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What is a ‘TrackMaster®’ Anyway? Print E-mail
Nearly everyone owning framed art or documents, hung with hooks and wires, has suffered annoying and troublesome problems with ‘out-of-level’ frames.  TrackMaster® frame hangers are especially designed to keep picture frames hanging permanently straight and level by eliminating hooks and wires! However, they have proven equally useful for hanging nearly any object which can be installed on a wall, including: mirrors, speaker enclosures, sconces, shelves, trellises, nick-knacks, display cases, medicine chests and coat racks to name but a few.
The first TrackMaster® hanger was designed for standard metal frames having universal assembly channels (Fig. 1).  Later, prompted by user requests, wireless wooden-frame adapter systems have been developed which permit using TrackMaster® hangers with wooden picture-frames as well (Fig. 2). These adapters have also made it possible to use TrackMasters for hanging other objects as well as for hanging picture-frames.

Prior to TrackMaster® the physics of hanging picture-frames was seldom considered in the design of picture-hanging devices - sometimes with rather disastrous results!  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, TrackMaster® hangers had to be strong and virtually unbreakable - each unit capable of supporting 50 pounds - more if used in multiples.

Second, its design had to insure that:
a. It would mount objects flush with the wall and provide positive wall support, with a relatively large surface area in contact with the wall, to eliminate the problems of nail-creep and wire-sag common in wire-hung objects.
b. Its fasteners would produce a load vector directed into the wall - rather than down the wall as with wire-hung objects - to prevent the top of the object from hanging away from the wall - an unsightly problem common to hooks and wires.

Third, TrackMaster® hangers had to be inexpensive and easy to use with minimal tools.

These design objectives are now well known.  Trackmaster® hangers are made of injected recycled polycarbonate, the same base material used in bullet-proof vests!  The large flat surface constituting the back of the TrackMaster® hanger provides sufficient wall support to hold more than 50 pounds of dead weight.

The TrackMaster® hanger’s nail configuration - center, pivot nail straight-in and track support nails angled downward - generates a "claw" effect on the wall.  Physically, this produces a resultant load-vector directed into the wall.  This means: ‘The heavier the load on a TrackMaster® hanger, the tighter it will hug the wall.’

When used with metal frames, the TrackMaster® hanger's support track fills the cross-sectional void of the universal assembly channel "locking" the frame onto the hanger. This insures the frame cannot be accidentally bumped off the hanger. Bottom rail supports inserted into the bottom rails of metal frames, and similar systems screwed to the bottom rails of wooden frames, can be used to immobilize the frame on the wall.

Several other design features were added during the development of the TrackMaster® hanger to make it more versatile and easier to use:
  1. Bearing surfaces (a) were added at the ends of the support track to reduce friction when adjusting mounted objects from side-to-side;
  2. Nail-hole constrictions (b) were added so that once inserted, nails would be held firmly and would not fall out during installation - no more dropped nails!
  3. A bubble-level (c) was added - users no longer need bulky and hard-to-hold carpenter's levels to install their TrackMaster® hangers.
  4. Horizontal indexes (d) were designed into the ends of the hangers, under their support tracks, to make alignment of multiple in-line frame arrangements fast and easy.  Simply lay out a level line of sufficient length, align the indexes to the line and drive the nails.  It’s as easy as that!
  5. Countersunk screw holes (e) were added to permit TrackMaster® hangers to be installed on cinder-block, concrete, wooden and paneled walls using commonly available anchor devices and flat-head screws.
  6. Five-inch and eight-inch TrackMaster® hangers are now available.  The eight-inch version is particularly well suited for hanging heavier more unwieldy objects as well as for larger frames.
 
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