So here’s one from the “Couldn’t make it up if I tried” Department—and yet another reason why a tool pouch without a Hyde multi-tool in it is an invitation to work harder than necessary.
While on set at Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s Knoxville, TN project working with the show’s project management team I had to tool up to get some decks built. And, despite the fact cranes are flying in trusses, bulldozers are leveling earth, and giant 4-wheel drive forklifts are lumbering through muddy earth doing big time work, some tools—especially small ones that solve big problems—can be hard to find. The framers, plumbers, electricians and so on have their full-kits—but they are rocking full-tilt boogie and are using what they brought. Which means the small detail of a fully outfitted tool pouch is a game changer for getting a the house built for the family.
So, for as many nails as we pounded (yes, pounded: framing nailers and nails were at a premium too), screws driven, and holes dug a multi-tool saved the day one night (in EMHE’s round-the-clock-build schedule it’s so well lit it’s easy to miss the change from day to night). Mortar had squeezed out from the stone veneer that was set above the decks we were building; until it is was scraped out it obstructed setting the deck board properly. Hello multi-tool. I used the Hyde 06995, MaxxGrip 8-in-1. Nice.
At Extreme Makeover, just like a project at home, one of my goals is to finish the job with as few trips away from the work to toolbox, store, or truck—the distinction at EMHE is that you can’t really leave the site so options are limited and the pressure is on. Having my multi-tool with me is a sure bet that I can save trips and still move forward. Can’t make it up.
