Dear Carrells: I tacked a wooden yardstick to the front of my workbench to use for measuring. It sure comes in handy often. I can hold material right up to it, mark it and then cut. I love it being right there when I need it. I don't need an extra hand to hold it. I think it was free, too, so it's even more valuable! — E.C.

A SUPER HINT — Table saws can make fast work of cutting, but if you want to make things work even smoother, try rubbing talcum powder over the surface of the table to lubricate it.

Dear Al: I am a stickler about cleaning my paintbrushes after each use, even when I quit for just one day. I have a little trick that I finish with each time that works great. I use a little waterless hand cleaner to clean off the solvent residue after the brush is free of paint. This step cleans and protects the bristles, and I follow that with soap and water. I always make sure to hang the brushes up to dry so the bristles will be smooth and straight. — F.B.

Q: The last time I cleaned out the gutters, I started seeing a couple of places where the gutter spikes are coming out of the roof of the house. Should I add more, or try to relocate these? — B.N.

A: There are other hangers you can use that will work just as well and won't be so hard to maintain. Remove the ones that are damaged and fill the holes in the wood with filler, followed by paint to keep them from getting worse. Keep gutters clear to prevent moisture from building up in these areas, too.

A Tip From the Super HandyMom — Removing old wallpaper could be easy but usually isn't. A combination of steamers, strippers and other tools are needed in most cases. One very simple way to soften the glue under the wallpaper is to brush or roll some warm water mixed with a little fabric softener onto the wallpaper. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, and then try to pull more off. Try not to make a big mess, and you could cut your stripping time in half.

SHOPTALK — Caulking is one of the very best ways to cut energy costs in your home. If you do the caulking yourself — and it's easy enough to do — then it probably will pay for itself in less than one month in energy savings. But you want the job to look good, and the DAP Pro Caulk Tool Kit will help. The tool kit has three different tools that give you 12 different size/shape edges so that no matter how messy the caulk goes on, you will get a perfect, clean edge in seconds. It takes away all of the slop-over. It even does corners with precision. One tool is especially good at getting into tight spaces. The kit also includes a nifty caulk-removal tool, which is great for removing the old, cracked caulk. It can be used indoors and out, and you get your choice of a small tube of indoor or outdoor caulk to get started with. You can find it at lots of places, but if you want to know more, go to www.dap.com.