When
Jim Turnbaugh first got his plumbing license, he was
dispatched to a local daycare center to fix a clogged toilet.
“I couldn’t get
whatever was down there out,” he says. “I had to take it outside and turn it on
its side. It turns out one of the children didn’t like their strawberries and
flushed whole ones down the toilet.”
Now take a
guess at what’s the most common foreign object that causes toilet clogs today?
The folks at
DeWalt
revealed during their
12V MAX* Launch Event at Black & Decker
University in suburban Baltimore that the winner was a Matchbox car
(I preferred to smash mine with a sledge hammer and bend off the doors).
Turnbaugh,
owner of JE Turnbaugh Plumbing & Heating in Westminster, Md., adds GI Joe
action figures and Transformer action figures rank right up there as well.
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| Jim Turnbaugh, owner of JE Turnbaugh Plumbing
& Heating |
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So it’s makes perfect sense
Turnbaugh was on hand at the 12-volt event to talk about the benefits of some
of the seven tool products in the new lithium ion cordless line. Turnbaugh was
one of numerous professionals that field-tested the new tools for DeWalt.
Turnbaugh notes
of the seven tools (there are also two combo kits), he uses the
screwdriver (with 3 LED lights) the most and is extremely
fond of the
work light (130 Lumen LED light), which features a magnet
(for hanging nearby the work area to free up an extra hand) and a belt clip.
The flashlight was also a major hit among trade media members.
I enjoyed
IR Thermometer the most (one of the lights measured over 250
degrees F in the BDU product shop when I pointed it at it). Did you know a
glass of ice-cold Diet Coke is about 37 degrees (or at least that’s what it
told me)?
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| Seven new tools comprise the 12 Volt Max* lithium ion
cordless system. |
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DeWalt’s new
inspection camera (which includes a detachable monitor) is
something Turnbaugh wishes he had when he was tasked with removing those
strawberries back in the day.
Turnbaugh is
also impressed with the design of the tools in the line, many of which feature rubber
guards on the side so the tool can be laid down without scratching or damaging
surfaces.
“The last thing
a customer wants to see in a new $80,000 kitchen is tools being laid on the
counter top,” Turnbaugh states. “Keeping customers happy is what keeps me in
business.”
The reason I’m
writing about Turnbaugh is he represents what made a lasting impression on me
when I left BDU in the 99-degree Baltimore summer heat.
|
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| PM Senior Editor
Mike Miazga tries out one of the new DeWalt 12 Volt Max* tools (and later
touches the hot screw). |
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Not only did trade media members get
to learn about and test out these new tools (Tip from the king of nonmechanical
people: Never touch a screw right after it’s been driven in and extracted back
out at high velocities — it’s going to be quite hot), but we got to learn about
the process that went into creating the tools.
And the one
thing that impressed me the most was the massive amount of time and energy
DeWalt puts into reaching out to the actual users of their products to see what
they do and don’t like about a particular tool or what their jobsite needs
typically are.
The end result
was an impressive new
line of 12-volt tools that will make the future removal of
whole strawberries from a toilet much easier.
