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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Bob Vila
Aired February 09, 2002 - 07:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Power tools, just the words send a shudder through every red-blooded male's veins. And Bob Vila's here to give us a sense of some of the latest and greatest. It's good to have you with us.
BOB VILA, HOME IMPROVEMENT EXPERT: Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: It's a treat.
VILA: It's great to be here.
O'BRIEN: And of course you know Bob from, well, you know, "This Old House," but currently...
VILA: "Home Again."
O'BRIEN: ... "Home Again."
VILA: Right.
O'BRIEN: And you're here for the Home Show, which is right next door, and that's...
VILA: The Home Builders Show, right.
O'BRIEN: ... Home Builders Show, which should be -- that should be interesting. But we appreciate your coming by.
And more importantly, we appreciate your bringing us some cool new tools. These vises are -- these little clamps are wonderful.
VILA: These are quick-release clamps from Craftsman.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: And, you know, you get a set of these for about $20, depending on the size. But they're a ratcheting clamp, so that -- here let me -- well, you're -- Anyway, you know, you can apply the pressure very, very slowly.
O'BRIEN: Right.
VILA: And you can release it very quickly like that. These are ideal for people who are into mechanical things. If you're welding, for example, you want to have a steel clamp. You can get a set of two of these for about -- well, they start at around $20.
O'BRIEN: That's a simple idea, ratchet. Why hasn't that been done before? Obviously...
VILA: A ratcheting clamp.
O'BRIEN: A ratcheting clamp, yes.
VILA: As opposed to your standard old-fashioned C-clamps and other types of clamps.
O'BRIEN: Yes, yes. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) clamping those things down with a C-clap is...
VILA: So, very good gift idea too, because it's -- you know, it's in the world of tools, but it's not -- they're not terribly expensive.
O'BRIEN: All right.
VILA: And then this is, you know, one of the innovations that we're showing at the Builders Show. It's a new Craftsman -- it's called a mini-T compact drill. It's a three-eighths-inch corded drill, so you've got all the power of, you know, the -- coming out of the wall. But you can really get into tight spaces with a tool like this.
O'BRIEN: Yes...
VILA: If you've ever been working under the kitchen sink, taking apart a garbage disposal, or something like that, you know how tight it can get.
O'BRIEN: Well, if you're just in between studs...
VILA: This will -- in between studs, exactly.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: And the way they've done it is, they've put the power source down here, and then there's a drive shaft to the head. The head's only, like, four and three-quarters of an inch.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: So that -- you know.
O'BRIEN: It's got plenty of torque and crank power.
VILA: Lots of torque, lots of versatility. It's about $139 item.
O'BRIEN: Now, this, I'm going to hold this up so you can get a closeup. This bit is what's...
VILA: Yes, look at the bit. Now, the bit is... O'BRIEN: See if you can take a look at that...
VILA: The bit is called the screw-out, and that doesn't come with the drill, but you can get a set of three of these at the Craftsman tool department. And it's a new invention, really. If you've ever had to take something apart and the screw has lost its head, as it were, if it's stripped...
O'BRIEN: I've been there.
VILA: ... you know...
O'BRIEN: I've been there and done that and had to drill out...
VILA: Yes, exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: ... you know?
VILA: With the screw-out -- Let me show you down here, I can demonstrate it.
O'BRIEN: Yes, show us how it works.
VILA: You can take, you know, a Phillips-head screw, for example, that's had the head sheared away or worn away, and you can just kind of...
(CROSSTALK)
VILA: ... power the thing right out, because it grips -- it basically creates a new head there.
O'BRIEN: That's fantastic.
VILA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It really is.
Now, what about if it's a really old rusty screw that's been there forever and ever?
VILA: Works.
O'BRIEN: Still do it?
VILA: I've...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: ... yes, no, I've tested it.
O'BRIEN: That's fantastic.
VILA: Yes. O'BRIEN: All right...
VILA: I had occasion to use it on a brass screw. I was taking apart a three-panel screen...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: ... and one of the brass screws had absolutely sheared right off. So you go right in there and...
O'BRIEN: Fantastic.
VILA: ... back it out.
O'BRIEN: That's a great thing. All right, so those -- and those items are about how much?
VILA: Well, this, you get a set of three of these for $19.99.
O'BRIEN: Good.
All right, let's move along now. This shop vac is -- that is...
(CROSSTALK)
VILA: This is the best.
O'BRIEN: Now, that is tool time, folks. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we can even talk.
VILA: We can talk over it.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: You know.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: And this is just, you know, it basically it's a six-and-a- half horsepower motor in there, so it's as powerful as it gets.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: But basically, the new housing design really controls the amount of noise coming from it.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: And I noticed this rubber hose at the end.
VILA: Well, yes. No, this is just a garden hose that I have got attached to it.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
VILA: But this is a wet-dry vac. O'BRIEN: Right.
VILA: And it's also got a built-in pump, so that if you have a mini-flood in the garage or in the basement or in your boathouse or whatever, you can, you know, be vacuuming it up, and at the same time pumping it out...
O'BRIEN: That's fantastic.
VILA: ... up to -- it will pump up to 50 feet away.
O'BRIEN: That's great. So it's a pump as well as a vac.
VILA: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: And it gives you a lot of capability with that, plus it's not so noisy.
VILA: And it's also a blower, because you can always put the hose at the other end.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
VILA: ... it and blow leaves with it.
O'BRIEN: Now, you -- I've got to ask you a general question. You, back in the late '70s, began your endeavors on television. You really sort of pioneered the whole home improvement do-it-yourself effort. Are people still it as much, more so than ever?
VILA: Yes, yes.
O'BRIEN: What's the trend?
VILA: Well, if you look -- if you follow the dollars, if you follow the economy, it's up in the $120 billion range, the do-it- yourself industry, the home improvement industry. I don't see an end in sight. I think that people have become empowered in the last 20-25 years about their housing stock and about how to maintain it. And they have also turned it into a kind of sport. There are lots of people that just really enjoy doing a home improvement project on the weekend.
O'BRIEN: Well, there's nothing more fun than going out and buying tools, after all. But I mean, did you ever suspect when you first started that, you know, this trend...
VILA: No, Miles.
O'BRIEN: ... you were going to ride this wave? How can you predict it?
VILA: Not in the least. I mean, I came on TV just after the Bicentennial, and remember, maybe you don't, but in the Bicentennial a lot of people were really fixing up old housing stock...
O'BRIEN: Sure.
VILA: ... and polishing up important historic buildings and the like. And so, it was after mid '70s that people really started paying attention to restoring and preserving older buildings, and that has spilled over into just, you know, restoring and preserving things that are just 5 or 10 years old.
O'BRIEN: And it started with one Italianate in Newton Center, Massachusetts.
VILA: Good for you.
O'BRIEN: And the rest is history.
VILA: Yes, that was my yellow house, when I got married in '75, yes.
O'BRIEN: Fantastic. Bob Vila, "Home Again With Bob Vila;" also with Craftsman. You have been working with them for....
VILA: Twelve years.
O'BRIEN: ... 12 years now. You are here for the Home Builder's Show -- thanks for spending a little time with us, showing us some cool, new things.
VILA: Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: We really appreciate it.
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