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June 11, 2013 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips

Fathers Day is looming! Just yesterday, Kathy asked me for ideas. Procrastination seems to be the norm now. That's not a good thing.

Just-in-time gifts can elevate stress levels.

That's why I've devoted this newsletter to gift ideas. Some are very utilitarian, while others are deluxe indeed.

I'm off to Milwaukee in a few hours for the Milwaukee's Tool Conference. It should be a great time.

Are you going to be part of the meet up tonight, June 11th, in Milwaukee? It's still on. 7:30 pm in the lobby of the opens in a new windowBrewhouse Inn and Suites - the old Pabst brewery. BE THERE!

opens in a new windowTeh Brewhouse Inn & Suites logo

TIP OF THE WEEK - DO THE MATH, ALWAYS

This is a really quick tip. I first want to thank you if you took the time to get back to me about LED lights. Boy, that was a popular mention last week.

I'm still doing my research and I'm testing bulbs right now. In fact, I just installed four 12-watt par 30 recessed bulbs in my office. They produce 582 lumens of nice warm white 3,000 K light. These bulbs score an 80 on the CRI Index. That's not the greatest, but it's not bad.

Here's the point: You have to do the math. You have to see how long it will take to BREAK EVEN. The old incandescent bulbs I took out each consumed 65 watts. So that's 260 watts of power if I leave them on for an hour.

If the bulbs burn for 10 hours, that's normal for me, that's 2,600 watts if my head is working correctly. Or, to put it in the language of your electric bill, that's 2.6 kilowatts.

If I pay 17 cents per kilowatt for electric, that means it costs 44 cents a day to operate them. You may pay FAR LESS than 17 cents for a kilowatt of power. Look at your bill.

The new bulbs only burn 480 watts of power in 10 hours. That means I save 36 cents per day.

In a month, I should save right around $11. Realize that assumes the lights are on 10 hours a day every day. It will be less since I don't always spend time in the office on the weekends.

So let's say, for round numbers, that I save even $7 per month. That means in five months I would pay $35 LESS to the electric company. That could pay for one bulb possibly at full retail price.

Your utility may offer credits or rebates that lower the cost of bulbs you buy. The bottom line is you simply have to do the math to see how long it takes to pay for the bulbs.

After you have paid yourself for the actual cost of the bulb with money you're not paying to the electric company, THEN you really start to save sweet moola. I'll keep you posted on how my testing is progressing.

STAIN SOLVER SALE!!!!!!

You've been very patient. We just did a manufacturing run. We're stocked up.

You can get a opens in a new window15 percent discount NOW on all sizes of Stain Solver - except on our new sample size. I've dropped the price of that one about 10%.

To get the 15-percent discount on all sizes from the 2.2-pound up to the 50-pound size, go to the Stain Solver shopping cart and use this promo code:

SUM1315

This promo code only works at the opens in a new windowStain Solver cart.

You can't use the promo code to get a discount on the Sample Size - I reduced the price of that from $9.97 down to $8.97 manually.

QUANTITIES of ALL SIZES ARE LIMITED. I'm serious. If the sale wipes us out of stock, the sale price will stop immediately. If we don't run out of product by Sunday, the sale is OVER then. Sunday June 16th midnight ET.

Boom.

opens in a new windowBUY your Stain Solver NOW.

MILWAUKEE HAMMER DRILL VIDEO

A few days ago I taped, with the help of my son, a cool video about an amazing cordless hammer drill made by Milwaukee. When I first opened this drill, I seriously thought it was a toy drill for a kid. It was SO LIGHT and compact.

opens in a new windowcordless hammer drill

I had the same experience three years ago with an 18-inch Craftsman chain saw. It was so light I thought it would never cut giant logs.

Well, opens in a new windowwatch what I drill into with this cordless hammer drill that all you women out there are going to ADORE.

Wait till you see how LIGHT this drill is!!!!!

FATHERS DAY GIFTS

Yes, you've only got five days to react. No sweat. You can do this. I'm going to give you some neat clothing options, then I'm going to give you my massive updated list of my favorite tools. There's something for everyone's budget. You're dad is going to be pleased with whatever you give him. I know this for a fact. I'm a dad.

First, I'm wearing some really comfortable shorts from Duluth Trading company. They're the opens in a new windowFlex 7-inch Fire Hose shorts.

opens in a new windowFlex 7-inch Fire Hose shorts

I highly recommend these. While you're at the Duluth Trading site, check out their men's cool-max short sleeve longtail t-shirt. I hope my kids get me one of those in that red color. WOW is it SWEET!

If you want to give Dad some tools, then opens in a new windowcheck out my Favorite Tools list. I just added a BOATLOAD of new ones to this list.

Just about every tool on the list I own and use. I LOVE the quickslide razor knife you'll see there. My Flash II pocket knife is ALWAYS with me, except today! I'm not allowed to carry it on a plane.

Look at my favorite caulk gun. It's a precision gun that delivers just the right amount with each tiny squeeze of the trigger. It's not like the cheap caulk guns.

opens in a new windowGO LOOK AT THE TOOLS NOW.

There are hundreds of tools I could put on the list. I'll be adding more and more each month as I discover really, really great tools.

I'll be up on Mt. Washington this Saturday for my Fathers Day weekend. Wish me luck! Hope it's not too blustery up there.

Till next week!

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