March 1963

Men who work with wood

Men are fascinated with wood --with its beauty, with its workability, with its many uses. In my job as Handyman Editor, I've never met a man who hasn't been interested in the things I make, the tools I use, and the kinds of wood in my projects.

What does it cost to sleep big?

You no longer need to pay extra-high prices for king- and queen-size beds, sheets, pillowcases, blankets, and spreads. They are now stocked as regular merchandise in better stores. Because a king-size bed is just the width of two twin beds, the cost is approximately that of twin beds.

What tax deductions do other people take?

Other people's tax deductions are not necessarily what you can deduct. On the other hand, it may help you to look over these average deductions worked out from Internal Revenue Service reports for 1960, the latest year available. You need not fear taking legitimate deductions higher than these averages. But any amounts abnormally high for your income bracket should be provable with paid bills, checks, or other documents. And remember that unusual deductions sometimes stir the Revenuers into "auditing" a return.

Do other families fight about money?

How can you save money on postage?

Certified Mail is a service wnicn costs 20 cents plus regular postage; it can often do the job of a registered letter at 60 cents minimum, plus postage. Insurance is included in the registered mail fee, but on legal documents and other im portant papers that have no intrinsic value, insurance isn't really necessary. If you just want proof of delivery, use certified mail and request a return receipt. This shows when and to whom delivery was made.

Can you cut the high cost of auto insurance for teen-agers?

The day your son gets a driver's license and slides behind the wheel of the family car, the cost of your liability and collision insurance almost doubles. That's because statistics show male drivers under 25 get into many more accidents than other motorists. (If your teen-ager is a girl, however, your premiums stay the same. Girls have proven themselves far less risky on the road, and insurance companies rate them as adults.)

IT'S NEWS TO ME!

Comfort for a man

Just what is a man's kind of comfort? Well, for a starter, it's stretching out on an extra-long sofa to read or watch TV ... it's a good night's sleep in a king-size bed ... it's being able to shave without standing in line for the family bath ... it's living in the casual atmosphere of a room without frills and fancies. On these next six pages, we'll show what a man's kind of comfort is.

How to get a big bed in a small room

Four terrific projects you can build

Here are four great Better Homes Projects-- each planned to turn an ordinary room into something special. Planned for simple construction and everyday materials, all are easy enough to build yourself. Just order your material, get your tools ready, and get started.

Complete picture-steps to easy and elegant furniture restyling

Here's all you need to know to make old furniture better than ever, or to upgrade new unfinished things into expensive-looking showpieces. Money is a minor ingredient in most every restyling project. And you need only a bare minimum of tools. The time you'll spend naturally divides itself into short jobs-- space them out over several evenings.

Need an idea for your basement?

Bright ideas practically guarantee all-family use of finished basement space. This family room-den is so full of ideas, we've made it a part of our Better Homes Project series. The floor plan below shows how everything fits together in one side of the basement in the home of Dr. and Mrs. S. W. Allred, Salt Lake City. You can easily translate it to your own home-- just adjust the size to the space you have.

This is a great house!

Could houses cost less?

To continue our inquiry into the high cost of housing, we went right to the man on the job and found out what he sees on a day-to-day basis while actually engaged in the business of laying bricks, driving nails, running wire, and threading pipe. We picked the site of the new Park Ridge development, a group of about 300 homes now being built by the construction team of Biskind and Pate in a Cleveland, Ohio, suburb, North Olmsted. ...

These men really get a kick out of gardening

The six men gardeners shown on these pages are good examples of the increasing number of men who are turning to gardening as a hobby. For relaxation away from their everyday jobs, they find it hard to beat close contact with the earth and all the beautiful things it can produce. The businesses and professions of the men we know who garden are as varied as the plants they grow. For example, Edward Kiessig of Los Angeles (below) is a pilot and flight manager for one of the large commercial air lines. In the spare hours

Cliff Robertson--the movies' JFK

Cliff Robertson was hand-picked by President Kennedy to play the young Lieutenant (j.g.) John F. Kennedy in the Warner Bros. motion-picture production "PT 109." Soon to be released, the movie (see small photograph above) recounts Kennedy's sea adventures in World War II. Robertson learned to cook as a 16-year-old seaman on the freighter "Admiral Cole."

Just how healthy are health foods?

Why do we choose one food instead of another? Usually, for three reasons-- flavor, price, and variety-- or for some combination of them. Rarely these days do we worry about nutrition, nor is there much reason why we should. If we follow, even lackadaisically, the rules of a balanced diet, we'll be fully and properly nourished. It's truly as simple as that.

Now--ranges that think!

HOW TO MAKE WORDS SAY SOMETHING

At the age of four, Abraham Lincoln was a word-intoxicated child, lying awake at night, pondering the stories his mother had read him. The words he heard were living things --things you could see and taste and feel. There seemed to be hundreds of new words to savor every week, and the boy's eyes shone with the excitement of learning each one. Years later, that same Abraham Lincoln was able to make his words create the inspiration of the Gettysburg Address, which will be recited as long as there are tongues to speak.

White plus color!

These foods are news!

Baking high lights Packaged biscuit mix reaches a new height of convenience! Now it's ready-measured for you. Eight 1-cup packets come in a 2-pound 1-ounce box. Need a cupful? Simply tear open a packet, dump into bowl. No measuring. No spilling.

Five other ideas for a hair dryer

HANDYMAN HOW-TO

A list of safety tips every home should have

More accidents occur in the home than anywhere else, and more occur in the kitchen than any other room. Falls, fires, and poisoning (in that order) are the three major types of accidents. Whether cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, it pays to follow these rules.

How to take the questions out of buying--or selling--a house

Buy or sell, 1963 is the big year for home-owning-- even bigger than last year, when about 1.4 million new homes were started, and many times that were sold.

A wonder workbench

We know this is a workbench that really works, because it has been built and tested by one of our own handyman readers. We sent this plan to John Dyste, a Minneapolis insurance agent and amateur craftsman, who built our bench and has been using it to help put the finishing touches on the remodeling of his 52-year-old home. He gives our bench an unqualified and enthusiastic okay, and says he only wishes he'd had it in his shop long before this.

How to order plans for homes and projects

Our new Better Homes for All America plan service continues this month with one home and five projects. You can buy the following plans featured in this month's issue:

A cooky zoo

SHOPPING BY MAIL

the man next door

Our town's latest cleanup campaign was a somewhat qualified success. The ladies spent one day distributing antilitter leaflets, and the sanitation department worked the rest of the week sweeping them up.