Interchangeable screwdrivers boost home order
11.08.2008 03:00
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- Source: Home Envy
There's a basic truth I've learned about home maintenance that's as powerful as it is simple. The closer your tools are stored to the kitchen, the more home fix-ups actually happen. There's really no mystery in this. If it takes longer to trudge down to the basement or garage to tool-up for a task than it does to complete the job itself, you're much more likely to put off the work. And procrastination will always get you in the end. Every growing to-do list gets harder and harder to tackle as time goes on. Although I'm still lobbying for permission to store my rolling tool cabinet next to the kitchen table, the good news is that lots of home maintenance can still happen using just a screwdriver. And a driver with interchangeable bits packs the most tool power into the least amount of space. If you keep just one tool at the ready in the drawer under the toaster, let it be one of these. The challenge is choosing quality. It's actually not that easy to find an interchangeable screwdriver that does what it claims to do over the long haul. I know because I've tried. Some products fall down with driver bits so soft they round over with simple use. Others have ill-designed ratchet handles that fail to lock when you really start to twist them. Almost every design includes bits that are small, easily lost and frustrating. With reputations like these, it's no wonder that home repairs are as inviting for some people as clean-up after a raccoon attack the night before garbage day. I'm glad to tell you that my search for a worthy interchangeable screwdriver is over, thanks to a tip from a reader. For the last few years I've been using a product you could trust you life to. The design solves all the traditional problems with this category of tool, is a pleasure to use, is Canadian, and comes with a lifetime warranty that I doubt I'll ever have to make a claim on. The product is Picquic, a line of interchangeable screwdrivers based on a patented design developed by the late Mac McKenzie. He was a Canadian aviator who honed his mechanical skills in the days when flying aircraft was as technically reliable as loading a new operating system on your computer. Those experiences led Mac to an appreciation of things that actually work, a fact that lives on in the Picquic line. In 1987 Mac licensed his idea to two men, his son Paul and business partner Rob Suter. Their first interchangeable drivers came out of the molds in August 1988. The Picquic design is unique because it combines bits and handles that are tough enough for decades of trouble-free use, plus a feature that makes it easy to keep track of the screwdriver bits you're not using. Unlike other interchangeable driver systems that store bits in a hollow handle or plastic case, Picquics have holes around the perimeter of the handle where the driver bits fit, staying in place by friction. Changing Picquic bits is sort of like loading and unloading the kind of revolver John Wayne used in the movies. Shortly after introduction of the innovative design, the Picquic screwdriver was recognized with an award from the Canadian Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers Association. Popular Mechanic's Design and Engineering Award followed shortly after. You can now find the product at all the big box stores here in Canada. The company also extends it's quality commitment to the people behind the product. They've rejected an approach to business that pays people pennies a day for their efforts, instead choosing to offer top wages to well-trained employees workign right here in Canada, aiming to build a work environment that's enjoyable. And although this doesn't make the screwdriver work better in the real world, it's nice to know that admirable corporate behaviour can co-exist with a high quality product built right here at home.
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