The Sure Hook 360 – A Customer Modified Design

Not too long ago, Rockler introduced the Sure Hook Tool-less Cabinet door hanger. A uniquely useful device for cabinet door finishers, the Sure Hook mounts in less than a second in the 35 millimeter cup hole used for the incredibly popular European style hinge. Because the Sure hook is able to support a cabinet door solely through contact with the only place on a that you don’t want finish – the cup hole – it leaves the cabinet door finisher free to spray the entire surface of the door - and even move the door from place to place - without ever having to touch the finished surface.

It was an exciting time. At the risk of sounding immodest, we knew it was a great idea, and as we’d guessed, the Sure Hook was greeted with enthusiasm, to say the least. Propelled in part by a modest price of around $4, they simply flew out the door.

However…

Along with a number of very positive comments, we began to notice a theme developing in customer reviews of the Sure Hook as it was originally designed:

“With this device I am now able to finish both sides of the door at one time. Quite a timesaver. I have even begun boring holes in my drawer fronts so I can hang them also. These holes are concealed after assembly so no problem with aesthetics. My only complaint or comment otherwise is that it would be great if the hook could swivel or at least was at 90 degrees to the current configuration. That would allow for closer nesting while the parts are drying.”

“Great idea…[but] The hangers don't allow doors to be hung on a pipe like clothes in a closet. The hook needs to be turned 90 degrees or at least 45 degrees in order for true space savings.”

“Nice product, but the non-swivel hook lacks flexibility.”

“Only complaint is the hook needs to be able to turn or be turned 90 degrees to allow closer spacing when doors are hung to dry.”

Focused as they were on the considerable benefits of being able to quickly and reliably hang a cabinet door and spray the entire surface in one shot, the Sure Hook’s designers apparently overlooked another important use for the device by giving it fixed-position hook: convenient, compact and touch-free drying of a large number of parts. Their answer: the new Sure Hook 360. Now you can have your Sure Hook and turn it too.

Submitted by MaryAnn, from Knox, NY

The new Sure Hook 360 still locks into a 35 mm hinge bore with one simple motion, giving you an easy, fast and reliable method for applying finish to the common cabinet door. And now, thanks to customer comments, it offers the considerable added benefit of letting you dry several doors in a small space. The Sure Hook 360 swivels so that you can hang the door for finishing in any orientation to the direction of the hook convenient for that process, and then swivel the device – again without touching the door – to a position that lets you store a stack of doors (as one reviewer put it) “like clothes hanging in a closet.”

This small design change, we think, makes the Sure Hook a much better tool. But the moral of the story is this: equipment design and development works best as a collaborative effort among as many people who actually use tools as possible. So, if you notice something that would make any of our tools or supplies more accurate, more efficient or easier to use, please let us know. If it makes as much sense as the Sure Hook design modification you requested, we’ll be happy to oblige.