Craftsman Set to Launch Things with a Trebuchet...and a Contest from Tool Snob...

It wasn't long ago that we were griping about tool videos and the lack of trebuchets therein. Well, it seems that Craftsman is getting it right...or at least half right. They're making a trebuchet, but unfortunately they may not be launching their own tools with it.

The company has enlisted the aid of Joseph Budka from Pagoda Studios, Inc. to build them the trebuchet. Budka is a very creative man. How do we know this? Because he has a very creative mustache.

Here's a preview:

So if you're interested in watching the whole thing get made:

This Saturday and Sunday evening, logon to Craftsman's Facebook page to check out how the trebuchet is put together, step-by-step, and to see what the Craftsman team threw with this cool device, all live from inside the Craftsman Experience in Chicago.

But Craftsman is at a loss as to what exactly they should be launching. We think it's obvious...they should launch a Craftsman table saw. So what if it travels 600 feet in the air and smashes into little, tiny pieces? The fact that they'd be willing to trash one of their own tools for the sake of the spectacle would shoot their credibility through the roof.

If you have an idea, leave them a note at their facebook page. To us, anything less than their own products would be a disappointment.

Oh wow. We just checked out the current suggestions over at Facebook and it's brutal. Right now, there are about 80 comments and probably about 70 of them are 100% moron. They're filled with more misspellings and exclamation points than a warehouse full of Amazon customer reviews. Here's a sample:

"How about a chic in a port-a-potty and call it a "Turd Hurller"...lol"

"How about kittens...make it a "catapult"."

"imma go crush sum castles ftw."

"Puppies lol"

"ANGRY BIRDS!!!"

...And we didn't even get into the political ones. Is it just us, or is this insane? Times like this make us feel very honored that we have readers like you. We've done a ton of write-in contests and never have we seen anything close to this level of Cro-Magnon mouth-breathing. Lordy.

Actually, now that we think about it, we'd like to hear your best impression of one of these knuckle-draggers. Drop a comment at this post, pretending your lips move when you read, and let us know what ridiculous item you'd like to launch with the trebuchet. Misspellings are welcome, proper use of punctuation will be frowned upon, and capitalization is optional. We'll pick the one that makes us laugh hardest and send you a tool. And no cuss words allowed.

We also want to make clear that we're not poking fun at Craftsman. We think their trebuchet idea is a great one, we just can't get over the people who think that a "turd hurller" is lol.

Anyway, so back to the Craftsman trebuchet. If you want to watch, here's the official schedule:

-Saturday, December 11, 6:30 pm-7:00 pm: Trebuchet Assembly 101, featuring Joseph Budka

-Sunday, December 12: Trebuchet Holiday, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm

UPDATE: We did a little research on Budka and found that he really is a very talented guy. Check out his portfolio here. He's someone who seems to be comfortable with all kinds of materials and the end results are consistently fantastic. A guy with that kind of skills can have any mustache he wants.

December 9, 2010

Craftsman Set to Launch Things with a Trebuchet...and a Contest from Tool Snob...