best & tend to break as you're puttin them in...Lowes/Home depot
 
Originally posted by Framerguy:
Yeah, ....... right Ron. That would be some trick, I'd say!! :eek:

Framerguy
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I'm not sure if you're doubting that the WB concept could be licensed to another manufacturer or that WBs have been around for at least 17 years.
 
Originally posted by Ron Eggers:
I'd hazard a guess that the Wall Buddy concept is licensed in the UK as Hangezee.

I've been using Wall Buddies for at least 17 years - probably longer.
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Or it could be a knock off. If you have been using them for 17 years the patent protection will likely have expired.
 
This morning, straight from the maker of WallBuddies: Every pair of WallBuddies comes with a pair of properly-sized wall hooks.

Ken, I suggest you remind your supplier's manager that the hooks are to be supplied with the WallBuddies. Maybe he forgot to tell the guys in the warehouse about that. If that distributor gets them in bulk, as I do, then the hooks are packaged separately. In any case, you should make sure you get the wall hooks at no extra charge.
 
Originally posted by Jim Miller:
Ken, I suggest you remind your supplier's manager that the hooks are to be supplied with the WallBuddies. ...SNIP
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Thanks Jim. I will do that.
 
Received this in the post today after my email enquiry.

hangezee.jpg


I'm assuming the hangers, like flanged cogs, serrated on the back for grip against the wall, are not what anyone is reffering to above?

They are fixed to the wall flange out, the plates drop over and onto the 'cog'. As the hole in the cog is off-centre, you can adjust it up and down to level the frame if your drilling isn't too accurate.

Plates are stamped 'patent pending'

Everything shown, plus instructions would cost me about $2.00 inc tax, if I buy 50 sets.

I rang the company production manager up and asked if these were basically 'wallbuddies' - he said 'To be honest, I have no idea'

Are the cog hangers something new?
 
The sawtooth part looks a lot like WBs, but I've never seen the cog part. Why would you need them? The whole point of the angled sawtooth part is you can move side to side to level??

don't quite get it? unless the goal it to make sure it's centered somewhere??
 
Originally posted by Cliff Wilson:
The sawtooth part looks a lot like WBs, but I've never seen the cog part. Why would you need them? The whole point of the angled sawtooth part is you can move side to side to level??

don't quite get it? unless the goal it to make sure it's centered somewhere??
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I guess the idea is fine adjustment without repositioning any wall hooks. The instructions say to measure the distance between the 2 arrows, drill rwo holes that distance apart, level, at the correct height. Hang and turn cogs if and as req'd. I suppose if you are using immovable hooks and you move the whole thing over a click or two, the frame will end up slightly lower on one side?
 
Sherry Lee,

I use the "Best ever Picture Screw" with wall buddies in place of the Wall Buddie nail when I want a little more solid anchor.
 
My one complaint about Wall Buddies is that the screw holes are in line with the grain direction of the wood which in some cases can encourage splitting. I wish the holes were staggered a little like most well engineered wood hardware is.
 
For Hang-Ezee, I think the cog part is what goes on the wall, with the cog toward the inside & out of sight. The frame bracket goes behind the cog's flange and its sawtooth engages the teeth of the cog.

In order to adjust the frame's corner up or down, rotate the cog part. Notice that the cog part's hole is off-center? It's probably supposed to work like a cam.

It seems that you have to level the frame by trial and error: Take down the frame, turn the cog, then rehang the frame. Repeatedly. Am I missing something?

Personally, I'd just as soon use WallBuddies and move the frame side-to-side to level it.
 
Originally posted by Bandsaw:
My one complaint about Wall Buddies is that the screw holes are in line with the grain direction of the wood which in some cases can encourage splitting. I wish the holes were staggered a little like most well engineered wood hardware is.
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Do you really think that's an issue? If we pre-drill our screw holes like good boys and girls are supposed to, and considering that the holes are pretty far apart, I can't think it would ever split the grain.

In the several years that WallBuddies have been my shop's standard hanging system, I've never had a grain-splitting problem in any moulding -- even the hardest, grainiest hardwood.
 
John, the angled sawtooth on WB or the hardware you showed will level (or unlevel) the frame as you move it side to side. ie. one side gets lower and one side gets higher. The cog seems redundant.

For added strength use Walldogs from Hangman products in place of the wall hooks supplied with WBs. (But, the wall hooks seem to be fine most of the time. Walldogs are carried by M&M and I think recently added by United.
 
Quality hardware for wood usually has staggered screw holes. It would be good engineering if the holes on Wall Buddies had the 2 vertical holes on the sides staggered and at least the middle hole of the 3 horizontal holes out of line with the other 2.

Use the right screw (course for soft wood and fine for hard wood) and drill the right size hole to the right depth for the chosen screw and all should be well.

But wood expands and contracts across the grain as the humidity changes and I would still rather not have 3 screws driven into the same grain line only 3 inches apart.
 
Originally posted by Ron Eggers:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Framerguy:
Yeah, ....... right Ron. That would be some trick, I'd say!! :eek:

Framerguy
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I'm not sure if you're doubting that the WB concept could be licensed to another manufacturer or that WBs have been around for at least 17 years. </font>[/QUOTE]Well, I was referring to the time frame, Ron, but I guess it IS possible. Darrell's website does say WallBuddies was invented and patented "more" than 8 years ago so that could mean they were in the field testing stage 17 years ago.

Sorry for the confusion, I just thought you were having an "old guy" moment!

FGII
 
So the cog thing is just a gimmick - uneccessary?

I'm not defending here, just asking, I have no experience of WBs, this is the only equivalent I have found in UK.

But if the wall fixing can be adjusted for height is this not a good thing? Notwithstanding that someone is adapting an already established system.

Surely if you just put two hooks in the wall, which cannot be adjusted and they are positioned slightly un-level - then if you move the whole frame to one side then one hook will be going down the 'slope' a few teeth and the other will be going UP a few and the frame will not be level?

How does the $2'00 per set compare anyway?
 
Hang on, I think I'm just getting my head around this.................

2 hooks in wall, regardless of type of hook, as long as you have positioned them give or take, a little movement Left or right will correct any error and result in frame being level?

Only advantage I now see in this 'cog' system is maybe for a series of frames that need to be exactly the same height. But if they also have to be exactly the same distance APART, then it is down to accurate positioning of both brackets on the frame AND hooks on the wall?

I think I'd rather make fine adjustments in those situations with wire (cord for me!) and knots!

I would also add though, that if you compare the 2 photos above, at least the flange on the 'cog' goes UNDER the saw tooth hanger, and the frame would have to be given a pretty serious upwards knock to dislodge it.
 
John,

If the hooks are level and in the middle the picture hangs straight. You leave it alone.

If, say, the left one is low and you move the picture to the right, the left "goes up" and the right "goes down" making it level (or closer to level anyway). You do this side to side until it is level.

So, the angles level the picture. The only issue is because you move it side to side to get it level, it "might" not be positioned exactly where you want it horizontally. I guess the cogs can adjust for that.

oops I was posting when you were. yes, I think you've got it.

Also, a side note. If you buy the security wallbuddies, you get a washer and screw to hook the wallbuddies over. Much like the cog system you show.

I think the price from United for 25 wallbuddies is about a dollar a set. So, half the cost you quoted.
 
Sorry for the confusion, I just thought you were having an "old guy" moment!
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That is also a possibility.

The way I put things in historical perspective is to remember who was working for me at the time. My last employee never warmed up to Wall Buddies* and I thought she worked for me 17 years ago.

But then I remember she also didn't like my Windows PC*. Did I have Windows 17 years ago?? Somehow I doubt it.

* Yeh, we were a great team.

I also try to remember which of my five locations I was in at the time, but that gives me a headache.
 
I think the reason the holes in Wall Buddies are not staggered is because they are meant to be useable on narrow mouldings, like some of the deep shadowboxes.

I'm guessing, really, but it seems like a reasonable guess.
 
Originally posted by Bandsaw:
Sherry Lee,

I use the "Best ever Picture Screw" with wall buddies in place of the Wall Buddie nail when I want a little more solid anchor.
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Sherry - Where do you get those!
 
As it turns out, my last employee <strike>bailed out</strike> gave notice eleven years ago.

So I was probably using Wall Buddies at least eleven years ago (and apparently a Windows-based PC as well.)

Thank God for payroll records.
 
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