ueb67

Engineers, however, have successfully attacked these challengeswhile providing new electrical design options with innovative Spiralock self locking threaded fasteners. This re-engineered thread formadds a unique 30-degree wedge ramp at the root of the female threadwhich mates with standard 60-degree male thread fasteners.

The wedge ramp of the self locking threaded fasteners allows thebolt to spin freely relative to female threads until tension iscreated in the male fastener. The crests of the standard malethread form are then drawn tightly against the wedge ramp,eliminating radial clearances and creating a continuous spiral linecontact along the entire length of the thread engagement. Thiscontinuous line contact spreads the clamp force more evenly overall engaged threads, improving resistance to vibrational loosening,axial-torsional loading, joint fatigue, and temperature extremes.

The innovative threaded fasteners with a locking feature integratedinto the thread form compensates for variations in manufacturingtolerances and processing. This locking feature enhances jointreliability even in soft materials and can reduce costly warrantyclaims or potential liability. It also opens new electrical designoptions by eliminating the need for secondary thread lockingdevices or procedures, thus simplifying assembly and inventorymanagement. The fasteners have been used in thousands ofmanufacturing applications to solve design challenges in a widerange of industries.

Eaton Corporation's electrical division chose the Spiralockfasteners and internal thread form for its Cutler-Hammer brandmetal enclosed front (MEF) accessible switchgear. When secured atthe factory, the self locking threaded fasteners and internalthread form are capable of holding the MEF switchgear's bus jointssecure for decades, according to

Paul Parker, a senior engineer with Eaton's electrical division,part of Eaton Corporation, a diversified industrial manufacturerwith sales of $13 billion in 2007.

"The self locking fasteners and internal thread form helped usachieve vibration-resistant locking in our bus design that canwithstand seismic, shipping, operational or thermal-related forcesfor the life of the product," says Parker. "By helping usattain a

no-maintenance bus design, the Spiralock fasteners and internalthread form opened up new design possibilities."

Production changeovers to these self locking fasteners aretypically quick and seamless, often requiring just an exchange oftraditional nuts, wire inserts or simply drilling out andre-tapping existing parts stock.

Press Release

Rino Industries Ltd. Release date: June 24, 2008

Rino's PEEK(TM) Screws Are Top of the Range Rino Industries Ltd has introduced an innovative range of screwsinto their newly launched fasteners range of mechanical drivecomponents. PEEK(TM) material is a super-engineering thermoplasticexcellent for its special physical and chemical characteristics,the company states.

Several different types of fasteners are available which range fromcross recessed pan and flat head screws, hexagon bolts, socket headcap screws, hexagon socket set screws, hexagon nuts, washers,spacer nuts and hexagon socket head taper screw plugs.

PEEK(TM) is short for polyetheretherketone and is light brown incolour. It has many advantages which include excellent chemicalresistance, impenetrable by most chemicals with the exception ofconcentrated sulphuric acid. Excellent thermal and water resistantcharacteristics also help maintain high heat resistance strength.Abrasion, shock and fatigue resistance as well as radiation andelectrical properties are all listed by the company as advantageousfeatures. Its heat resistant temperature of 180 makes it mostuseful for hot water and chemical pumps.

Other ideal applications include electric/electronic fieldapplications, transformers and computer machinery, chemicalresistant environments such as FPD (flat panel display) andsemiconductor production equipment/devices, printed circuit boardetching devices, metal plating equipment and chemical plants.

" Sales contract signed " Strategic focus on core business

companies/Sale

Duisburg (euro adhoc) - Duisburg, July 21, 2008 - Acting throughits Swiss subsidiary Debrunner Koenig Holding (DKH), Klkner &Co AG has signed a contract to sell Koenig Verbindungstechnik (KVT)to the private equity company Capvis. The sale price totalsapproximately EUR325 million, resulting in a book profit aftertaxes of about EUR265 million. The transaction is subject toapproval by the antitrust authorities.

KVT, a wholly owned subsidiary of DKH, is involved in the market offastening systems and sealing plugs, an area that is not part ofthe core business of Klkner & Co AG. The planned sale wasannounced in the company report for the first quarter of 2008.

KVT, which is headquartered in Dietikon, Switzerland, has aworkforce of about 300 people. In fiscal year 2007, it generatedsales of about EUR120 million and earnings after taxes of aroundEUR20 million. Among other things, the company for fasteningsystems and sealing plugs sells self-clinching fasteners, rivetingsystem, nuts as well as high-pressure fasteners used particularlyin automotive technology for hydraulic applications.

"We are intensifying our focus on our core business in Europe justas we are doing in North America. The funds generated by the saleof KVT can be used to finance the expansion of Kl鯿kner & Co,"said Dr. Thomas Ludwig, CEO of Klkner & Co AG.

BSF India has recently got approval from German and UK buyers ofBrass book screws and male female screw

BSF India ( http://www.screws-fasteners.in ) has recently got approval from German and UK buyers of Brassbook screws and male female screw posts. The comapny has diversiedin to this folder screws Book binding screws business withacquisition of new Russian/Italian machines and can offer screws upto 6" in length .

The market of Chicago screws and book biding screws is largelydominated by European companies and BSF will be first Indiancorporation to breach in to this highly quality conscious market.

The cold heading and bar turning machines can give accuracy of upto 30 microns which is a god standard for the industry. The cost ofnew machines ahs been 4.5 Mn US$ which has been met from internalaccruals and bridge loan from SBL Bank.

BSF India with a workforce of 232 people is large exporter andmanufacturer of anchor fasteners cheese head screws Pan head screwsDIn 84 and DIN 85 with a strong foothold in UK USA GermanyAustralia etc. With its brand new facility at Rajkot BSF also plansto introduce 8.8 grade high tensile fasteners for automobileindustry along with other cold formed parts and radiatoraccessories.

The company has already got first sample approval from some leadingauto names in the country and Europe for HT fasteners in metricsizes. ( http://www.screws-fasteners.in/resourcess.htm ) . Brass anchors ( http://brass-anchors.screws-fasteners.in/ ) produced by BSF are used for door and wedge fastening acrosscentral European countries.

The company plans to hit the capital market with an IPO in about 12montsh for generation of funds to meet working capital requirementspost expansion and product approval with the auto companies.

Mr. Sayal the CFO of the company is confident of achieving 20% YOYgrowth in top line and bottom-line. The present turnover of thecompany is 23 Mn US$ inclusive of exports.

by Frank James

House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Charlie Rangel's sparring matchwith reporters today who questioned him about the propriety of hisinvolvement in fundraising for a City College of New York center bearing his name was worth watching.

Rangel clearly was angry about a story he believes isn't a story.In a nutshell, his position is that the letters his office sent outon congressional stationery were merely form letters. Moreimportantly, they didn't solicit any money, they merely tried tohelpful in encouraging meetings between the foundations and theCCNY. Furthermore, the Charles B. Rangel Public Service Center wasnamed by the school's board, not himself.

Beyond that, he emphasized, these were non-profit foundations hewas trying to get together with college officials, not corporationswith business before his Ways and Means Committee.

A rankled Rangel tried to turn the tables on Washington Postreporter Christopher Lee, usually never a good media strategy sincea rank-and-file reporter is no match for one of the nation's mostpowerful men who looked like he was bullying the reporter.

But Rangel clearly felt he was more sinned against than sinning.Here's a snippet of a transcript provided by the Washington Post :

First of all, I normally advise people, as I have been advised, notto respond to these allegations that I abused my congressionaldiscretion in writing on behalf of a school institution named afterme because it would blow over; or, as more often I've advisedmembers, that remember you don't have as much ink as the printersdo.

Rangel then announced he was making an exception, however:

So one of the things that I would use, hoping that it might catchon, is that I'm going to see how much damn ink The Washington Posthas.

So to that extent they -- another potential headline is, "RangelInsists That the Ethics Committee Investigate the UnfoundedCharges," because, first of all, nobody that can read is going tobring any charges against me, including The Washington Post, which,of course, I encourage them to do it, because then they have tofollow their own foundless story, and at least that gets somecoverage on this in The Washington Post.

And I would want to make certain that other members are in theposition to know what they can or cannot do.

As to the allegations, I challenge The Washington Post -- and ifyou can find some word a little stronger than that -- to show oneline in any of the letters that I have sent out on behalf of theCity College institution, which their board of directors decided toname after me, where there's a solicitation for funds.

RANGEL: In all of the letters that were sent to not-for-profitfoundations, rather than as they say to people who may havebusiness before my committee, I encourage them to meet with CityCollege to learn more about the program.

In the three areas that you can say is not listed that I waswriting to a foundation, one of them was writing to DavidRockefeller, and in my mind -- I was really writing to theRockefeller foundation, but if you want to say David Rockefellerhas business before my committee -- well, he wakes in the morning,I assume, just breathing he has business before my committee. Butit was a Dear David letter. And I've known the guy, and his brotherbetter when he was governor of New York.

The other one was Jack (sic) Greenberg, who while he was theexecutive director and (inaudible) the CEO of AIG -- that's theAmerican Insurance Group -- the only discussions I've ever had withhim was our shared experience in Korea, where we both earned theBronze Star. And in talking and writing the letter to him, again,he was known, as he is in the philanthropic world, as the CEO ofStarr Foundation, which is one of the largest in the country.

The third exception is Don Trump, who on that letter, which was oneof the letters that I know is in the possession of The WashingtonPost, is a handwritten note that I'm sending him the material as herequested. And, of course, he has no issue before the committee.

RANGEL: I might add that one of the people that have been out thereencouraging contributions, private and public, has been thelongtime district attorney of New York County, in terms of this.

All of my public life, I have felt that there has been such a gapbetween the ability to get an education and success in America. AndI've spent a lot of time in the Ways and Means Committee trying toencourage the private sector to make more of a contribution interms of working with the education resources we have in thiscountry, because I truly believe -- unlike some people, CondoleezzaRice and I believe that lack of education is a threat to ournational security.

And I'm just so proud of the almost monthly meetings I have withthe Business Roundtable, not just in talking about trade, butencouraging and asking them to fulfill a bigger obligation to theirlocal and public and private institutions of learning.

As I wrote earlier, Rangel is one of the best in Congress when itcomes to rhetorical combat so a strong and effective defense wasexpected.

Rangel may be right that nothing will come of an ethicsinvestigation, if one is held at all.

And after listening to Rangel, the whole situation seems far fromblack and white. It shows how complicated ethics can be.

Yes, there is an appearance issue. When the school named the centerfor him, it would have been exceedingly odd if it hadn't crossedthe minds of school officials that there could be some fund-raisingadvantages from that down the road. Rangel even suggested as muchtoday.

There's the aspect of his power. As chair of the W&M commission,even a form letter from Rangel's office gets the attention ofdonors in a position to give money.

He may not have specifically asked for money for the school in hisletters, but wasn't the purpose of the letters to get foundationpeople together with school officials so that the school officialscould solicit?

But Rangel really can't be blamed for the school naming itspublic-service center for him, even if school officials thought itwould help fundraising. Congress doesn't have a rule thatuniversities can't name a building or center for a sittingcongressman.

And as a congressman who represents Harlem, doesn't Rangel have anobligation to help institutions in his congressional district, eventhose named after him? Doesn't sending his letters to thephilanthropies arguably fall into that category?

Rangel said one of the most important things an ethicsinvestigation could do is provide clarity on where the line is inmatters like this. That would be a welcome outcome.

PARIS : Uranium-bearing liquid has leaked from a broken underground pipeat a nuclear site in southeastern France, the national nuclearsafety authority said Friday. It was the second leak discovered ata French site this month.

Experts are working to determine how much leaked uranium is presentat nuclear company Areva's plant in the town of Romans-sur-Isere,the Nuclear Safety Authority said in a statement. Specialists areto work to clean up the site.

The communique said the pipe is believed to have ruptured severalyears ago. It added that the pipe "was not in line with theapplicable regulations, which require shock resistance abilitysufficient to avoid rupture."

Areva spokesman Charles Hufnagel said the leak of lightly enricheduranium did not spread outside the site and had "absolutely noimpact on the environment." He said the factory hoped the leakwould be classified as a level 1 problem — the most minor ofseven possible rankings.

Still, the announcement was a new blow for Areva after a similarincident last week, when a liquid containing traces of unenricheduranium leaked from a factory in Tricastin in southern France.Areva said that problem "did not affect either the health ofemployees and local populations, or their environment."

Mae and Freddie Mac, two giant US mortgage corporations, had to berescued by the Federal Reserve and US treasury, sending investorson both sides of the Atlantic into a spin about what next mightbefall a deeply beleaguered banking sector.

With the attention of the City focused on the bearing struggling shareprice, Hornby also confirmed a long-running rumour that the bankwas to make job cuts. The announcement that 650 of its 65,000employees were to be axed across the UK made local headlines butwent almost unnoticed by the markets who were more concerned thatthe 拢4bn issue of new shares would get away smoothly.

Although B&B got investor backing for its critical 拢400m rightsissue rescue on Thursday, its executives came in for furthercriticism from shareholders. SLI, the buy-to-let lender's topshareholder, backed the rights issue but warned that it now neededto see action. "We look to your board to take steps to restorevalue to our clients' shareholdings in B&B," said Guy Jubb, head ofcorporate governance at SLI.

And while Barclays secured 拢4.5bn from investors on Friday tobolster its balance sheet, the bulk of the money will be providedby "anchor" investors led by Qatar, China and Singapore, ratherthan ordinary shareholders.

Against this grudging support, the board of HBOS will be hoping toplacate anxious shareholders and will do so by arguing that thebank is fundamentally sound. John Wriglesworth, economist at theWriglesworth Consultancy, said: "There's nothing wrong with HBOS'sstrategy. Of all the mortgage banks it is the only one that willsurvive as it is. It shouldn't change its strategy."

But analysts are divided on whether it is a likely takeover target.Spreng said: "There is no doubt that there's potential for atakeover. When the share price gets to a level where it isperceived as cheap, it leaves it open to potential suitors."

While Hornby has survived the rights issue, he must now regain thetrust of the City and investors. In March he proved he can takedecisive action when he moved quickly to quash rumours that HBOSwas in trouble after short-selling forced its share price toplummet. At the time he said: "I went on the front foot and issueda denial straight away."

But he has also been accused of errors of judgment, including hisdecision to go to London to address analysts rather than attend thebank's AGM in Glasgow in April.

Hornby will now be urged to move on from the current mire andexplain to employees, shareholders and customers exactly whatHBOS's strategy will be in the post-credit crunch era. He may haveto decide whether it is committed to being primarily a mortgagebank or if it should evolve into an all-round bank in the mould ofHSBC.

The next few months, or even years, will not be easy for anyfinancial institutions and Hornby is under pressure to prove he isa safe pair of hands, with the maturity and confidence to steerHBOS into better times.

Monday, July 21, 2008 Drift-net ban bearing fruit Derek Evans

AFTER MY RECENT visit to the west - to primarily assess the effectsof the commercial drift-netting ban on salmon stocks - I can reportthat there has been a significant improvement in the quality andquantity of salmon returning to their rivers.

We are now almost two years into the ban and already fisheriesmanagers are experiencing greater runs, an absence of net marks anda typically more plump, rounded salmon.

Also of interest are the very large salmon arriving in our riversthis year. Earlier this month, a salmon of 11kg was caught on LoughMelvin, and two weeks ago the River Bandon in Cork produced a fishof 12.5kg, the biggest salmon caught in Ireland since 1991.Anglers, too, are beginning to regain confidence, returning totheir favourite rivers with reasonable expectations of catching afish. Some hoteliers and guesthouses report an upsurge in bookingsthis season - a welcomed rejuvenation after the ominous predictionsof two years ago.

Of course, it will take perhaps another two years before we cansafely say our rivers are back to sustainable levels and thatsalmon angling has returned to pre-driftnetting days. However, ourhosts, Fáilte Ireland, can confidently begin to redevelop thedomestic and overseas market in salmon angling with the assurancethat a remarkable revival is indeed under way.

My first port of call was the Galway Weir. Fisheries manager SeamusHartigan was in jubilant mood, as the Weir is enjoying one of itsbest run of salmon for years. Last week alone, 143 fish werelanded, mostly grilse up to 3kg. Fly accounted for 82. "We arefully booked up to end of August," he said.

The magnificent new Fisheries Board offices overlooking the weirare due to open next month. The underwater camera on display showsthe salmon prior to ascending the fish pass. This spectacular featof technology is available live on the internet atwww.wrfb.ie/fishcam.php. The advice is not to stay all daywatching, as there is a bandwidth limit of 10 simultaneous users.PS: It is my intention over the next two weeks to profile thefishing houses and salmon fisheries I visited on my tour of thewest.

? It is World Cup time again as anglers gear up for thebiggest event of the year. Ballinrobe, in Co Mayo, will come aliveas the town welcomes hundreds of anglers from around the world, alleager to lift the coveted title of World Cup Trout Fly-fishingChampion.

Cushlough Bay, on the shores of Lough Mask, will take centre-stageas anglers take to the waters of this great lake in an attempt toentice the wild brown trout to the fly. Now in its 51st year, thefive-day festival continues to grow in stature with its glitteringarray of prizes including an Anglers' Fancy lake boat presented byBurke Boats.

Last year, Brendan Moran from Kells, Co Meath, became the thirdangler to lift the title for the second time - the other two beinglocal man Robbie O'Grady and Derry Ryan from Carlow. The first heatgets under way on July 31st, with the final on August 4th.

Competitors should note that a limit on the numbers participatingwill apply this year and prizegiving will take place at Cushloughimmediately after weigh-in on Monday evening, thus enablingprizewinners to depart earlier than heretofore. The Railway InnCarvery in Ballinrobe will take care of catering throughout thefestival.

The committee wishes the World Cup Patron, Msgr T Shannon, PPBallinrobe, a long and happy life in his forthcoming retirement.The Monsignor has welcomed thousands of anglers to Lough Mask inhis opening addresses of the competition.

? Castlebar Anglers Association is holding a Millennium CupCompetition on Lough Mask on July 27th. Registration will be atHarringtons, Partry, from 9.30am, in time for fishing at 11am.Fly-fishing only is permitted and anglers are required to maketheir own boating arrangements. Entry fee is €20.

? The winner of The Irish Times /Jimmy Tyrrell's Flycraft lough and river flies is Tim Sheridan,Hermitage, Crossdoney, Co Cavan, who cited haddock as the odd oneout.

? 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times

July 17, 2008

Orlando, FL -- July 17, 2008 -- Raymond Handling Consultants (RHC)today announced the opening of a branch operation in the Orlandoarea.

In spite of a slowing economy, the continued growth in RHC’scustomer base has resulted in the need to open a branch in the SandLake industrial area of Orlando. According to Joe Nenarella,President of Raymond Handling Consultants, “This branch willenable us to store Service Parts Inventory and Rental Equipment tobetter serve the Orlando Market.”

With a combination of offices and a warehouse, customers can havelocal access to the Service Parts they need to repair their forklift equipment, no matter what brand forklift they may have.This will make it much easier for them to keep their forkliftequipment operating and to minimize down time.

In addition to the Parts Inventory, there will be a variety ofRental Forklifts and Industrial Batteries at the Orlando Branch tomeet the short-term rental needs of the local market. This willenable Raymond Handling Consultants to be much more responsive toany company in the Orlando market that might need a forklift onshort notice.

Raymond Handling Consultants is a full-service forklift dealershipcovering central and northern Florida with Headquarters inLakeland, Florida and a regional full-service branch inJacksonville, Florida. In addition to having the premier Raymondbrand of forklift, RHC offers a full array of “SystemsProducts” to meet any material handling need of thedistribution and manufacturing markets.

New Location: 7101 Presidents Drive

Suite 106

Orlando, FL 32809

(407) 472-9262

Website: http://www.raymondhandlingconsultants.com

VIENNA, Austria : Austrian Airlines says a forklift truck struck and damaged one ofits aircraft while unloading cargo at New York City's JFKInternational Airport.

The Austrian carrier has issued a statement saying no one wasinjured in Thursday's mishap. But it said the plane was unfit tomake the return nonstop trip from New York to Vienna, andpassengers were booked onto other flights.

The airline said about 200 passengers were affected.

Austrian Airlines said Friday the damage was expected to berepaired and the plane was due to return to Vienna on Saturdaymorning.  

SKF Profit Climbs to a Record, Driven by Europe, Asia (Update4)

By Diana ben-Aaron

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- SKF AB , the world's largest bearings maker, said second-quarter profitclimbed to a record, driven by demand from the mining and energyindustries in Europe and Asia.

Net income rose 8.8 percent to 1.34 billion kronor ($224 million),or 2.94 kronor a share, SKF said in a statement. Analysts predicted profit of 1.25 billion kronor. Sales gained 7.4 percentto 16.07 billion kronor, beating estimates.

SKF, a bellwether for its client base that spans energy andconsumer appliances, boosted production last quarter for the firsttime in a year. The Swedish company plans to expand a factory inits home town of Gothenburg making large bearings for miners andpower turbines. Chief Executive Officer Tom Johnstone forecast demand will advance this quarter, with ``significantlyhigher'' sales in Asia and Latin America.

``Cash flow was strong and the main risk to the numbers -- that rawmaterial costs would hit margins -- failed to materialize,'' Ben Maslen , a London-based Merrill Lynch analyst with a ``neutral'' rating onthe stock, said in a note to clients. ``The outlook for the thirdquarter remains solid.''

SKF added 2.5 kronor, or 2.7 percent, to 94 kronor in Stockholm,making it the best performer in the OMX Stockholm 30 Index, whichfell 1.4 percent.

Margin Squeeze

Other growth markets included agriculture, fluid power, industrialgearboxes and construction equipment. Today's earnings should helpease investor concerns that demand is slumping at the same timeraw-material costs are rising, Kaupthing analyst Joakim Hoglund said in a note today.

SKF and other capital goods suppliers face margin pressure fromboth rising input prices and slowing demand in markets such asautomotives and consumer appliances. Sandvik AB, the world'slargest maker of metal-cutting tools, and Atlas Copco AB, the No. 1maker of air compressors, also report quarterly earnings this week.

``SKF is a good trendsetter in terms of its earnings, especiallyfor companies like Atlas Copco and Sandvik that are dependent onthe European market, and it sounds as if things are going to beslightly better during this quarter,'' said Mats Liss , an analyst at Swedbank with a ``buy'' rating on SKF.

The automotive division accounted for one-third of business lastyear. SKF supplies bearings and seals to Fiat SpA and Renault SA,together with its Nissan and Samsung affiliates.

``We expect the North American automotive business to be weak alsoin the third quarter,'' Johnstone said in a telephone interview.``In the European market it's clear that June new car sales figureswere much lower than we've been seeing earlier, and we expect thatto have an effect.''

Mexican Plant

Johnstone is accelerating the transfer of a plant in Glasgow,Kentucky, to Mexico in response to falling U.S. auto demand. Thereare no plans to move other production lines, he said.

The company gets less than 10 percent of sales from the U.S. car and truck market, where dealers are bookinglosses to keep stocks moving. There's an increased risk of aslowdown in Europe, JPMorgan analyst Nico Dil and colleagues said in a note yesterday.

Heavy trucks in Europe and motorcycles and mopeds in Asia liftedthe division's sales. Overall automotive demand will be littlechanged in the third quarter, SKF said.

Another third of sales comes from industrial customers, includingSiemens AG and Electrolux AB, who use bearings in washing machinesand generator turbines. The industrial division now generates closeto half the company's profits as its customers order large bearingsand custom work where margins are wider.

The services unit, which monitors and maintains customer machinery,passed the auto division in sales last quarter.

SKF is targeting the growth markets of wind power and mining. Theslowdown in European industrial production is still limited to theU.K. and Spain, Johnstone said in the interview.

Third Quarter

``Demand in the third quarter is expected to be higher in Europe,slightly lower in North America, and significantly higher in bothAsia and Latin America,'' the company said.

Johnstone aims to get 6 to 8 percent sales growth in localcurrencies this year, and a 12 percent operating margin. Thecompany's market share is about 19 percent and it competes withGermany's Schaeffler Group, and Canton, Ohio-based Timken Co.

SKF has increased prices as much as 10 percent this year tocompensate for scrap steel costs that have almost doubled on economic growth in China and emerging markets, Johnstone saidtoday, repeating earlier statements.

The margin for the quarter narrowed to 13.3 percent compared with13.5 percent last year as scrap steel prices doubled in somemarkets. Margins in the industrial division widened to 13.7 percentfrom 13.3 percent in the quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Diana ben-Aaron in Helsinki at dbenaaron1@bloomberg.net Last Updated: July 15, 2008 11:35 EDT

A COUPLE have hit out at yobs who fired ball bearings at themduring a family party claiming their actions could have killedsomeone.

The Doncaster family were holding a barbecue attended by about 30friends to celebrate the husband"s birthday when they said fivemetal balls were fired at them, one of which hit his wife.

The family, who did not want to be named, said two of the quarterof inch bearings smashed a bedroom window of their Hatfield homewhere the couple猬"s teenage daughter was with friends.

They have now said more needed to be done to stop similar incidentswhich could seriously injure or kill someone and called on parentsto make sure their children did not have catapults or ball bearingguns.

The husband said: SThere were 60 and 70-year-olds at the partywho at first thought it was a gun.

SMy daughter was in her bedroom with friends when it happened.

SIf it was not for the double glazing it would have gone straightthrough the window and could have killed someone.

His wife added: SI felt a pain in my rib and at first did notknow what it was. We heard a couple of cracks, looked up saw thewindow go through and realised someone was firing.

The couple contacted police following the incident which happenedat about 10.30pm on Saturday.

Officers searched the area but were unable to catch thoseresponsible.

The husband added: SAs far as I am concerned this was a dangerousincident involving a firearm.

SThe police can only do so much and people need to be told aboutincidents like this so they know what is happening and they do nothappen again.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact police(0114) 2 20 20 20 quoting incident number 1360 of the July 12.

punching machine and he loves mixing it up in a fight. Chazz Witherspoon is thenephew of former USBA Heavyweight Champion Tim Witherspoon. Chazzis a “boxer” and not a brawler.

The Fight

In the first round, Witherspoon showed some good boxing skills,used his height, landed some clean jabs and was able to handleArreola, who landed a nice uppercut before rallying his offense.Witherspoon was the better boxer and landed more often from outsidebut let himself get drawn into a brawl late in the round that sawArreola land a big right followed by a left that stunnedWitherspoon and stole the round for Arreola. 10-9 Arreola.

In the second, Witherspoon (at the insistence of his corner) wentback to boxing from the outside. Arreola pressured him into theropes and scored well on the inside. Both scored in spots and hadtheir moments. This round was pretty even in my eyes. 10-10.

In the third round, Arreola was steadily getting more aggressive,moving in, punching often. Witherspoon used his legs and tried tokeep things at a favorable range. Arreola forced the issue andcracked Witherspoon with a series of punches upstairs and to thebody that were setting the tone, in spite of Witherspoon’sefforts to box outside, he found himself against the ropes, withArreola relentlessly punching up and down. Witherspoon tried toclinch but Arreola didn’t cooperate and landed a series ofright, lefts or one-twos that saw Witherspoon go down.

After shakily beating the count, there was 52 seconds left. Arreolaforced the action, punching Witherspoon into the corner ropes andtaking one for every three or four he delivered. With ten secondsto go, Arreola rallied with a barrage of punches and at the bell,Witherspoon fell forward to the canvas. During the ref’scount, Witherspoon got up on wobbly legs and before the reffinished counting; one of Witherspoon’s corner men was insidethe ring, which is illegal. Referee, Randy Phillips, took it uponhimself to enforce this rule and disqualified Witherspoon. It wasover. Arreola had won by DQ 3.

Arreola looked to be en route to winning by KO after hurtingWitherspoon pretty badly in the final moment of the third round.Had the fight continued, no one will ever know what might’vehappened but it’s pretty safe to speculate that Arreola wouldhave caught the rubbery legged Witherspoon and ended the fight inthe fourth. In a way, Arreola got robbed of a KO victory.

I though the stoppage was unnecessary. The technicality was on theborderline of the rules because the bell had rung to end the roundbut since the ref was in the process of giving the fighter a tencount, technically, the round was still in progress.Witherspoon’s corner should’ve been more familiar withthe rules. Their action cost Witherspoon whatever chance he mayhave had to turn things around.

Because of the nature of this stoppage, a rematch might becommercially feasible. Witherspoon did show some quality boxingskills and seemed capable of continuing during the post fightinterview, where he spoke coherently and looked fine physically. Istill think Arreola would have finished him in the fourth but, itis what it is.

Actually, I’d rather see Arreola go after some of the topguys in the division. He can bring some excitement back to thesleepiest division in boxing.

Can you imagine Chris Arreola against the likes of Sam Peter,Ruslan Chagaev, Alex Povetkin or Sultan Ibragimov? Those would bewars! Arreola showed a good chin, decent defense and a greatwillingness to FIGHT. With Arreola’s style, he might evengive Wladimir Klitschko a run for his money.

Congratulations to Chris Arreola, who improved his record to 24-0,22 KO’s. Arreola took some shots without flinching andattacked his opponent with no regard for the return. Reckless?Maybe—but definitely entertaining.

Chris Arreola is an example of what the Heavyweight division needsmore of. I loved when he said during the post fight interview thathe loves getting hit and fighting. He said, “I love it. Ilove to fight. I love getting hit cause if I’m not gettinghit, then I’m not in a fight. I’m here to pleaseeverybody, the fans, everybody watching on TV. That’s whatit’s all about. We’re entertainers. That’s how usMexican’s do it, like Chazz did, we’re warriors and wecame here and we fought.”

How refreshing.

Yeah, yeah, I know, don’t get too excited. But hey,it’s high time for a new star to rise at Heavyweight.It’s been pretty damn boring since Lennox Lewis and VitaliKlitschko retired. Hell, it was even boring then. But all I can saynow is I can’t wait to see Chris Arreola fight again!

Comments, Questions, can be emailed to

dshark87@hotmail.com

because buying antiques "is so expensive."

Some sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

In addition to being a skilled craftsman and a "journeymanmachinist," Wasson is a musician. He arranges all the tunes on hislibrary of 80 paper rolls of pre-programmed music. The rolls areloaded onto his machine to make them play.

Wasson, 45, once used X-acto knives to cut holes by hand in themusical paper rolls, the same kind found in player pianos.

Mechanically-produced wind that blows through those holes createsthe music.

Wasson said he learned how to arrange the music by "watching milesand miles" of rolling organ music.

The intricate work of arranging the music on rolls of paper used totake him about one hour for every minute of music. One roll ofmusic typically lasts 13 minutes. And if you unwound a roll, thepaper would stretch 104 feet, Wasson said.

But in 1992, Wasson saw a "perforator," a hole-punching machinethat fits on a desktop. He then decided to build his own.

"I spent every day after work for about three months until 8 or 9at night," Wasson recalled of building the machine. "You don'twatch any TV."

He's been using the perforator ever since, and it has cut his labortime in half.

Originally from San Diego, Wasson's fascination with organ musicstarted in 1976 when he was in junior high and heard an LP ofFrench carousel organ music.

He got an early education in the mechanics of building his organwhen he helped his father and grandfather, a piano tuner, build aplayer piano.

He also got an early musical education, playing numerousinstruments as a student. In high school, he arranged music for aDixieland band. He still plays euphonium a small tuba in acommunity band.

Besides being musically talented, Wasson is mechanically inclined.

Before moving to Erie in 2003, Wasson worked in a Navy shipyard inSan Diego fixing machines for ships.

Band organs "satisfy all my interests," Wasson said. "I like music.I like running machines, and I like building models."

Wasson started building his band organ in 1985, after spending ayear reading books about self-playing organs.

That first year, he made about 24 wooden pipes of varying sizes, aprocess that took him a couple of weeks.

He's been adding on pipes occasionally ever since.

He says it takes "a lot of experimentation" to get the proper sizeand sound of the pipes.

He's constantly tinkering with the organ, which he named Trudyafter a grandmother he never met, and says he'll never actually be"finished" building it.

"It's always a work in progress," Wasson said.

Wasson, who has worked for an Erie pipe organ company since 2003,said he can't say for sure how much money he has sunk into theproject, but he says it's not much.

The biggest investment was the box truck he bought about 10 yearsago. He had it custom built, with doors on both sides in additionto the doors in the back. He said he forgot how much he paid forthe truck.

Otherwise, he'll spend $50 to $75 for enough wood at Home Depot tomake about 24 pipes.

Then, there's the cost of gas to haul the organ around. Wassonfigured he'd pay $250 for a trip from Erie to Knoebels and back.

But the organ also generates some revenue for Wasson and his wife.

They'll play it at parties, picnics, auto shows and Octoberfests,charging $125 for the first hour and $25 for each additional hour,plus the cost of travel.

punching machine Leading wire binding equipment supplier RENZ will be releasing theworld猬"s fastest wire binding solution at Drupa this year whilecelebrating its 100th anniversary.

The new Renz Inline 750 is a world first with fully automatic punching,binding, calendar hanger insertion, cover turning and stacking withan operating speed of up to 4,000 binds an hour – a worldfirst. This completely automatic system with automatic, digitalsetup binds formats up to 750 x 800 mm.

This entirely new punch and binding system, INLINE 750, is the bigbrother to the already successful INLINE 500 model which has beenoffered by RENZ for some years.

The new model offers setup times of only a few minutes usingdigital controls and the ability to store job data. This in-linesystem opens new opportunities in wire binding with the ability toconnect to other equipment such as collators, or additional feedersfor cover inserts.

From humble beginnings as a blacksmith shop in Stuttgart, Germanyback in 1908, the Renz company has now grown into an internationalgroup with subsidiaries in 12 countries, producing world leadingsolutions in binding systems, as shown by the

release of the INLINE 750. RENZ will be holding special eventsduring DRUPA to commemorate 100 years.

Other RENZ product news to be seen at DRUPA includes:

- New version of the semi-automatic AUTOBIND 500 machine for bookand

- Calendar binding with a 50% performance improvement,

- Fully automated ABL 500 Automatic Binding line,

- RENZ AP360 automatic punch offering outstandingly short set-uptimes of less than 5 minutes

- New flexible and effective desktop solutions for small to mediumprint runs.

 punching machine After this training mission the game opens up into the vast (butfoggy) world of NYC. You can take on a new mission whenever youplease or simply run around admiring the lack of scenery. Weparticularly like how terrible Time Square looks. You can travelaround the city on the Subway system, which is rather clever butalso a bit confusing...how does Hulk fit on a tube train and doeshe sit down when he gets on? The mind boggles. The main missionsrange from protection to destruction and a bit of running aroundfinding stuff too. You battle against the Enclave, a group of evilscientists hellbent on doing lots of evil stuff. As the gameprogresses the missions remain pretty much the same but enemies getbigger, take more punching and erm...not much else. In this game,everything is solved with frantic wiggling of your arms andnegligible use of your noodle. If you fancy battling the army youcan punch lots of stuff and annoy people and, like the police inGTA they猬"ll come running...and shooting.

To start a mission you simply walk up to a highlighted zone andyou猬"ll be off and away. The better you do the more 猬蹻eats猬"you unlock which in turn give Hulk new and improved abilities andmoves. The main game itself really doesn猬"t take long to complete,but if you want to make Hulk all singing, all dancing and allsmashing then at least the option is open to you.

Much like the visual impact of this game, the audio is theequivalent of someone farting right into your ear. Unpleasant. Thevoice acting, although using film actors, is lazy and prettylacking in any sort of emotion and the soundtrack is so boring andunnoticeable that we just had to boot up the game again to remindus what it is. Needless to say, it isn猬"t worth mentioning anyfurther. Chuck in a camera that you have to move yourself byholding the minus button and actually pointing the Wii-mote and youhave a gaming experience that is unremarkable, clunky and reallypoorly executed.

Gameplay

Ball Valve Despite the loss of Ryan Perrilloux, the 2008 LSU offense will notbe all that dissimilar from what it was in 2007. While Perrillouxwas the only quarterback with any real experience (Andrew Hatch didsee some mop-up duty a time or two last season), the rest of theoffense is loaded with experience and talent at every otherposition.

Coming off of a national championship year is never easy猬just askthe 2004 LSU football team. Doing so with little, to no experienceat quarterback is even tougher. Again, cite the 2004 squad.

Andrew Hatch, the Harvard transfer, enters his junior year with theonly in-game experience the quarterback position can boast of.

Jarrett Lee, the highly-touted recruit from Texas, enters hisredshirt freshman year ready to compete for the starting job.

The positive thing is that both Hatch and Lee have the same amountof experience in offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's system. Theother positive is that Perrilloux had the same amount ofexperience.

It remains to be seen whether Hatch or Lee, or both for thatmatter, will excel in Crowton's offense. However, one thing iscertain猬the skill players surrounding these guys are not withoutexperience, or talent for that matter.

As much as I don't want to, I would be remiss not to mention thecliche that rings true with so many new quarterbacks. You know theone. All Hatch or Lee has to do is manage the game and not makemistakes.

I would not say it if it wasn't true. Granted, LSU's road scheduleis tough, and at some point one of these guys will have to make aplay somewhere. But for the most part, managing the game will bethe main priority.

Who gets the start to open the season? Hatch would be the easychoice, but Lee will get every opportunity to become the startingquarterback once practice starts in August.

Either way, I expect both guys to rotate in and out of games, muchlike Matt Flynn and Perrilloux did a year ago.

I spoke of the other skill positions that look to aid in thematuring process of both of these young quarterbacks. Where LSUlacks in experience at quarterback, they more than make up for itat just about every other offensive position on the field.

To start, look no further than the guys who will be lining up inthe backfield. The LSU rushing attack netted 3,000 yards rushingfor the season in 2007, and all but one of the guys responsiblereturns in 2008. LSU will have to replace Jacob Hester, but theguys returning are more than capable.

Keiland Williams is LSU's leading returning rusher, having rushedfor 513 yards and six TDs in 2007. Williams is a power rusher witha slashing-type mentality. He looks to round the corner more thantake it up the gut, but when he gets the corner, watch out, becausehis speed is lights out.

A perfect contrast to Williams is Charles Scott. Scott is astraight-ahead runner who no doubt will be looked upon to pick upthe tough yards that Hester did so many times last season. BothScott and Williams showed versatility as well, combining for 21receptions and three TDs a year ago.

The two guys who complement the guys listed above are RichardMurphy and Trindon Holliday.

Murphy is perhaps LSU's most versatile running back. He can runbetween the tackles, split out as a wide receiver, and catch theball out of the backfield. His talent did not go unnoticed in 2007,as he was used more and more as the year progressed.

Holliday is not your prototypical running back. Standing at only5'5'' and weighing in at 159 pounds, Holliday will be usedprimarily in end arounds and reverse plays. Expect a trick play ortwo with him as well, like the well known "hidden Holliday trick."

LSU's wide-receiving corps will once again be among the best in theSEC. While running the ball figures to be LSU's main focal pointfor 2008, this group of receivers will be ready to make plays whencalled upon.

Demetrius Byrd and Brandon LaFell combined for nearly 1,300 yards,85 receptions, and 11 TDs in 2007. Terrance Toliver had a solidfreshman campaign in 2007, hauling in three TDs and averaging 25yards per catch. He and Byrd will look to make big plays down thefield, while LaFell will be looked upon to make the tough catchesover the middle.

A perfect safety valve for both Hatch and Lee will undoubtedly beTE Richard Dickson. LSU's best-known secret is no more, especiallyafter his performance in the BCS National Championship Game.

However, with the speed on the ends, Dickson should still be ableto find some very favorable matchups over the middle of the fieldin 2008.

Rounding up my look at the 2008 LSU offense is the men in thetrenches. LT Ciron Black and LG Herman Johnson may be the fiercestleft side LSU has seen in quite some time. Black has been a startersince his freshman season and should be a preseason All-Americacandidate.

Brett Helms returns at center in 2008. His experience, leadership,and toughness will be key this season. Rounding up the right sideof the offensive line is RG Lyle Hitt and RT Joseph Barksdale.Together these five guys look to pace another solid rushing attackand protect the two young, inexperienced quarterbacks.

The 2007 LSU offense was good. It was Gary Crowton's first year.The 2008 version could possibly be better. It won't be easy. But,as an LSU fan, it should be a fun year to watch on the offensiveside of the ball.

Join me next time (whenever that may be) for a look at the 2008 LSUdefense.

(PRWEB) June 19, 2008 -- Since 1993, Halin Pipe Corp. has been inthe pipe welding and casting markets and has served as an excellentexporting manufacturer. With delicate technology and awell-equipped working environment, Halin Pipe's products spreadtheir presences over various industries and fields, includingmedium transportation of gas, paper making, powder in chemistry,ship equipment, boiler manufacturing, biomedical, and more. Towiden its technical focus and ranges of products, Halin not onlyproduces stainless steel and carbon steel pipes, but also ballvalves, pipe fittings, and steel architectural accessories.

Well-known for its ball valves, which have received a certificationof ISO 9001, API-607 fire-safe approval, and a CRN, PED 97/23/ECModule H Certificate, Halin insists on producing products with highstandards. Moreover, Halin's factories are totally equipped with agreat amount of advanced and high-accuracy machines including aircompressors, molding machines, cutting machines, welding equipment,heat treatments equipment, blasting machines etc. which acceleratetheir producing rate, lower production costs, and increase itsproduction capability. In order to sustain mass production, it paysattention to a wide range of product-innovations andtech-development, resulting in better services for customersworldwide.

Strong Technology for R&D:

Due to its ambitious exporting business, Halin consistentlystrengthens its R&D technology through innovating pipes andvalves. Its stainless steel pipe, one of Halin's hottest products,has received ISO 9001:200 and API 5L certificates which stand forhigh-quality that passed both heat, water and pressure treatments.In addition, Halin's carbon steel pipe, which can be used inelectric resistance and technical delivery conditions, alsoreceived the certification.

Not only can pipe customers find through Halin many sorts ofordinary pipe fittings, but they can also find pipes for sanitaryuse as well. All these pipe fittings pass temperature, pressuretest systems, and more. Halin invests itself deeply in developingits categories of pipes with the highest quality, and dedicatesitself to international trading, especially within Europe and theU.S.

Furthermore, Halin's ball valves, which are made for all sorts offunctions, always impress buyers' eyes with their diverse uses.Valves that can be applied to transportation, electrometallurgy,water conservation and etc., are certainly required in highstandard for business use; but particularly higher, while be usedin machinery and chemistry industries. Undoubtedly, Halin's valvesalways confirm you to use in ease. Take the flanged end ball valvefor example. It passes temperature tests from -20єC to200єC, and its function and quality has been approved byTA-Luft and API-607 as fire safe.

To compete with markets, Halin also produces a great amount ofstainless steel architectural accessories that are all mademulti-functional. Lesser competitors focus only on this field, butHalin does more. With its wide focus, Hailin covers spider fittingand tension rods, center post and arm rial brackets, and hook andend cups to fit with Halin's market demand.

Step to Global Markets:

Halin's principle is to satisfy discerning clients' needs byinnovating ranges of products. Attempting to provide more servicesfor stepping to global markets, Halin will expand its technologicalfocus, market channels, products categories, and plan for furthermarketing strategies with more advanced equipment to step forwardby all means.

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 Ball Valve Video games already have ultra-realistic looking sights and soundsand for about the last year or so the Novint Falcon has beenbringing ultra-realistic touch and feel to video games, far fromthe simple rumble you may feel through many other video gamecontrollers these days.

猬SYou hold on to the handle, and you can move it right and left,and forwards and backwards. It猬"s like a mouse, but you can alsomove it up and down so you can move it in full 3D and then when youtouch something on the screen, or you swing a golf club, or shoot abasketball or a gun or whatever, you actually feel it, so it's gota real high fidelity sense of touch,猬 said Novint Technologies CEOTom Anderson.

But for Falcon fans, that's the old news. The new news is a blackFalcon, a soon-to-be-released pistol grip, and more importantly,games. Novint has struck a few deals to touch-enable more titles,most notably every single game from developer Valve, most known forthe 猬SHalf-Life猬 games.

猬SSo we're getting all of their games integrated into the Falconwhere you'll be able to feel weapon recoil; if something explodesnext to you in the game you feel it from the direction it hit; ifsomebody shoots you, you feel the direction you were hit; if youlift something you feel its weight; if you're in a vehicle you feelall the interactions,猬 said Anderson.

Ball Valve Here are 10 skills every homeowner should master.

You don't need to run out and learn them all immediately, ofcourse. But you'll appreciate them — and save yourself lotsof money.

You can tackle most with simple hand tools, either items you own orthose you can buy for $10 or less. The only power tool here is avariable speed drill.

We'll start at the front door.

1 Replace a door lock. On the inside of the door, remove the two long bolts holding thefront and back of the lock together; remove the front and back ofthe lock. On edge of door, remove screws holding latch in place,and pull latch out.

To replace, just add new hardware in reverse order.

Door hardware needs tightening and lubricating over the years, sounderstanding how it works will pay off in more than extrasecurity.

Tips: Before buying new hardware, check the "backset," or the distancefrom the edge of door to center of the hole for the deadbolt ordoorknob. Replacement hardware will need to match; some locksetsare adjustable, and accommodate the two standard backsets.

2 Change furnace and air-conditioning filters. Nothing difficult about this. Be sure you know where all thefilters are — on air returns or at the air handler —and how to change them.

Tips: Make a note of filter sizes, and keep the information handy. Also,learn how to clear the pipe that carries condensation from the airhandler during the cooling season. The pipes can get clogged withmold and algae. If your air handler is in the attic or a utilityroom, it should have two drains: one from the unit, and the otherfrom the safety pan under the unit.

3 Learn the location of the main water cutoff. It's probably near the meter or in a utility room. You don't wantto go looking for it after a pipe bursts.

Tips: Familiarize yourself with other cutoffs, too. Don't forget thedishwasher and icemaker, for instance. And learn how to turn offthe gas in an emergency. Gas valves, indoors or at the meter, areopen when parallel to the line and closed when perpendicular.

4 Find a stud in a wall. You'll want to locate studs any time you're hanging a heavyobject, or installing molding or cabinets. Most homeowners know thetap-tap-tap routine; you'll get a hollow sound between studs, asolid thunk on the stud. (Most of the time.) The centers of thestuds are 16 inches apart — so if you find one you canusually locate the others pretty easily.

Tips: Look for the heads of finishing nails near the top edge of thebaseboard. Those nails will be in studs.

5 Know your wall anchors. For spaces between studs, you'll want to use hollow-wall anchorsto mount towel bars, drapery rods and the like on walls. The mostimportant rule is to match the anchor to the weight of the itemyou're mounting. From weakest to strongest, anchors include:plastic expansion anchors, threaded drywall anchors (Zip-It),winged plastic anchors, molly bolts or sleeve-type anchors andtoggle bolts.

When installing anchors, you can make small holes in drywall withan awl or sharp nail, but you should use a drill for larger holes.

Tips: You'll be more accurate if you make small starter holes even forthose anchors that screw in. And, if you're not going to mountsomething in the same spot, it's easier to patch over anchors suchas mollys than it is to remove them. Here's how: Remove the bolt orscrew; tap the anchor lightly with a hammer until it's below theface of the drywall; cover with spackling; sand.

6 Hang a ceiling fan. This is a popular upgrade and involves skills that you'll use toreplace light fixtures and receptacles.

The first step, any time you're dealing with electricity: Turn offthe power at the breaker box.

You must make sure a ceiling fan is anchored properly. If it's not,it can fall. If you can move the electrical box with one finger, itwon't support a fan. It's best to anchor the fan directly to theceiling joist.

This can be a time-consuming job; give yourself a couple of hours.

Assemble the fan, minus blades. Then attach the fan's ceilingbracket. Hang fan in the bracket. Connect wires according to thedirections. Attach blades. Fans work best if blades are at least 10inches from the ceiling, and fans should be no lower than 7 feetfrom floor.

Tips: Your first electrical project is a good time to make sure thebreakers are labeled clearly and correctly. When hanging fans— or light fixtures or dimmer switches — make surewires are securely fastened, and avoid jamming wires into crowdedboxes. If you try to force wires, you could pull them apart andcreate a dangerous short.

7 Master a drill. Sooner or later, you'll need to learn to drive drywall screws witha variable speed drill. You'll repair drywall nail pops that way,of course. Pull the nail; drive a screw into the stud or joist afew inches away from the nail hole. The screw head should "dimple"the surface, with the screw head just below the face of thedrywall. Cover the screw head and nail hole with spackling, let dryand sand.With screws and drywall clips, you can make larger wall repairs.U.S. Gypsum, the maker of Sheetrock brand drywall, offers a handyexplainer online: Go to www.usg.com, search for repair clips and click on "Install Guide."

You use the same screw-driving skills to repair loose boards onyour deck. Pull any loose nails, and replace with decking screws.Be sure you use coated or galvanized screws in treated lumber.

Tips: Driving screws with a drill is like putting in golf: It's allfeel. Practice on a scrap of 2-by-4. Also, buy extra No. 2 Phillipsscrew bits. You always want a spare. You'll tear them up,especially when working on decks.

8 Master a caulking gun. Some say squeeze tubes are easier for do-it-yourselfers to master.We think they're wrong. A gun's trigger gives you more control.

There are some tricks. Cut the tip of the tube at an angle, butwith a smaller hole than you think you might need; you can alwaystrim the tip again if the hole needs to be larger. Break the innerseal.

Quit squeezing before you get to the end of the area you'recaulking. The caulk will continue to come out. When you reach theend, lift the gun from the surface and immediately remove thetension on the push rod.

Tips: It's important to choose the right caulk for the job. Usemildew-resistant bath and kitchen caulk for tub or shower; usepaintable acrylic latex for that gap between wall and baseboard.Read labels carefully. Also, when smoothing caulk with your finger,resist the temptation to overwork it. Smooth it with just twopasses — because the third will make a mess.

9 Seal a stain properly. You can't paint over crayon, ballpoint pen, grease splatters onthe kitchen wall or water stains on the ceiling without the stainscoming through. You must seal stains first.

There are lots of good sealers and primers these days, but one oldstandby is pigmented shellac. A familiar brand is B-I-N fromZinsser, and the company's Web site (www.zinsser.com) is a good place to learn about the wide array of specialtyprimers.

Tips: Remember that you can tint primers to make them easier to coverwith the finish paint. Ask your paint pro. Also, some primers— including pigmented shellac — seal in odors, too.You'll appreciate that if you live with a smoker or a cat.

10 Replace the flapper ball in a toilet. Every homeowner deals with a toilet that leaks water from the tankto the bowl (and mysteriously flushes in the middle of the night).The problem is usually a bad flapper ball, the valve that openswhen you press the handle to flush. The cure is easy: Buy andinstall a replacement flapper ball.

Tips: Pay attention to proper chain length. A chain that's too short ortoo long can interfere with proper operation. Also, clean theopening at the bottom of the tank thoroughly before installing thenew flapper ball. Grit and minerals build up and keep the ball fromseating properly.