TrackMaster Picture Frame Hangers - TrackMaster® Picture Hanging Systems

TrackMaster® Picture Hanging Systems

Why does the world need a special product for such a seemingly simple task as hanging a framed picture? This article reveals detailed designs and principles that give TrackMaster® Picture Hangers their unique features and benefits:

Integrated bubble levels for easy leveling
Precise engineering for increased load capacities
Intelligent design allowing stable installations on drywall (no studs needed)
Supports to eliminate frame bowing
Built-in wall relief to prevent accumulation of art destroying gases
Security accessories to protect art in high traffic areas
Inexpensive and easy to use!

Find out why TrackMaster® Picture Hangers are the preferred system for so many framing and installation applications . . .

Prior to TrackMaster®, the ‘physics’ of picture hanging was seldom considered in the design of picture hanging devices - sometimes with disastrous results! Any old nail or hook would do! It seemed incredible that people would hang custom framed fine art valued at hundreds if not thousands of dollars on unreliable hooks and wires costing a few pennies with no thought for the security of their art other than ‘insurance.’

Trackmaster® wanted to design a universal hanger based on sound physical principles - for any type of flat wall surface - that addressed three main considerations:

First, the hanger had to be strong and virtually unbreakable – capable of supporting 50 lbs individually or more when used in multiples.

Second, frames must mount on the hanger flush with the wall, the hanger must have a large area in contact with the wall and its fasteners must produce a ‘load vector’ directed into the wall, rather than down the wall, as with wire-hung frames.

And, third, the hanger systems had to be inexpensive and easy to use with minimal tools.

TrackMaster® hangers meet each of these requirements. Made of the same polycarbonate resin used in bulletproof vests, they are exceptionally strong. The large, flat surface constituting the back of the hanger will support considerably more than its designed 50 lbs and it’s nail configuration generates a load vector directed into the wall. This means: “the heavier the load on the hanger, the tighter it will hug the wall.”

TRADITION – IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE

Traditionally, picture frames have been hung by wires, attached through screw-eyes or other devices to the backs of their frames, on one or two picture hooks nailed into the wall. With the advent of expensive custom frames and considering the value of most fine art today, picture framers have identified four recurring problems with hook and wire hanging systems.

First, the wires can (and will) move on the hooks making it difficult to keep the frames straight and level on the wall - a most annoying problem - especially in vibrational environments.

Second, often excessive wire lengths cause the frames to ‘gap’ away from the wall at the top. The larger the frames the greater the ‘gaps’ - and, the more unstable the hook and wire installations become.

Third, because hooks and wires do not secure the frame to the wall, it is easily moved. This can cause damage to the wall, to the frame itself, or to the furniture near it should the hooks come loose, the picture slide down the wire to a screw-eye, or should the wire break causing the framed picture to fall and be damaged.

And, fourth, should the initial placement of the picture prove to be incorrect - as it very often is with hooks and wires - it is not possible to shift the picture’s position on the wall without relocating the hooks. This process may be repeated several times before the picture is positioned to the satisfaction of the owner. Chances are, it will still be only ‘close enough’ - an unstable object needing frequent adjustment - hiding a ‘tell-tale’ wall-full of nail holes!

TrackMaster® frame hangers and security systems are designed solutions to these problems. The universal desires of framers, installers, gallery owners and owners of fine art to avoid hooks and wires as well as to improve frame security and eliminate the annoyances of crooked pictures are all achieved by using today’s TrackMaster® hanging systems.

In the bargain, TrackMaster® systems make all installations - especially multiple-frame installations - much easier. TrackMaster frame hangers permit side-to-side changes in picture positions without changing hanger positions and by making it possible to adjust between-picture horizontal spacing, and in-line spacing of vertical, arrangements after the pictures are hung.

THE WAY TRACKMASTER® HANGERS WORK

All TrackMaster® systems components have been designed to work together geometrically eliminating the usual troublesome and time-consuming measurements required. The goal was to produce a reliable and trouble-free method for hanging valuable art and memorabilia, accurately positioned and completely secured.

TrackMaster® frame hangers - always at the top of the frames - are the hearts of the systems. Their rigid support-tracks have been designed to replace unwieldy and unreliable hooks and wires and to keep their supported frames straight, level and secure on the wall, permanently!

TrackMaster® bottom-rail supports are optional but very useful adjuncts to the frame-hanging process. Used singly, or in pairs, they are placed on the bottom of the frame to both support its weight (eliminating bowing) and to secure its position on the wall. The bottom-rail supports are particularly useful in multiple-frame arrangements making it possible to precisely space and then immobilize the frames with respect to one another.

Metal-frame security is provided by the TrackMaster® hanger itself. The hanger fits inside the custom metal frame’s assembly channel in such a manner that it ‘locks’ the frame onto the hanger. The bottom of the frame must be lifted to 45 degrees to ‘unlock’ the frame from the hanger. Used with one or two bottom-rail supports, the hanger provides excellent security even in earthquake situations.

TrackMaster® security for wooden-frames is provided by the Impact-Latch® wood-frame security system. It was designed and patented as part of the TrackMaster® frame hanging system’s unique geometry. Used singly or in pairs, the Impact-Latch® functions to provide bottom-rail support for the weights of heavier wooden frames and mirrors - and as a ‘latch and key’ locking mechanism - to keep the wooden frame on its TrackMaster® hanger by securing the bottom of the frame to the wall.

Trackmaster systems are universal in application. They can be used on virtually any wall surface, with or without security. They take only a minute or two to install, and require only tools normally found in the home.

THE ECONOMICS OF TRACKMASTER HANGING SYSTEMS

TrackMaster® picture-frame hangers and security systems are very inexpensive considering their designed utility and the protection they provide. Fine art cannot really be ‘insured’ in the usual sense of the word. Once valuable art or documents have been damaged or destroyed they can seldom be restored or replaced.

The few dollars spent on a TrackMaster® frame hanging system will be worth considerably more than the hundreds of dollars spent on insurance policies if the artifacts saved have sentimental value, are heirlooms or are ‘one-of-a-kind!’

Furthermore, today’s custom frames themselves, even without their usual contents, can cost hundreds of dollars! The prudent owner of such a frame will insure his investment with a TrackMaster® hanger and security system.

Nothing on the market today competes effectively with TrackMaster® Frame Hangers and Security Systems at any price.