TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And we are broadcasting today from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. And this is the biggest home improvement industry event of the year, because it’s where manufacturers roll out their new products for the season. Kind of like a fashion show for home improvement.
LESLIE: Oh. And everybody is sporting their absolute best so we can really see what’s going on.
We’re located here at a space called the Ultimate Backyard. And this is where outdoor-living products are being featured by over 300 exhibitors, in addition to 2,500 more that are inside the halls of this truly gigantic convention center. And this is where many of the newest and hottest home improvement industry products are unveiled for the first time, well before they hit store shelves near you.
TOM: Well, that’s right. And normally, you wouldn’t know about this stuff until you find it in the home centers and hardware stores. But today, we’re going to give you a sneak peek at all the show has to offer, so we’re kind of your eyes and your ears.
LESLIE: Yeah. It’s kind of like the Disney World of home improvement. There’s 2,800-plus exhibitors, 500-plus new exhibitors along with 110 even more inventors covering 15-plus product categories, including everything from hardware to homewares to smart-home products and so much more. I mean there is a ton happening and it’s a lot of fun.
TOM: And we’re also taking this opportunity to launch The Money Pit’s Power Your Summer Sweepstakes. We’re giving away the Cat INV2000 Portable Inverter Generator worth $749.99. And it’s great for everything from tailgating to the job site. You can enter today at MoneyPit.com.
LESLIE: But to kick it off, we’re going to start this hour talking about the relaunch of three iconic American tool brands: Pony, Jorgensen and Goldblatt under the leadership of a fourth, Arrow Fastener.
TOM: And with us to talk about that is Bill Sokol, Vice President of Arrow Fastener.
And Bill, this is really a medley of four brands that have been helping DIYers and pros alike build for, got to be, over 80, 85 years now, right?
BILL: Yeah, it’s actually longer than that.
TOM: Wow.
BILL: Goldblatt goes all the way back to 1885.
TOM: Wow. That’s fantastic.
BILL: Yeah.
TOM: So, how did it come to be that Arrow Fastener is now helping to relaunch these amazing brands?
BILL: Well, Arrow was purchased last year by a company called GreatStar.
TOM: OK.
BILL: And GreatStar, actually, owns the Goldblatt and the Pony and Jorgensen brands. So, because of the success that Arrow has had in the U.S. market – curating that brand and growing the brand for consumers and DIYers – we were given the task of actually relaunching these brands into the U.S. marketplace.
TOM: Well, that’s great. Now, what has the reception been from the marketplace on seeing these brands sort of getting the visibility that they really needed?
BILL: Yeah, it’s been really great. Pony and Jorgensen have been out of the market for a couple of years and there’s a lot of demand for them to come back. We’re asked all the time by people that – “Man, I love those clamping products, you know? And I’ve got this one or I’ve got that one. And when am I going to be able to get it again?” So there’s a lot of excitement out there amongst both our trade partners and also consumers who reach out to us.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Well, the maker’s movement is so big right now. So you’re seeing so many people who are wanting to craft things by hand and truly learn more about woodworking. And that’s where these tools really come in handy.
BILL: Yeah, absolutely. They’ve been a fixture – the Pony and Jorgensen brands have been a fixture – in woodworking shops since 1903.
TOM: Yeah. And in fact, I know that I’ve shared the story with you but I don’t know if I did with you, Leslie. When I heard about Bill’s taking over these brands, I shared with him a research project that was handed to me about 30 years later, after leaving college, by my professor. He’d had it in a file cabinet. He found it out, right, and it was a book that I’d done, when I was in college, on the clamping of wood. And in that book were photos of me – I must have been 19, 20 years old – using Pony and Jorgensen clamps.
LESLIE: That’s fantastic.
BILL: Yeah.
LESLIE: And Tom is not even 100 years (inaudible).
TOM: I know, right? Yeah. So that’s how long I’ve been using these products. But I always thought that they were products that were more aimed at woodworkers. But now, we’re seeing the availability – we’re seeing more and more DIYers that are doing this. And they’re just a fantastic line of products to be able to do what you need to to clamp something together.
BILL: Yeah, absolutely. And we make everything from really specialized, like parallel bar clamps, down to a spring clamp or a C-clamp that just about anybody would have in their garage.
TOM: Right.
BILL: So we can meet any kind of clamping need that people might have.
TOM: Now, from our perspective, you guys are still innovating out there. You’ve got a lot of new products that you brought out this year but your most well-known, famous product is the T50, the staple gun.
BILL: Absolutely correct. It’s the best-known staple gun in the world. It’s still the number-one seller in the U.S.
TOM: And made in America.
BILL: It is, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
TOM: Right. Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
BILL: Yeah.
TOM: Right in our home turf. We’ve been there.
LESLIE: That’s really amazing. And I think what’s so exciting is that in this sort of rejuvenation of these brands, GreatStar is seeing the value of what their history is but truly looking towards the future and keeping them relevant and keeping them in current needs of what the woodworkers are using them for.
BILL: Yeah, that’s really the key. These are really great heritage brands that have been in America for a long time. They’ve got great stories. Goldblatt was started by a Russian immigrant in 1885, in Kansas City. As the American West was booming, he built his product and his business to actually help build the westward expansion.
And the Pony and Jorgensen brands were started by a Danish cabinet maker and an opera singer. So, it’s really hard to believe but true.
LESLIE: Crazy.
TOM: You can’t make this stuff up, man.
BILL: That company was run for 30 years by a woman before women even had the right to vote.
TOM: Wow.
BILL: Adele Holman started the company and she used to sign her business correspondence “A. Holman” so people wouldn’t know she was a woman.
TOM: That’s fantastic. Bill Sokol from Arrow Fastener, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit and filling us in on this great news with the relaunch of the three fantastic brands – Pony, Jorgensen and Goldblatt – under the leadership of Arrow Fastener.
Thanks, Bill.
BILL: Thank you, guys.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit coming to you from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. If you’d like to join the conversation, call in your home improvement or décor question 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to 888-MONEY-PIT presented by HomeAdvisor, where it’s easy to find top-rated, local home improvement pros for any home project.
TOM: Go to HomeAdvisor.com.
LESLIE: Well, whether you’re a professional contractor or just a professional tailgater, which we are definitely seeing a lot of here at the National Hardware Show, having a reliable source of portable power can come in very handy.
TOM: I like that.
LESLIE: The new Cat INV2000 Portable Inverter Generator does both.
TOM: And with us to talk about this latest innovation from Cat is Sean Stults.
And Sean, this is an expansion of a line of portable power products that can really help, I don’t know, run the appliances and the tools you need, keep the lights on in an emergency or even power your outdoor fine: your camping trip, your trips to the beach, your trips to the ballpark. You really thought of it all.
SEAN: Yeah. This is a product, I think – we’ve seen it from a college ballpark to, like you said, a tailgate or any other venue that you can utilize something and carry it right in and not have to worry about getting big – lugging stuff. And it’s just really a suitcase. You take it right in, yeah.
TOM: Yeah, it really is. And certainly, I think the important part is the power you have packed into this: 2,250 watts of start-up power.
SEAN: Yeah.
TOM: And that’s a lot of juice.
SEAN: It is, you know. And we even had the opportunity to parallel two together to get double the juice if we really need it, in the case we need an RV or something to run. It’s great.
TOM: Yeah. Well, by way of an example, I was testing this product at home. And I have a 10-inch Milwaukee circular saw, which is a monster tool.
SEAN: Yeah?
TOM: And it cut timbers with it.
LESLIE: That’s like a really rapid power draw right from the start.
TOM: Right. A big draw in the beginning. No problem. It automatically revved up the power we needed and just chugged right along.
SEAN: Absolutely. Like you said, from the prosumer to the tailgater, it’s great.
LESLIE: Now, I think it’s – one of the best features, especially for a tailgater who might not be a pro user, is the ease of operation. Tell us about that because, for me, I’m always afraid to start things up like that. And to know that it’s so simple to do is hugely helpful.
SEAN: Yeah, the ease of use is simple as, like you said, carrying it right in. But starting it’s very simple. It only takes a gallon of gas. This thing runs for six hours.
TOM: On a gallon. One gallon.
LESLIE: On a gallon?
SEAN: On a gallon of gas. It’s awesome.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: That’s huge.
SEAN: Yeah.
TOM: That’s so efficient.
SEAN: Yeah. And the starting is real simple on it. It’s a one-pull right out of the box. It’s great.
TOM: Yeah. I mean it’s like three steps, right?
SEAN: Yep. It’s right.
TOM: Yeah.
SEAN: You turn it over to the choke, turn it back to run. As you pull it, you’re good to go.
TOM: And you’re good to go.
SEAN: Yeah.
TOM: And talk about the way the technology – that basically makes it ramp up the amount of power you need based on whether you’re plugging in an iPhone or plugging in a big circ saw.
SEAN: Yeah. So, what we have is – your current utility in your home is about three-percent harmonic distortion. This has less than three-percent harmonic distortion.
TOM: Because people worry about the sensitivity of electronic devices, like those phones.
LESLIE: Well, you have to.
TOM: Yeah.
SEAN: Yeah. Everything’s a smart device these days.
TOM: Right.
SEAN: You’ve got a smartphone, you’ve got an iPad, a tablet or whatever it is. This you can plug directly into it. A typical, portable generator you cannot do that; it does not have the clean power that you’re asking for. And that’s what we’re offering with the INV2000.
TOM: And then how, again, does it ramp up the power to know how much juice it needs? What’s that process of – because I notice that it’s very, very quiet.
SEAN: Right.
TOM: You can hardly hear it going. Then if you put …
LESLIE: And that’s hugely important.
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: Because generators can tend to be so loud.
TOM: And annoying.
LESLIE: And annoying.
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: And especially if you were marketing to take to a tailgate or take to a very public place, you want to keep that noise down.
TOM: And that’s one of the reasons that, sometimes, some places a generator is just not allowed, because they don’t want them to disturb the peace.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. They’re so noisy.
TOM: And before I – before you answer that question about how you adjust the power, there was one stat that was interesting to me that – and I didn’t know this, Leslie. The National Park Service has a standard for noise, so that if you’re in a campsite – one of the National Park Service’s campsites – you can’t have noise beyond a certain level. And this generator is well beyond – well under that.
SEAN: Well under that.
TOM: Yeah.
SEAN: Yeah, you’re right. It’s about 70 decibels.
TOM: Yeah.
SEAN: And our generator will run, like you said, well below that: 58 decibels at starting. So, that’s really good.
LESLIE: That’s very quiet.
SEAN: Yeah, very quiet.
LESLIE: What about maintenance, you know? Is there anything to do to take care of it to ensure that we get a long life out of it?
SEAN: Yeah. So, this thing runs with a computer. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that a big, portable generator – because it doesn’t need them.
TOM: Right.
SEAN: That’s the ease of the use of this and the way that it actually ramps up the power. Changing the oil is pretty typical. And the spark plug, we make it very simple for it. We make doors that come right off and you can do it right there in front of it, so …
TOM: And you’ve got that smart-engine control that ramps up the power to exactly where you need it. And the best news is you’ve given us an INV2000 for the grand prize of our Power Your Summer Sweepstakes launching, right now, on MoneyPit.com.
SEAN: That’s right.
TOM: So, this product’s worth 750 bucks. It’s going to go out to …
LESLIE: Could be yours for free.
TOM: Could be yours. So, enter today, at MoneyPit.com, the Power Your Summer Sweepstakes.
Sean Stults from Cat, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
SEAN: Thank you very much.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit broadcasting from the stage at the Ultimate Backyard of the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.
TOM: And if you’d like to see what we see while covering the show, all you need to do is follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, #NHShow.
Still to come, are you getting your outdoor furniture ready for the summer season ahead but notice that it looks a little worse for wear? We’re going to highlight a new product that could strip away all of that mildew and mess and tree droppings and more, in just minutes. That’s all coming up, next.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show broadcasting from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. We’re thrilled to be here checking out the best of the best of home improvement products hitting the market.
LESLIE: Well, now that spring is in full swing and summer is just a couple of weeks away, we hope that you enjoy a beautiful, healthy green lawn. But if you’re seeing weeds instead, there is a solution that’s organic, safe for people and pets and can be used wherever unwanted grasses and weeds are growing. It’s called the BurnOut Weed and Grass Killer and it’s made by Bonide.
TOM: That’s right. The BurnOut Weed and Grass Killer is a fast-acting, all-natural formula that delivers results in less than 24 hours. You can use it to eliminate weeds growing in flower beds, vegetable gardens, sidewalks, patios and other areas around your home.
LESLIE: You can find all-organic BurnOut Weed and Grass Killer at your local garden center, hardware store or farm-and-feed retailer.
TOM: Or go to Bonide.com where you can also find great resources and answers to questions about lawn-and-garden care. That’s Bonide – B-o-n-i-d-e – .com. And remember, Bonide products are family-made in America.
Coming to you from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where we’re surrounded by over 2,800 manufacturers launching hundreds of new products. And one of the brands we followed over the years is Summit Brands. And now they’re out with a new addition to their Plink line of appliance cleaners that covers both washers and dishwashers.
LESLIE: That’s right. The Plink Washer and Dishwasher Freshener and Cleaner is an innovative product specially formulated to easily and effectively freshen and clean any washing machine or dishwasher. With us to talk about that is Tony Cronk of Summit Brands.
Welcome, Tony.
TONY: Thank you for having me, both Leslie, Tom.
TOM: The one thing I like about your products is you really make it easy. I mean it’s not easier than popping these things in the machines and letting them do the work.
TONY: Yes, that’s the premise of Plink, especially. The brand’s built on fast, easy, fresh and fun. The idea is to make it simple for the homeowner to be able to solve their problem as easily and it’s a value – or as cost-effectively as possible.
LESLIE: And I think that’s a lot of – you know, a good point there: making cleaning fun. Because a lot of times, people don’t want to clean and certainly don’t think of it as fun. So if you can make it fun, I’m all in.
TOM: And if you can do it fast, even better yet.
LESLIE: Right.
TONY: That’s right.
TOM: Well, odor in appliances is a big problem and it’s one that kind of sneaks up on people. They don’t think about it when they’re buying the appliances. They don’t think about it while they’re using their appliances. But when they smell it, they think about it a lot and you have a lot – a really hard time getting rid of those odors.
LESLIE: Right.
TOM: So we think about the odors that form in the dishwashers and the washing machines, the whole issue of the bacteria that gets behind the seals of the doors and that sort of thing, places you can’t clean even if you wanted to. And that’s kind of …
LESLIE: And you don’t first think about cleaning those places, as well.
TOM: Until you smell it, right? And then it’s awful. And that’s a sweet spot for Plink. It gets right in there and does the job and takes that odor away.
TONY: Yes, it does. It makes it very simple.
The product was developed with the key problem being odor control. A lot of – there’s a lot of products out there on the market that try to solve the odor issue but they don’t do it effectively.
TOM: Right.
TONY: We used a patented fragrance technology that yes, it’ll clean the appliance – both the washer and the dishwasher – and then afterward leaves a very nice, pleasant fragrance behind that stays for up to five days.
TOM: So you – the formula is made to freshen and clean pretty much any washing machine or dishwasher? Does it matter whether it’s top-load or front-load or anything like that?
TONY: Does not matter, although it’s very highly effective on the front-loading washing machine.
TOM: I bet.
LESLIE: And that tends to be a big problem.
TOM: That’s the one that has the odor issue, more than anything else, because of the seal.
TONY: That’s right.
TOM: You don’t really have to have a seal on a top-load because gravity being what it is, it doesn’t want to get up that high, right? But that moisture just lays around that seal and it mixes with the dirt, right, and the bacteria kind of forms. And that’s what really causes the odor; it’s the bacteria.
TONY: And the detergent. If it has any (inaudible) it does that.
TOM: Oh, that’s a good point.
TOM: It’ll hold the mildew or those kinds of pieces right there along that door seal. And this product really gets in there and takes care of that.
TOM: How often should you be using a cleaning product like this?
TONY: Well, we always like to say, regularly, once a week to maintain. However, depending on the nature of your problem – if it’s a continuous problem or a bad problem – more frequently.
LESLIE: Now, do you find that since, generally, with the appliances it’s the seal, does having the seal compromised by being dirty or gunky in any way – does that affect the efficiency of the appliance itself?
TONY: The things that affect the efficiency, the machine, are the hard-water minerals that build up inside the drum on both the dishwasher and the washing machine. Those, combined with the detergents, can cause the jets to clog up, the ports, the cleaning mechanisms to not work effectively. So this is formulated to solve that problem.
TOM: Because if you have that crust that forms from the mineral deposits on those jets, on those ports, you’re not getting the velocity out of that water. You’re not getting power or the drainage.
LESLIE: Or the proper drainage.
TOM: So that means it stays wetter longer or there’s not enough water even to blast out what it could on its own, right?
TONY: That’s correct. What you end up seeing is you might have cups or things on the top shelf that have residue in them or bits of food.
TOM: Right.
TONY: You might get a white cloudiness on your glassware. And usually, that’s a sign that your dishwasher needs to be cleaned.
LESLIE: Well, it’s funny because I guess people think it’s your washing machine and your dishwasher and everything’s getting cleaned in there. “So why do I need to clean it?”
TOM: Yeah. “Why do I have to clean the cleaner?” Yeah, yeah.
LESLIE: But you do.
TOM: But you do, exactly. Because it doesn’t get to those spots. Plus, the soaps and the – that you’re using in those machines aren’t really designed to clean the machines themselves. That’s a different science; there’s a different chemistry to it, right?
TONY: That’s absolutely correct, Tom. Thanks for mentioning that.
TOM: Yeah, yeah.
So, we’re talking to Tony Cronk with Summit Brands about Plink.
And you also have another brand that we’ve used for years now. I know that our family really loves it. It’s Glisten. And you have a lot of products that are in this space. You’ve got a dishwasher cleaner where you pop open this little bottle and stick it in the rack and shut the door and you’re good to go, as well as many others. Give us some highlights on Glisten.
TONY: You’re mentioning Glisten. Yes, that’s our machine-cleaning expert line. It’s a heavy-duty line of cleaning products for appliances around the house: garbage disposals, dishwashers, washing machines.
So what makes that different than Plink? Well, we focus on a heavy-duty clean. So if you’ve got a bad problem, folks that have hard water, rust, lime calcium, you need a punch to get in there and really knock that stuff out.
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: They really do have a bad problem when they have that situation.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. Yep.
TONY: And that’s what those products are focused on providing for the consumer.
TOM: Yeah. And that really helps the maintenance of those machines, as well. It’s so important to keep them running cleanly.
TONY: Yes, absolutely.
TOM: So let’s talk about an appliance that we kind of expect to get dirty: the garbage disposer. You guys – I know Plink has a product that is like a little pebble you drop right in there and scrubs that clean. There’s all sorts of old wives’ tales around that, too, like ice cubes and putting them there and that sort of thing. But we don’t need that.
TONY: Lemon peels.
TOM: Lemon peels. But Plink does a great job.
TONY: Yes. Plink, again, back with that fast, easy, fresh and fun type approach. You get 10 little balls that – they actually look like paintballs.
TOM: Yeah.
TONY: You drop them down the sink. They have a super-potent fragrance technology built into them. So, it freshens that machine or the disposer immediately, takes away all those bad odors. And people love it kind of as a daily use, especially if – common problem.
TOM: Yeah.
TONY: And it’s such a good value when you get 10 of them with the purchase that people put them in by the handfuls.
TOM: Wow.
LESLIE: That’s so funny. And you think about it, with the disposers, you get so much sort of gross things that you’re putting down there. And they really can tend to be very stinky, so you have to take care of it.
TOM: Plink, very effective. Glisten just as well. Machine-cleaning experts all made by Summit Brands under the guidance of Tony Cronk.
Tony, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit. You guys are the cleaning experts and we so appreciate your advice.
TONY: Thanks for having me on, Tom and Leslie.
LESLIE: Thanks.
TOM: And we’d love for you to join the conversation, so call in your home improvement or décor question now to 888-MONEY-PIT presented by HomeAdvisor. They really have the best local pros for any home service.
LESLIE: That’s right. It doesn’t matter what that project is, they make it fast and easy to find top-rated home pros.
TOM: And there’s no membership fees. It’s 100-percent free to use. Go to HomeAdvisor.com.
LESLIE: We’ll be back with more from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, after this.
TOM: Where home solutions live, this is The Money Pit.
Well, one of the most popular repair products in any toolbox is simply duct tape. But while it has its uses, duct tape is not a great choice when strong holding power is really needed.
LESLIE: That’s right. But T-Rex Tape, on the other hand, is designed for those occasions when intense holding power is needed. No matter what application you’re using it in, from a simple patch to wrapping torn things or broken tool handles, the utility and strength of T-Rex Tape really do make it an essential addition to any toolbox.
TOM: And now, T-Rex is launching a new product called T-Rex Brute Force. And it can actually hold up to 700 pounds. Isn’t that crazy?
LESLIE: That’s huge.
TOM: Seven hundred pounds. With us to talk about that product is Stephen Wagner, the product marketer for ShurTech, the manufacturer of T-Rex Brand.
And Steve, are folks really trusting 700 pounds of weight to tape?
STEPHEN: Well, that’s what we’re showing them here at the Hardware Show.
TOM: OK.
STEPHEN: We have a demonstration where we actually loop one strip of tape around a big steel bar and then to the weight.
TOM: Wow, 700 pounds.
STEPHEN: Lift it up. We’ve been doing it over and over again. It’s pretty amazing. And it’s just a demonstration of what you can do with this new – basically, it’s a duct tape.
TOM: Well, I’ve been using the previous T-Rex Tape, the basic tape. I don’t know what you call this.
STEPHEN: Just T-Rex Tape, yeah.
TOM: Just T-Rex, OK?
STEPHEN: That’s right.
LESLIE: Just T-Rex.
TOM: So, I actually had to do a repair to a car-top carrier, a turtle. And we had to put some new holes in it, new brackets. It had half-a-dozen holes, water was getting up in there. I had put tape on it before but it fell right off. Put the T-Rex on it, went through some storms, no problems. Stayed put, kept all the water out. So it was a good application for it.
And I remember we were also playing with this in the studio, where we were picking up concrete blocks. And that was with the original T-Rex. And now, I’m not strong enough to pick up 700 pounds.
STEPHEN: Neither am I. That’s why we have the big gantry rig and a hoist lift.
TOM: Yeah.
STEPHEN: But that’s a perfect example of what regular T-Rex tape will do for you.
TOM: It’s good for it, right?
STEPHEN: It’s a repair.
TOM: Yep.
STEPHEN: This tape, Brute Force, is actually an engineered solution. You can do more with a tape than you have ever been able to do before, because of that immense strength.
TOM: I bet it’s a good product to have on hand in an emergency, right?
STEPHEN: That’s absolutely right, yeah.
TOM: If you’re a firefighter or rescue person …
STEPHEN: We’re still enjoying – because this is a new development. We’re just launching it here at the Hardware Show.
TOM: Right.
STEPHEN: We’re still really having fun finding the limits of the product. We’re just looping the tape once in our demonstration, holding 700 pounds. We don’t have enough weight to loop it twice.
TOM: And everybody loops tape a couple of times, just because that’s just how we’ve grown up to do it, right?
STEPHEN: Exactly. Yep. So now you can do what you can do with a whole case of tape, with this one roll of Brute Force.
TOM: Right.
STEPHEN: That’s right.
LESLIE: But can you still rip it apart with your hands?
STEPHEN: No, you can’t tear it with your hands. That’s one of the things we conceded.
TOM: Ah, it’s a good question. Good question. So it has to be …
STEPHEN: So you’re going to need a knife. But we know that a lot of people that are doing these big projects are good about keeping a knife around with them, yep.
TOM: Do use a knife. Yep. Exactly. Yeah.
So, I guess you also had to beef up the adhesive, as well, because that’s part of the formula.
STEPHEN: Yep. That’s right.
TOM: Not only is this the tape and the layers that go into making that tape but the adhesive is key.
STEPHEN: So, one of the things – when we developed the tape, we really wanted to just take our T-Rex Tape and make it better. So we started with that scrim, to give it that amazing strength.
TOM: Right.
STEPHEN: And we used something called Forge Link Technology, where we actually – in the direction that you pull the tape off the roll, we run this new material called Forge Link. And because it’s so strong, usually a tape would break before the adhesive breaks. But now, we’re actually stronger than the adhesive, so we had to redo our adhesive to give it better shear strength.
LESLIE: To match the tape.
TOM: To match it.
STEPHEN: That’s right, exactly.
TOM: Right. Yeah.
STEPHEN: So it’s really – it’s been a fun engineering project for all the guys making this tape. Nice shout-out to our Shurtape team down there in Hickory.
TOM: Yeah. What happens in damp locations?
STEPHEN: In damp locations, you’re going to want the material to generally be dry and clean.
TOM: OK.
STEPHEN: But if you stick the tape to itself, you’re going to get some excellent holding power.
TOM: And if it gets wet after that, no big deal.
STEPHEN: Absolute.
TOM: Yeah.
STEPHEN: Because it’s still waterproof backing with UV inhibitors in the adhesive. So it’s a great, excellent, all-weather tape, as well.
TOM: Well, if you’ve got tried T-Rex Tape and now the T-Rex Brute Force Tape, you’ve got to check it out. Their website is TRexTape.com. It’s available everywhere. I highly recommend it. It’s been a great product to have in our house and in our toolbox, as well.
Stephen Wagner from ShurTech Brands, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
STEPHEN: Hey, thanks for having us, guys.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit coming to you today from the Ultimate Backyard for home improvers, the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join the conversation. Call in your questions to 888-MONEY-PIT presented by HomeAdvisor. Find top-rated home service pros, compare prices and book appointments online, all for free.
TOM: Still ahead, do you want to create your own ultimate backyard on a budget? We’ll tell you how to achieve an upscale look without an upscale price, after this.
Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit coming to you from the Ultimate Backyard for home improvers, the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where we’re surrounded by every outdoor-living project imaginable, from fire pits to hammocks to furniture.
LESLIE: I mean really, you can find everything here.
Well, one thing that I really like about this show is the opportunity to find products that solve problems and just make things really a lot easier to get done.
TOM: Yep. To get done, yeah.
LESLIE: Have you ever tried to glue something only to find out that the glue you’ve picked up isn’t the glue that you need, because it’s not working with the materials you’ve got and things just aren’t compatible?
TOM: That’s really frustrating. And it’s a problem solved by K-CO Innovations, with the launch of their newest product, which is simply called Glu – G-l-u. With us to talk about that is David Kurrasch, President of K-CO Innovations.
Welcome, David.
DAVID: Good to see you guys.
TOM: Now, when I tell folks about this show, I’ve got to say that you are one of the success stories that I share. Because we’ve seen you over the years invent some very cool products that have become big successes. We’re talking about the Monkey Hook, probably the best-selling piece of picture-hanging hardware out there on the market, right?
DAVID: That’s been a real good product for us. It’s basically everywhere and it’s a simple, wire-formed hook that goes in with no tools. And it’s been real successful.
TOM: And then you have the Little Big Shot, which I love. I’ve got three of these because I’ve got three hoses around my house.
DAVID: Good man.
TOM: And this attachment delivers a stream of water 45 feet. It’s like you can’t even do that with a pressure washer. And it’s perfect because it doesn’t wear out.
DAVID: Yeah, it’s been a great product for us. We’ve been in the market with it for a few years now and it continues to increase in sales every year. It’s number one in one of the big boxes. And it’s just great because it’s very efficient with the water. It loses very little pressure when you use it and it provides a lot of force with water efficiency.
TOM: And then you’ve got the Johnny Jolter. And the Johnny Jolter is a plunger that basically can clear the worst clogs. And that’s something that people don’t like to think about but it happens.
LESLIE: No one wants to think about that.
TOM: And that actually led you to develop this new product called Glu. And I tell you what, it’s a real chemistry hassle to try to find the right glue to fix whatever is going on in your house. And you’ve actually come up with something that is very all-purpose and all-in-one. Talk about it.
DAVID: We needed a product – because the Johnny Jolter, as you mentioned, is a plunger that’s a different type of plunger. And it requires three different types of plastic parts to be fused together.
TOM: OK.
DAVID: One is Hytrel, one is PVC and one is ABS. So, this is the challenge of any gluing project, as Leslie pointed out: finding something that works on all surfaces.
Now, this product was designed and formulated exclusively for plastic to plastic. We discovered – and using it for Johnny Jolter, we had an issue in the warehouse where we had to glue something. We didn’t have anything else, so we realized this actually glues everything else: wood, stone. We tested it after we discovered this and started to say, “Why don’t we bring this to the consumer market?”
TOM: And isn’t that how so many products are – come to market or get (inaudible)?
LESLIE: It’s a happy accident.
TOM: It’s a happy accident. It’s a problem that you solve and go, “Now, wait a minute. This has got other applications.” And here we are with a product in a box, in a tube, that can really cover it all.
DAVID: I love the happy accidents.
TOM: Yeah.
DAVID: That’s exactly what this was. And so now we have this in a couple different sizes. It’s a – the bond time is about 30 seconds. And the other thing about …
LESLIE: Which is ridiculously fast. Because if you were in a jam and you break something, especially – it’s like a piece of china on a holiday or a kid’s toy.
DAVID: Yeah.
LESLIE: It’s like you’re bonding it, it’s adhering fast and it’s right back to its use.
DAVID: And it’s a solvent-free, 100-percent pure glue. Glues have solvents in them to enhance the drying time.
TOM: Yeah.
DAVID: So this is a solvent-free, pure glue that works on everything. We’re very excited about it.
TOM: And totally safe for the environment.
DAVID: Absolutely.
TOM: David Kurrasch, congratulations on your latest product, Glu. Available pretty much everywhere, right?
DAVID: Certainly on Amazon and we’re building retail distribution as we speak.
TOM: Well done. Thank you, David.
DAVID: Thank you so much.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit, on air and online at MoneyPit.com, coming to you from the Ultimate Backyard for home improvers, the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. We are surrounded by every outdoor-living product imaginable, from fire pits to hammocks, even furniture.
TOM: And we’re going to talk about that furniture right now with Jeff Polke, the co-owner of GCI Outdoor. They manufacture portable chairs, perfect for camping, tailgates and trips to the beach or pool.
Welcome, Jeff.
JEFF: How are you doing today?
TOM: You guys have packed a lot of innovation into a very portable, lightweight chair, haven’t you?
JEFF: Well, it’s kind of our thing, you know?
TOM: Yeah.
JEFF: We don’t want to be a standard chair that just kind of sits there, a little boring.
TOM: Want a chair with some action. So, how did GCI Outdoor actually get started?
JEFF: So, me and a childhood friend, Dan Grace – he’s the inventor of us two.
TOM: OK.
JEFF: I wouldn’t call him the smartest one of us, OK? So let’s not go there. But I’m kind of the sales/marketing guy.
TOM: Right.
JEFF: And he had a – was at a golf tournament one time and it started to rain. He was up on a hillside on that stadium golf seating that most of the tournaments have.
TOM: Yep.
JEFF: And he was getting a small case of wet ass and he’s like, “There’s got to be a chair for this, OK?” And he went home. He took a lawn chair, cut the back legs off of it, put it on his hatchway (ph) and was like, “Oh, my God, it’s nice and even on a hillside.”
TOM: Right.
JEFF: So that started everything.
TOM: There you go.
JEFF: So, we kept on asking, “There’s got to be a chair for this.” And over and over again, we kept on reinventing different type of stuff for that.
LESLIE: I mean that’s amazing. So you’re innovating as you’re seeing the needs.
JEFF: Yeah.
LESLIE: It’s like you’re constantly figuring it out.
JEFF: It’s pretty cool.
LESLIE: Now, would that be the company moment that you’re most proud of or has there been something even more special than that?
JEFF: Well, I would have to say that was one because we weren’t really partners then. Technically, we were friends and I was helping him out, because I – at the time.
TOM: I see. Right.
JEFF: So, our proudest moment probably came within the last three years. We invented a – we reinvented the rocker.
TOM: OK.
JEFF: A standard rocker is used off of deflection, OK? So, you basically – it’s going on the floor just like this. Now, if you look at ours, it has two shocks on the back. Now, the great thing about that is you don’t need deflection, which means you can use it on soft ground, you can use it on sand. You could be buried in water and still be rocking. It’s very, very cool.
And why we’re so proud of that is because everybody thinks of a rocking chair – “It’s on my grandmother’s porch. That’s kind of lame. Who wants that?”
TOM: Right. A lot of people do.
JEFF: Let me tell you, we’ve been selling tons and tons of them.
TOM: Yeah. Yeah.
JEFF: And we actually won an award here a few years back. We won a football for Best in Show. We were actually out here in this section and it’s just been gangbusters ever since.
LESLIE: That’s fantastic. You know, I have still – my son is five and I still have a rocker in his room.
JEFF: Yeah.
LESLIE: And it’s like sometimes we’ll sit down and we’ll read in there. And it – while gorgeously designed, the functionality of it is terrible. And I find that I’m constantly moving my foot and then I get a cramp in my shin, in my leg.
JEFF: Yeah, exactly.
LESLIE: And I’m like, “We can read somewhere else.”
TOM: Jeff Polke from GCI Outdoor, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
If you’d like to check out all the GCI products, head on over to their website at GCIOutdoor.com.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show coming to you from the 2018 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where we’ve gathered all of our favorite innovations in one very big backyard. Follow along online at #NHShow.
And you can join the conversation by calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT presented by HomeAdvisor, where it’s easy to find top-rated local home improvement pros for any home project. Go to HomeAdvisor.com.
Making good homes better, this is The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Wrapping up our broadcast at the 2018 National Hardware Show. There are a lot of great tool manufacturers out here. And over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a big shift from gas-powered equipment to battery-powered equipment. And it’s pretty clear that today, you get just about anything done with a battery that you once could with gas-powered equipment.
LESLIE: Hey, life is cordless these days.
TOM: It’s totally cordless. And one of the brands that’s been taking a leadership role in that is Poulan. With us to talk about that is Chad Winters from Poulan Pro.
Welcome, Chad.
CHAD: Good afternoon.
TOM: Hey, you guys have a lot of tools that are designed for pros and homeowners. And you’re rolling out some new battery products here that can run pretty much all those tools. And I like the fact that everything’s interchangeable.
CHAD: Yes. This is our launch of the Powerlink Series. This is a Poulan Pro consumer lineup of – full lineup – of battery-power product. Utilizes a 58-volt platform so we kind of get the benefits of the pack-and-a-half. There’s 36-volt platforms, there are 72-volt platforms that are really big and heavy.
TOM: Right.
CHAD: So the 58’s kind of a pack-and-a-half, so you get the benefits of the size and the weight, plus the performance that kind of equates to that homeowner gasoline equipment that most folks have in the garage or the shed now.
TOM: It’s really like you’re trying to hit the sweet spot in this power. Because you could go anywhere in terms of that number.
CHAD: Yes.
TOM: You guys are hitting 58 because you’ve identified that that’s where you need to be to serve the market.
CHAD: Yes. For this market.
TOM: And you give them (inaudible) and the use and usability of the product.
CHAD: Yes. That’s …
LESLIE: And I think yard and lawn care, all of that type of work out of doors, really makes the most sense to be cordless. You can go anywhere and you might not always have access to the power. So, cordless capabilities for the yard is fantastic.
TOM: Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. And because you want to go ahead and work in a yard that’s an acre deep, or something like that, without having to drag a generator out or plug something in and deal with the wires. And it used to be that you could do that with smaller tools but when it came to big stuff, you couldn’t. But I mean chainsaws, weed whackers, lawn mowers, everything is running off of batteries these days.
CHAD: Yeah. This is a complete line, so it includes a 21-inch push power, a chainsaw, a hedge trimmer, a line trimmer and both a handheld blower and backpack blower, depending on that size of property.
TOM: OK. Right.
CHAD: If you’ve got the larger end of it, then you may not want to hold it in your hand the whole time. We have a backpack configuration then.
LESLIE: And the batteries are all completely interchangeable across the entire line?
CHAD: There are two batteries in the set: the 2.6 and the 5.2 amp-hour batteries. But they are interchangeable within all the tools. The idea behind it is the battery for the chainsaw, the backpack blower and the walk mower, because those are a little bit – they’re under heavier load, they’re going to use more energy.
TOM: Right. Mm-hmm.
CHAD: We give you, in the bundle, the larger battery in the bundle. And so then hedge trimmer, line trimmer come with the 2.6. But at the end of the day, if you’ve got the mower, the line trimmer and a leaf blower, all the batteries can swap within and out each of the pieces of equipment. So you kind of get – you don’t have any excuse not to get the yardwork done, because you’ve got multiple batteries and multiple chargers and all of them are interchangeable.
LESLIE: Right. And I like that because a lot of times, when you see …
TOM: But sometimes I need an excuse to get my yardwork done.
LESLIE: You’re not getting it here.
But a lot of times you see, especially when there’s a single battery across a platform of tools or equipment – the manufacturer sort of holds those batteries and chargers sort of separate from you.
TOM: Right. Right. Right. Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: You have to buy those additionally and you’re kind of stuck maybe with one battery and then you’re waiting to charge it to get back to work.
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: I like that you’re giving everybody the opportunity to continue working by giving them a charger and a battery per every piece of equipment.
CHAD: Yeah. Well, for the target audience, that’s how they’re expecting the products to be sold. There are equipment out there that’s designed for pros that they expect to buy piecemeal.
TOM: Yep.
CHAD: But a homeowner expects to buy a box, take it home, open it up and have everything that they need.
TOM: It’s a great product. Chad Winters from Poulan Pro, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
If you’d like to check out the new line, go to their website at PoulanPro.com.
Thanks, Chad.
CHAD: Thank you.
TOM: This is The Money Pit coming to you, once again, from Las Vegas and the 2018 National Hardware Show. That wraps up this edition. You can follow along our coverage all online at MoneyPit.com.
I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.
END HOUR 2 TEXT
(Copyright 2018 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.)
