Introduction

The Tool Show is a weekly YouTube series under the Belts and Boxes network that showcases and celebrates power tools. Their goal is “to inform, educate, entertain, and inspire” tradespeople and woodworkers with original tool content.

The Challenge

Hosts Robert and Sarah wanted a tool-related April Fool’s Day prank their viewers would recognize and that fit their brand.

The Milwaukee track saw had become something of a myth among the power tool enthusiasts. Milwaukee had teased the public with the possibility of a track saw, but hadn’t actually released one yet at this point. The show had a good working relationship with Milwaukee brand tools, so when a team member suggested they make a Milwaukee track saw out of genuine LEGO® bricks, Robert and Sarah knew they were onto something awesome.

They turned to Reddit to search for a designer who could bring their idea to life and soon discovered Playwell Bricks. After receiving the first mock-ups of their idea from Playwell Bricks, The Tool Show reached out to Milwaukee for the necessary permissions before kicking this project into high gear.

The Solution

After studying Milwaukee branding, design, styling, and other track saws, Playwell Bricks CEO and lead designer Jason Pyett began to bring this mythical tool to life. The Tool Show needed a very tight schedule, allowing for one week to design, two weeks to have the parts delivered, built, and glued, with one week left for shipping in order to have the track saw on the show for April Fool’s.

With these time constraints, Pyett aimed for realism. He added a removable hand crank to make the blade spin, created the cowling so that the blade would plunge downward like a real track saw, and even designed removable batteries so Robert and Sarah could display them during the show. Once the final design was approved, Pyett ordered the genuine LEGO® parts and started putting the track saw together.

In the meantime, The Tool Show requested a set of digital instructions for the custom set that they could give away to viewers on their website. The Playwell Bricks team created these to mimic an power tool’s owner’s manual.

The Results

The Tool Show put out a special episode claiming an exclusive look at Milwaukee’s greatest secret: the Milwaukee M18 FUEL Track Saw. In the video, excited hosts Robert and Sarah revealed the brick track saw to stunned viewers, treating the model as though it were the real thing, displaying how it works and runs along the track, even discussing the highlights and weak points of the tool. They waited until quite late in the show to reveal that the tool was made of genuine LEGO® bricks, promising to explain more in the next episode.

The comment section went wild with viewers commenting on how long they were fooled by the model, while others suggested they still didn’t realize the brick-built tool was an April Fool’s prank. To date, the episode has logged over 100 000 views, 593 comments, and over 2400 likes.

Quotes

"I don't even know what to say. Sarah and I just burst out laughing when we saw this, because we can't believe how accurate it is. That is INSANE. I can't WAIT to show this to the Milwaukee team. Again, I promise to reach out to you the moment I tell them, so you know what's going on." – The Tool Show, on design progress.

"Milwaukee was FLOORED! They love it! They’re working on getting the ‘corporate blessing’ within the next two days. As soon as we get that, I will get you your confirmation to get started." – The Tool Show, on design progress.

“Jason, you did a remarkable job. We love our saw.” – Sarah,
co-host of The Tool Show.

“Seriously, Playwell went ABOVE AND BEYOND to not only give us every single thing we asked for, but in record time. Well done.” – @ToolShow,YouTube

“The guys at Playwell are AMAZING.” – @ToolShow, Youtube.

“Special thanks to Austin Patrick for the inspiration, and to Playwell Bricks for the amazing execution! Thank you, Jason! You're a rock star! If you have a crazy idea, the Playwell team can make it happen. Tell them Belts And Boxes sent ya.” – The Tool Show, liner notes, @ToolShow, YouTube