When the big loan show happens and you’re up to your ears in crates from out-of-town, this tape can help you keep them straight. When you’re sure you’ve removed all the art objects from the crate, close it up again and put a strip of our "EMPTY, EMPTY" tape across the seam. This lets you easily determine that you’ve unloaded that crate. And insures that no-one inadvertently removes a full crate from the gallery, because they only move out the ones labeled EMPTY.
Red type on white background.

Rolls are 2" wide and 55 yds. long.  Enjoy a 20% discount for a case of 54 rolls.

So, when those crates from out-of-town (or those full of objects going out on loan) get packed up and you’re getting ready to ship everything out, this tape can help you keep track of what’s done. If the crate is "PACKED, PACKED", this tape says so big and bold and green.
Green type on white background.

Rolls are 2" wide and 55 yds. long.  Enjoy a 20% discount for a case of 54 rolls. 

A lovely unbleached, unsized 100% cotton twill tape, finer and softer than others we've found. Very useful for making storage mounts, for packing, shipping and for a host of other installation and storage needs.

Have a quilt to hang?
We have a 3" width in stock. Perfect solution for use in hanging quilts!

Currently there are two different lengths:
3" --- 36 yard rolls
1/4", 1/2", 3/4" & 1" ----50 yard rolls

Some rolls may contain splice.

An old favorite: paper tags with string ties. We use them to label mounts with the corresponding object number and they're just the thing for keeping track of accession/exhibition numbers or case designations for objects. Removable, non-damaging and very preferable to sticky, messy tape.

1-3/32" x 1-3/4"

Sold in bags of 100.

We found these wonderful little boxes while looking for something to put the brass weights in. They are a great size for all sorts of collections of things (and, honestly, spices!). And they open, as you see, on the broad dimension making it easy to get at what's inside.

They are made of soft polypropylene with a living hinge.  The top makes a satisfying snap as it locks shut.

Inside dimensions are 1-1/2" x 2-3/8" x 29/32" high (or in decimal: 1.5" x 2.37" x .9")

Asked on a couple of occasions for a small size weight to help when photographing documents, we came up with these sweet brass flat weights. About an inch square, tumbled smooth and padded on the underside with our sueded poly, we think they have just the right amount of heft to hold down those document corners. 
Size:  1" x 1" x 3/16" thick. Sold 8 to a box.   

(n.b. on price increase: we just got hit with a substantial price hike on the brass needed for these.)

Our weight bags are made of steel shot sealed into polyethylene tubing, then covered with unbleached, unsized cotton knit tubing. They are "gently filled" so they have a flexibility that conforms to an object as needed. Lovely and tactile, they are one of our best selling items. We use them to stabilize items going on display that might have a bit of rock to them. We're sure you'll find many other uses for them.

Handmade in Rosemont, NJ, USA.

Our weight bags are absolute workhorses, but even they get tired out. Are your weights sad, dirty, or broken?  Benchmark can repair them for you!

When handling delicate artifacts, sometimes you need a little support. Enter our pillow weights: soft and pliable, yet solid enough to prop up your sensitive or oddly-shaped objects. We first encountered a version of this beanie-bag while on a job at the Menil in Houston, and we've loved them ever since! Constructed of polypropylene pellets and Oddy-tested polyester stockinette, this squishy bag is useful as an "extra hand" to cradle any object you are working with. Also functions as a substantial weight bag. 

Watch our Pillow Weight Demonstration on our YouTube channel. 

Flexible snake weights are the perfect solution for gently holding open your delicate books and preventing page curling during research and conservation work. (Our resident seamstress suggests using them to hold down paper dress patterns!) These string weights are constructed from flexible metal chain cased in smooth white cotton tubing. Our snakes are 5/32" in diameter - chunkier than the others out there. They're 36" long, sold as a pair, and housed neatly in our snappy little flip-top box. Need a shorter length? Snake weights are easily trimmed with a pair of scissors.

The wonderful "Coffee Break" T-shirt!
In good taste for any occasion. 

100% cotton, white with black ink.
Sizes L, XL.

This cartoon from Glen Baxter has been making me laugh (in the form of a postcard on my wall) for years. G.B. was kind enough to allow us to make a T-shirt out of it and here it is. What's it all mean??

100% cotton, beige with black ink.

Sizes M, L

An inert white, perfectly hygienic dental wax. Perfect for holding things where they belong — in mounts, directly to glass shelves, or for adhering loose object parts, such as a lid to a vase. Now sold in our snappy little polypropylene box.

2-1/4" strips, 1/8" diameter, 40 strips per box.

A little bit goes a long way.

The Horizontal Bookmount presents your book parallel to the display surface. The plexiglas book support plates are mounted on sturdy brass posts attached to a flat plexiglas base. Each support plate butterflys on a pair of hinges, allowing you to select and lock in the angle your book opens to. The hinge legs are adjustable in height by as much as 1" to accommodate different openings. In addition, the support plates slide in or out to accommodate various spine thicknesses.

Watch our Horizontal Bookmount demonstration on our Youtube channel!

The Horizontal Bookmount comes in four sizes defined by the size of the plexiglas book support plates: 
Mini, Standard, Intermediate & Folio

Click here for Instructions for Horizontal Bookmounts

For custom-sized bookmounts, please fill out our custom bookmount form.

Sometimes you need to display a book from the fore-edge - usually because of a large graphic that crosses the gutter. If you already use a Standard, Intermediate, or Folio Horizontal Bookmount, you can easily convert it to accommodate this display requirement. Simply remove the regular plates from the brass hinges and slip on these quarter-turn plates, then rotate the Bookmount 90°.  A versatile and efficient solution.

For custom-sized bookmounts, please fill out our custom bookmount form.

The Upright Bookmount displays books tilted up 40° from flat decks or shelves. The base is made of solid brass, fitted with two hinged brass legs. Each hinge holds an independently adjustable plexiglas book support plate. The support plates "butterfly" on the hinges, allowing you to choose the angle your book opens to. The hinge legs also adjust in height by as much as 1" giving you another approach to supporting your book. In addition, the plates move laterally to accommodate different spine thicknesses.

The Upright Bookmount comes in three sizes, defined by the dimensions of the plexiglas book support plates:

Click here for Instructions for Upright Bookmounts

For custom-sized bookmounts, please fill out our custom bookmount form.

Here's a "left-hand" pair of hinges with 2" legs to use when you are displaying a very thick book. These longer legs will give more telescoping power for those books with spines thicker than 1 inch. 

Remove the regular hinge legs from the brass post and insert these longer legs. Be sure both long ones are on the same side of the book.

If you want to display single sheets or closed books, this accessory is for you.
Remove the regular plex support plates and the brass hinge legs of your Upright Bookmount. Replace them with this Cover-Only Plate and its special brass fitting.

For custom-sized bookmounts, please fill out our custom bookmount form.

When the book stays open but the pages need restraint, reach for our clear, non-adhesive 4 mil poly strap. It's softer than the conventionally used mylar and does a kinder job. It's also useful for preventing text block drag and for barcoding projects for book storage.

Sold in 100' long rolls in five widths.

Custom widths are also possible. Minimums apply.

Boy, when it came to stainless steel pins, we got so tired of nipping the heads off dressmakers' and insect pins and then filing the ends smooth before use… we went out and had these pins made for us. They are solid stainless steel, not plated, tumbled to remove burrs and rough edges. The sizes are useful for a wide variety of objects and display situations.

Sold in bags of 100 pins
Pins ship US Post at no additional cost to the contiguous U.S and Hawaii.

We've had made what we consider to be the easiest to use and most versatile of pinning pliers, a copy of the customized ones that we've used for over 30 years. These pliers have a groove across one jaw for a firm grip on pins and a curved nose to provide a fulcrum for leverage. Made for us in Germany.

Of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles, 5-1/8" long.

You will need to drill holes for your pins if you are pinning into materials such as plywood, masonite, Formica or plexiglas. We have two sizes of drill bit for each diameter of our pins. The "drop fit" bits are the same diameter as the pin, for making holes in very hard materials and in situations where you want a pin to be slightly looser, say for easy release when "locking" and "unlocking" objects. The "tight fit" bits are for drilling into medium hard materials such as plywood so that the pin fits tightly into the hole and stays at the required depth.

Bits are sold in packages of 6, and are color-coded to match pin sizes.

Remember that these are very small drill bits. They can break easily when torqued or bent. Be sure to order extras if you are on installation.

Drill Bits ship US Post at no additional cost to the contiguous U.S and Hawaii.

Our half-hard yellow brass rod is of mid-range malleability. Rod is sold in 35" lengths for all sizes except the 1/32" and the 1/16". Those two smaller diameters come packaged as (3) 12" lengths.

We will cut the 3 ft pieces in half for more economical shipping. If you need the uncut full length, please comment as such on your order. 

Click here to purchase our Polyolefin Heat-Shrink Tubing for padding your brass rod. Be sure to consult the chart to see which size you'll need!

PHOTOS

T mount - brass rod stem for wall or deck mounting with a lighter weight cross-bar. Rod and cross-bar can be formed to support various kinds of objects, padded with heat-shrinkable tubing or sprayed with Krylon and painted-out to blend in with objects or background. 

Sold 6 per package.

PHOTOS

"Spider" mounts because of all the legs... We didn't go for eight, but the three cross-bar arms give support to a spider's nest of objects with complex shapes. Also known as "Y mounts"!

Sold 6 per package.

4" long rod stems with a 3" lengths of strap soldered to one end.  We provide them straight and annealed: you bend them to fit your objects. 
       
Sold 6 per package.

When you need to steady an artifact up against the wall (either on a shelf or with its own bottom clips), these little gems save more time and make an installation easier than you can imagine. Make a "drop-clip" with our 1/8"th. x 1/2"w. brass strap (as seen by the dotted clip in our drawing). Fit it to the shape of your object. Be sure to allow for padding as required. Screw the drop-clip channel into the wall behind the object. Put the art in place and slide the shaped "drop clip" into this channel. It secures the art gently but firmly in place.  

Our Brass Strap 22-127 can be used to make the clips that fit each piece's 1/2" wide channel - click here to add to your cart.

Fabricated here in Rosemont, N.J.
Sold 6 per package. 

PHOTOS

For the deck mount, the two tabs get shaped to your plate's profile and hold the weight. Bend the stem so that the plate leans back into the mount. Drill an undersized hole into the deck when you install the stem.

Sold individually.

PHOTOS

This mount hangs a plate on the wall. Two bottom tabs get shaped to your plate's profile and hold the weight. The top tab also gets shaped to your plate's profile and then slides into a tube to lock the plate in place. Drill an undersized hole in the backboard when you install the stem. 

 Sold individually.

PHOTOS

A 1/4" diameter, 18" long brass stem with a pointed top end, fitted with a 2" x 3" brass plate. Carve the 4" x 8" x 8" Ethafoam block to fit inside your hat, stick it on the pointy end of the brass stem. (To finish off, we cover the top part of the Ethafoam with stockinette and cut a sheet of dark felt to cover the bottom of the Ethafoam, including the brass plate. The stockinette is kind to the object and the dark felt helps the mount "disappear".) Then bend the stem to the shape you need. Install in deck or wall.

Sold individually.

PHOTOS

Used to support objects with cylindrical or oval-section shafts angled out or up from the wall or deck. We solder two straps one above the other on the opposite sides of a sturdy rod.  The opposing straps provide leverage to support the object, the lower one wrapping up and over the shaft and the upper one wrapping down and under.

Sold Individually.

PHOTOS

Used to securely cradle round bottomed bowls, etc.  Three fully annealed arms get shaped to fit the bottom of your bowl. Pad them, paint them, fix mount to the deck with a standard drywall screw. For top-heavy items, place one of our weight bags inside to help stabilize.

Sold individually.

For those that would like to use our U-Clip and brass stem, but have their own plex plate and the ability to glue the U-Clip on to that plate, here are the independent parts! Glue the U-Clip to a single plexiglas plate with lip. Bend the brass stem to your desired angle for wall or deck installation. Install the stem into the case. Strap your artifact to the plexiglas plate using our Poly Strap. Slip the entire assembly onto the installed brass stem. 

U-Clips and brass stems are sold in sets of four.

For assembly, you’ll need plexiglas solvent-weld glue (available at amazon.com and elsewhere).

You'll need this screwdriver handle and your choice of driver bits to fasten and unfasten our security head screws. The driver handle comes "empty",  without a driver bit so be sure to also order whichever bit matches your screws.

The No. 6 Spanner Bit is for No. 6 wood screws and No. 6-32 machine screws.

The No. 8 Spanner Bit for No. 8 wood screws.

The Pin-head Phillips Bit fits all the pin-head Phillips screws.

Short brass straps countersunk on opposite sides for securing framed works of art to the wall. Straps are screwed to the back of picture frames using No. 6 wood screws so as to leave the opposite ends of the strap exposed at the edge of the frames. When hanging your pictures, screw the exposed end of strap to the wall with a security screw. Paint-out the brass to blend with the wall color or leave exposed, as you wish. Made in Rosemont, N.J.

Sold in packs of a dozen.

For delicate placements, getting threads out of the way, pulling splinters, etc. Stainless steel with a fine serrated point and serrated finger grip area. 4-1/2" long, opens wide to 5/8".

We're no longer able to carry this item but we kept it here to remind you of its use, to hope you have one or can get one and because we love the drawing!

To clean burrs from the edges of holes drilled in brass, or to remove flash from the inside of sawn tubing. Also a must for making a hole just a wee bit bigger. Tapered for holes from 1/8" to 1/2" diameter.

Indispensable when you need to know the size of the brass you're working with. The sliding action, since brass is a "self-lubricating" metal, just gets better with time.  
Divided into 16ths and mm, opens to 3.149"/ 80mm . 
Made in Germany.

Measurement underlies all installation and mountmaking work.  This rugged Stanley retractable rule has a broad, yellow ruler surface, graduated in feet and inches on one edge and in centimeters on the other.  You'll need them both.  Overall length is 10'/3m.

We're very happy to announce that the forming pliers are back! Here's our old favorite back, fresh off the boat from Germany, with jaws shaped to our specifications. One jaw is flat, one is round. We use them all the time to make either sharply angled or curved bends, as needed. Made of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles. 5-1/8" long.

The chain nose plier has short round jaws which are good for making a range of angled bends. They are made of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles. 5-1/8" long.

These knives combine stiffness and sharpness, making them particularly useful for cutting shapes in Ethafoam. The square point knives are good for straight lines, while the pottery knife lends itself to making curved shapes. The sharpness of the blades on these knives permits you to cut fine, detailed shavings from Ethafoam blocks.

For best results, sharpen frequently during use - we recommend either our handy Knife Sharpener or Diamond Hone, below.

An essential companion to the foam knives or any knife!  Keeps them sharp.  Use it dry, without oil.  It sharpens very fast.  Made of industrial diamonds set into a plastic matrix, it comes with a protective leather sheath.

Ah, my personal favorite on the job site. This way I don't get stuck with a Phillips when I need a slotted and visa-versa. These well made screwdrivers come with interchangeable Phillips head tips (large & small) and slotted tips (large & small) stored in the metal shaft in the red handle.

This one is a personal favorite around the office. Same great quality as the big guys, this little one tops out at 4-3/4" long with one slotted bit and one Phillips head bit. And it comes with a nifty clip for your pocket. Great for mountmaking and for tight places. Get two: one for your toolbox and one for a friend. (They'll be taking yours all the time anyway!)

A hard, fine point for scribing and marking out lines on brass, stainless steel, plexiglas, etc. Comes with four spare points stored under the cap.

We use these gauges to size the brass stem of the mount before we drill into the case for installation. For a tight fit, choose a drill bit one size smaller than the stem diameter; for an easy fit, choose the same size.