In this Episode of The Handyguys Podcast we announce the winner of our toolkit contest and discuss some innovative products from Magnogrip, CarMD and PermaFLOW.

Winner

Congrats Andrew. Your toolkit is in the mail. We had a lot of awesome entries so it was difficult to pick our winner. You can read Andrews winning entry here. This duct tape Tie idea put him over the top and it is much cheaper then a Brooks Brothers classic tie. We are going to produce a future podcast that reviews all the great “valid” duct tape submissions. Thanks to True Value for picking up the tab on the toolkit!

Innovative Products

We often get requests to review products on the show. We only want to discuss stuff we think brings value to the listeners of the show without all the unneeded junk. We turn away many product pushers. If we do receive a product to review and it turns out to be junk we absolutely will not discuss it in a positive light during the show.  In fact we try not to even receive products that look like a waste of time.  However, this year we picked three items to discuss. You can decide if they make appropriate Christmas gifts for the Handyguy in your life.

Magnogrip

Magnogrip makes toolbelts, belt clips, wrist bands and other products with magnets built in. Why magnets? When you are working on a project and you have lots of little parts such as screws, nuts, and bolts, you can stick them to the magnets to prevent you from losing them.  Instead of having to continually dig through pockets, they will be handy for when you need them!

Check them out in the Handyguys Amazon Store

• Carpenters tool belt
• Builders tool belt
• Wrist band

CarMD

The Handyguys haven’t talked much about car maintenance. There is only so much information we can cram into our brains. When we look at car problems we want to make diagnosis as easy as possible. When CarMD asked us to check out their diagnostic computer we were intrigued. This product is extremely easy to use.

What does it do? It plugs into your 1996 or newer vehicle and reads the vehicles on-board computer. The computer in your vehicle stores information about what those idiot lights on the dashboard represent. There are a lot of devices on the market to read your computer. Some vehicles you can actually go through a process where your vehicle can blink a series of lights on your dash to tell you what the trouble is. An old reader Brian has gives you a cryptic code you need to look up in a book.

The CarMD plugs in, reads the computer then connects to your home computer, or laptop, via a supplied USB cable. This connection will then synchronize your vehicles details with the CarMD website. On the website you can see details of your vehicle, what may be wrong, etc. You can also then pull up safety recall information or purchase Technical Service Bulletins. You can buy these directly from CarMD.

PermaFLOW

The PermaFLOW is a clear plastic P-Trap for under your sinks and includes a knob to push away any clogs.  We were a little skeptical about this product at first but it works as advertised. If you are handy you may ask yourself why not just disconnect the trap or snake a clog. Well, not everyone is handy. Install something like this for someone who has a p-trap that clogs often and cant, or doesn’t want to, go to the trouble of unclogging the drain themselves. No more harsh chemical drain cleaners if the clog is in the trap. The clear plastic makes it easy to figure where the problem is too. You can pick one of these up at The Handyguys Store.

Disclosure

The Handyguys discuss some innovative tools and interview a tool inventor.

This show features some innovative tools. You may want to consider them for Christmas gifts for the handy person on your gift giving list.

First off, check out our Handyguys Stocking Stuffer List

Then we interview the “Handsome Handyman”

Jake Tyson, he goes by “The Handsome Handyman”. Jake tells us  how he invented a new hammer and started a tool company,  Redback Tools. Jake started with the Hammer which has a unique curved shaft and a nice grip. The curved shaft doesn’t effect the balance yet allows for hammering in odd spots. The grip, in conjunction with he unique shaft, makes for a very comfortable hammer to use. The Hammer comes in three sizes, 24oz, 20oz and 16oz. Jake also has a few other unique variations of some common tools. The Sketch Tape – This is a tape measure with a writable and erasable surface. No more writing measurements on scrap pieces of lumber. The Maxi S5 screwdriver – This screwdriver is able to handle multiple size Phillips screws with one screwdriver. No need to have three screwdrivers in your toolkit or a screwdriver with detachable bits that can get lost. Jake has a few other tools on his site. Check them out. You can order online or pick them up at your local Lowes.