[light music]
‐ So Tim, what do you think? ‐ What?
‐ Are you a fan of sweeping or vacuuming?
‐ Wow.
‐ It's a big decision. ‐ I like brooming.
So what about you? ‐ I like sweeping.
It's an activity. It's physical.
You're doing stuff.
‐ You lead a pretty neat life
that you consider sweeping an activity.
‐ [laughs]
‐ Here we go.
[saw whirring]
‐ Yeah, baby. [laughs]
Hi, I'm Tim Allen.
If there's one thing I love, it's people who build things.
And hanging out with them.
All right, that's two things.
So I invited three incredible makers
to compete from their own shops.
They'll be creating mind‐blowing builds
from cool stuff that I send them,
all for a cash prize.
‐ I'm coming for you!
‐ I've asked my ride‐or‐die Richard Karn
and our resident expert April Wilkerson to have fun with m,
as these makers design, build, compete,
and of course add more power. [laughs]
What could go wrong?
Oh, whoa, whoa. ‐ Whoa!
‐ Except for maybe that. ‐ Whoa!
‐ This is "Assembly Required."
[lively rock music]
Okay, we're back, buddy.
‐ Yeah we are. ‐ We're back.
‐ Oh, this is great. ‐ Yeah, yeah.
So you ready for this? ‐ I was born ready.
‐ Let's find out who our makers are.
‐ My name is Doug Boyd,
and I live in Phoenix, Arizona.
I do welding. I do carpentry.
I do plumbing. I do electric.
‐ Wow. ‐ And believe it or not,
I've even put on clown makeup before.
Right out of high school,
I went to Ringling Brothers Clown College.
I love to exercise the creative mind.
On the surface,
I may say that I am not a very competitive person.
Underneath, yeah.
It's about winning.
‐ All right. Let's see the next maker.
‐ My name is Bret Schaller,
and I grew up in Oakland, California.
I study a lot of theoretical mathematics, design skills.
As a lifelong builder, maker, and inventor,
I'm kind of curious‐‐ where am I on the scale?
It's really gonna put me to the test.
And I'm ready for the test.
I've been doing this my whole life.
‐ Wow, he's almost overqualified
for what we're doing. ‐ That was a robot.
That's not a human. ‐ That wasn't?
‐ Shops were clean.
He's doing some gyro‐weird thing on the floor.
I don't know. That was a little weird.
‐ All right. Well, let's see our next guy.
‐ I would never call myself a Renaissance man.
I would never do that.
But a lot of people call me a Renaissance man.
[laughter]
My name is Huy Nguyen.
I'm an aerospace engineer, full‐time,
here in Huntsville, Alabama.
When the workday is over,
I'm excited to come home and get working in my shop,
building tables, chairs, cabinets.
Does anything intimidate me at all?
I'm not trying to sound cocky, but no, not really.
‐ Well, that guy has confidence to burn.
‐ No kidding. They're too smart.
‐ The only way you're gonna be less intimidated
by these guys is to meet them.
‐ Let's meet the people, then. Let's go live.
There we go. Hi, guys.
‐ Hello, makers. How's everyone doing?
‐ Man, I'm doing all right. ‐ Awesome.
‐ Doing great.
‐ Welcome to "Assembly Required."
I'm Richard Karn. ‐ And I'm Tim Allen.
You kids have seen all my movies.
‐ Unfortunately, Tim is insistent
that there will be absolutely no participation trophies.
‐ Bingo, bongo, boongo.
Bret, we saw your introduction video,
and I don't know what weird thing
you were doing on a gyroscope.
You were doing it on some gymnasium floor.
‐ It's an exercise wheel.
‐ So that's what you're calling it.
‐ It's to train your upper body
to do pommel horse.
‐ Yeah, we knew that, 'cause Richard and I
do the pommel horse together. ‐ [laughs]
‐ Huy, how are you doing? ‐ I'm doing great, Richard.
‐ What is your professional specialty?
‐ I analyze the IR signature on rocket engines.
‐ Of course you do. ‐ You're a rocket scientist.
‐ Yeah.
‐ So Doug, I understand you went to clown school.
‐ I was with Ringling Brothers Circus for 13 years.
‐ Oh, the show.
‐ The show. ‐ Wow.
The other two guys are scientists.
‐ Excellent. I played one as a clown once.
‐ [laughs]
‐ Now, one of the best parts of this competition
is you're working from your home workshops,
because at least you'll know where everything is.
There's always a catch, though, right?
Throughout this competition,
you will need to work and build with what we send you.
‐ Popsicle sticks and glue. That's it.
‐ Tim, it will not be popsicle sticks and glue.
‐ You don't know that for sure.
‐ I do know that.
Now, only two of you will take on our final challenge.
You will attempt to build the ultimate car wash machine
that takes on car cleaning jobs with ease.
The winner gets a cash prize
and, better yet, bragging rights.
‐ And a virtual pat on the back from me.
[laughter]
‐ Okay, makers.
First up is the Make or Break Challenge.
This is a 90‐minute build.
You've each been sent a package containing
the components and materials needed for this build.
Tim, tell them what they're building.
‐ All right, you're going to build a handheld vacuum,
like the classic DustBuster, Dirt Devil thing,
but one hungry enough that can suck up
hundreds of plastic pellets in one fell swoop.
‐ That's right, we're gonna test the quality
of your vacuum by seeing how many pellets
it can suck up in 30 seconds or less.
‐ In other words, your build better suck.
‐ [laughs] ‐ [chuckles]
‐ That handheld vacuum will then be a component
of your ultimate car wash machine.
But first, you will be judged on three criteria:
quality, design, and functionality.
In the end, Tim and I will decide
which one of you is eliminated.
Makers, your shipments have arrived.
You have 90 minutes to make or break a handheld vacuu.
Your time starts right...
both: Now.
‐ All right, let's see what we've got here.
[upbeat rock music]
♪ ♪
‐ All right, people, we've sent these makers
an assortment of motors, fans, tubing,
and other elements they can use to engineer
their own unique handheld vacuum, right?
A lean, mean, cleaning machine.
The makers can also use
whatever they have in their own shop,
but they only have 90 minutes to create
this one‐of‐a‐kind vacuum, so they better get movin.
‐ Can we get it on the charger while we start making the fan.
‐ Bret, do you have an idea of what you're going to do yet?
‐ We're gonna move air. That's what a vacuum does.
If you look at the critical path,
you've got power, motor,
and you've got the fan blade moving the air.
The rest is all packaging.
So we're gonna use a fan blade to pull air into a box.
Possibly make a more efficient fan
and do better than the other contestants.
‐ All right, Bret.
We're gonna come back to you in a little bit.
‐ Thanks, guys.
[rock music]
‐ Good God.
Doug's got his vacuum nozzle made.
And look, he's already putting stuff together.
‐ Well, we'll see if that's a good strategy.
Hey Doug, how is it up there on that trapeze?
‐ [laughs]
‐ It's been years since I've done trapeze.
‐ Well, you're working without a net right now.
‐ Good one.
‐ Now, I want to close that up a little bit.
So...
‐ Yeah, baby. I love that.
He's using a blow torch to modify his nozzle.
‐ So we're gonna heat this up a little bit,
so I can close the end.
That should create better suction.
‐ All right, guys. Let's see some hustle.
90 minutes is not a lot of time for these builds.
[light tense music]
‐ Oof. Time's getting away from me.
‐ Hey Huy, how you doing there?
‐ Pretty good, Richard.
‐ We don't wanna slow you down, but what are you thinking here?
‐ I've gotta figure out how I can get the most amount
of efficiency from the air flow of these motors.
So in the spirit of Tim Allen,
I think I'm gonna go with more power.
‐ Yeah. ‐ [guffaws]
♪ ♪
‐ There we go.
♪ ♪
‐ You know the expression "Everything you needed to know,
you learned in kindergarten"?
Kind of feels like I'm making a craft.
‐ These guys are all taking drastically different routes
to modify these motors and fans.
They want to create the maximum amount
of suction possible for these vacuums.
‐ Air flow, fan blades‐‐ listen, we need an expert.
April, we need some help in there.
This has gotta be one of the most challenging rounds
we've ever come up with.
So, you see Bret.
He's monkeying with the fan blades.
He looked right at the blade.
He goes, "I could make that blade better."
‐ "I can go better." ‐ Hmm, what I want to know is,
is he still gonna have enough time to then complete
the build with him changing up the blades
and spending so much time on it.
And then is it really gonna have that big of a payoff?
‐ What do you think? ‐ Oh, boy.
My fingers are crossed that it works.
I would love to see this actually pay off for him.
‐ Now Huy, he wants to build a vacuum
that'll just suck the leaves off a tree
before they fall on the ground. ‐ [laughs]
‐ Which motor did he choose?
'Cause I know that they were given two.
‐ Went with the bigger one,
but why wouldn't you use both?
‐ You could, in two different ways.
You could either wire it up in series,
or wire it up in parallel,
and one will give you double the CFM,
and then the other one will create more static pressure.
So there's a tradeoff.
‐ Different strokes for different folks.
Fascinating.
‐ Okay, guys‐‐well, I'm gonna head back to the shop.
Please let me know if you need anything,
both: All right.
[grinder buzzing]
‐ Looks like Bret's got something cooking.
‐ All right. That's gonna work.
‐ Bret, what are you doing? ‐ I've gotta have the motor
mounted to something that lets the air flow past i.
So I need to have a way to hold it inside that cylinder.
‐ So are you building some sort of a reservoir attachment?
‐ Yes, I'm probably gonna end up using five‐minute epoxy.
If I can bond that on to there with the fan in it,
we should be able to bring all the BBs inside.
‐ Between the fan and using glue now,
he's really making a lot of time‐consuming modifications.
‐ Nothing like watching glue dry.
‐ Yeah.
‐ Don't worry, buddy. You're going up against a clown
and a rocket scientist, so, you know, no pressure.
‐ Okay.
‐ Don't worry. Just know we are a big fan.
‐ [laughs]
Speaking of fans, I hope these guys are testing their motors
before they seal them into the vacuum housing.
[heavy rock music]
Hey Doug, you started your motor up at all?
Have you ever tested it?
‐ I tested the motor before it went in there.
So it worked prior.
I'm putting a switch in right now, so...
[clicking]
‐ Well, that doesn't sound good.
‐ That does not sound good at all.
Houston, we have a problem.
‐ So, the motor's not running?
‐ Nope, nope, nope. It's not working at all.
‐ Wow.
‐ Yeah, I'm not even getting signal now‐‐not even power.
‐ You got 13 minutes left.
‐ The glue may have gotten in the motor.
That's it.
‐ Damn it.
‐ That's it for me.
‐ Houston, we have a problem.
‐ So the motor's now not running.
‐ Nope, nope, nope. It's not working at all.
It's not even sparking now.
Well, all right.
Well, I'm gonna throw a Hail Mary here.
Use the other battery that I had charging.
Let's take this. Get this here.
‐ That's a serious snafu.
Now he's got the whole thing taken apart again.
‐ [sighs] The wire's not big enough.
‐ I'm telling you,
with all the different elements that have to
come together to be successful here,
this is a very difficult round one challenge,
maybe the most difficult.
‐ Okay, one wire at a time. Come on, now.
[lively rock music]
♪ ♪
‐ Huy, have you tried your motor yet?
[device clattering]
Answer me.
‐ Yeah, I've got my motor running.
I can get suction.
‐ You're doing great. ‐ Wow.
‐ Oh, that looks like a rocket.
‐ [laughs]
Well, he is a rocket scientist.
♪ ♪
‐ The five‐minute epoxy is still not glued.
Is it defective epoxy?
Says five minutes on it.
Been sitting here longer than five minutes.
So I'm not sure what to make of this.
‐ God, that'll be a drag if that epoxy doesn't set up.
‐ I just need a little more time,
and I will have a vacuum cleaner that sucks really good.
‐ Well, you've got 3 1/2 minutes.
‐ You've got 3 minutes and 44 seconds.
‐ That may not cut it.
‐ Okay. That works.
‐ Shoot.
‐ You have one minute.
‐ One minute.
‐ So much for the epoxy. Now he's just using tape.
You gotta wonder how that's gonna work out.
‐ I would rather have anything that works
in this challenge than nothing at all.
‐ Here we go. 25.
[device whirring]
‐ Uh‐oh. I've got to charge it.
‐ Oh, did he just say he has to charge the battery?
‐ Come on. ‐ Five, four, three...
‐ Come on, it's the other way. ‐ Two, one‐‐drop your hammers.
‐ All right, gentlemen, that's it.
Hands up.
‐ I have a vacuum.
‐ All right. ‐ All right.
‐ Gentlemen, we've looked over your builds.
Let's see how well they operate.
We have provided each of you with 4,000 pellets,
which you have poured out into your tray.
You will each have 30 seconds to show us
how well your vacuum works
by sucking up as many of those pellets as possible.
Doug. Suck up those pellets.
[vacuum whirring]
[light suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
‐ We blew it. [laughs]
Without a filter, they went right into the fan.
‐ Oh, man.
‐ Hey, it's all right. We had some sucking there.
‐ Well, it worked for 15 seconds.
‐ There you go.
[tense music]
‐ All right, Huy. Take a shot at it, rocket boy.
♪ ♪
‐ Oh, my battery died.
[light music]
No.
‐ Not sure I wanna be on a rocket
you had anything to do with.
‐ [laughs]
‐ We're moving on to our last contestant.
‐ Bret, you're our final‐‐ you're‐‐
‐ Come on. Bret, help us out here.
‐ Let's see what you got.
[vacuum whirring]
[upbeat rock music]
Look at that thing go.
I mean, you're, like, sucking it‐‐
where's it all going?
Wow.
Bret, you don't suck.
‐ Am I good? ‐ All right, that's time.
‐ Oh, I missed one. ‐ Wow.
‐ Is one good? Just missing one?
‐ Yeah, yeah, big shot. Go ahead.
‐ That's really good. ‐ Whoo.
Really good. ‐ [laughs]
‐ Good job, you guys. ‐ Really good job.
‐ You had a lot of things on your plate
that you had to put together and make work.
I hate to break the bad news, but two of you will go on,
and one of you will have to go home‐‐or stay where you are.
‐ Stay home.
[laughter]
Curiously enough, those two of you
who sucked the most actually go on,
and the one of you that sucked the least has to stay home
with a very unimpressive vacuum cleaner.
‐ Well, Bret, you looked ahead.
You looked for a reservoir for your pellets.
‐ Very well thought out, my friend.
‐ Yeah, that was crucial. ‐ And it sucked.
‐ What we're trying to say, Bret,
is that you built one heck of a machine,
and you are moving on to the next round.
‐ Awesome, awesome. That's excellent news.
‐ Bret, congratulations. ‐ Thanks.
‐ Now Doug, you got it going,
but it kind of clogged up right away,
but it did suck up some of the pellets.
‐ Didn't think about the filter, Dougie.
‐ You weren't sure about that.
‐ That was a forgetful thing on my part‐‐yep, the filter.
‐ Right. Well, gotta think about that.
‐ Okay, now we're gonna move on to Huy.
You have a beautiful tube there.
Unfortunately, the battery of your build just did not work.
‐ Yeah.
‐ Huy, your machine did not make the cut.
Sorry about that.
Which means, Doug‐‐ congratulations.
You're moving on to the second round.
‐ I beat the rocket scientist.
[both laugh]
‐ Clowns start slow.
[deflated note]
But they finish big.
[laughter]
You guys did an incredible job.
‐ Congratulations on all of you guys.
‐ Huy, thank you very much for being a part of this.
‐ Thanks, Richard. Thanks, Tim.
I think Rim and Richard got it right.
My machine didn't work.
I was only able to get a few seconds of run time.
I'm sorry I didn't suck.
But I had a lot of fun. [laughs]
‐ Bret and Doug,
congratulations on making it to the second round.
We call it Run with It.
‐ Now, if you thought that first round was stressfu,
brace yourselves. That was nothing.
‐ Now earlier, Tim challenged you to build a machine
that can handle all the car washing duties at once.
This is your chance to deliver.
Inside your crate are materials needed to buid
a custom car washing machine.
It must be fully mobile, fully functional,
and loaded with all the cleaning essentials
one could ever need.
That's not all. Hit 'em, Tim.
‐ You must also incorporate your vacuum into this build.
Got it?
‐ Makers, this is why you came here:
to express your talent and show America what you can do.
Blow us away with something fully loaded,
with all the bells and whistles,
and a singular vision
that will answer the question:
who's the better maker?
‐ You got five days to complete the build.
We'll be following your progress.
And if we need to, we'll check in with you directly.
So put on some nice clothes.
‐ [laughs]
‐ Good luck. Three, two, one.
Run with it!
[upbeat rock music]
‐ [chuckles] There he goes.
‐ All right, first things first.
Let's see what diabolical booby trap
April has hidden in the builds for our makers.
Hey April, what did you do?
‐Well, I love that you have
this smile about what you've done.
‐ It's a small bump in the road,
so it's not that big of one.
But every single pressure washer pump system
has a leaking gasket, a broken gasket.
I just took the gasket and tore it a little bit.
‐ Oh, good. ‐ So they have to find it,
diagnose it, and of course repair it.
‐ Well, this will be an air leak, right?
So that it won't pump. ‐ Exactly.
They're dealing with air, so they either
have to feel it or hear it.
‐ So, you really have a dark side.
You really do. ‐ No, no, no, no.
‐ Not compared to you.
‐ Whoa, whoa, whoa. A zinger.
‐ All right, let's see how the makers
are reacting to their deliveries.
‐ Oh, wait a minute.
This is a lot bigger than I expected.
What's inside? Drum roll, please.
Oh!
‐ We've got beer. Awesome.
Nice of the guys to throw that in for me.
‐ All right, folks. For round two,
we're giving them more cool stuff to work with.
And the makers can still use
anything they have in their shops.
But we're not gonna make this easy.
Sooner rather than later,
they need to discover and correct April's secret fix.
They have to be fixers as well as makers.
If they can't do that, their chances of winning
will be washed away. Literally.
‐ I think they thought we were gonna have
a 5,000‐pound creation.
‐ Oh, my gosh. Monster wheels.
What are we doing, like,
a monster truck challenge or something?
‐ [laughs]
[device whirring]
‐ Pressure washer is functioning.
‐ Looks like Doug is doing some preliminary troubleshooting
to make sure that everything is in working order.
‐ Let's take a look at the compressor.
[compressor whirring]
[light music]
♪ ♪
Aha, I think I found it.
♪ ♪
While it would create air, it wouldn't store air.
That is because of this little gasket here.
I can disassemble one of my compressors.
It's also a PORTER‐CABLE and a similar gasket.
So I can get this sucker back up and running.
[lively rock music]
All right, so that gets slammed into there.
Everything looks good. Fingers crossed.
[compressor whirring]
I think it's working.
‐ Nice.
[saw buzzing]
[cheerful music]
‐ Man, he's not wasting any time.
He's cutting metal. He's aggressive, driven.
♪ ♪
‐ There it is. We should have 26.
And we do. [imitates crowd cheering]
Hey, Google.
Can you give me, like, an applause?
‐ Okay, playing "crowd cheers and applause" sound effects.
[crowd cheering]
‐ [laughs]
‐ Sides are done.
We're gonna start putting together the interior pieces,
which are these big bad boys.
♪ ♪
‐ Hey, I got one for you.
Where do you think the first car wash was?
‐ Okay, my guess would be maybe a big car town like New York.
‐ Right.
Huge car town like New York?
Cars‐‐Motor City. Detroit.
‐ Detroit‐‐of course. ‐ 1914.
You had to leave your car there for the day.
‐ So it would take a whole day to wash a car?
That's, like, the opposite of convenience.
‐ This is 1914.
They hadn't invented the word "convenient" yet.
This is prior to the invention of convenience,
which was invented by 7‐Eleven.
‐ Okay.
Let's see how Bret is doing.
‐ We are gonna do a home pressure washer,
steel construction, and make it a little bit better
than what they may have planned.
All right, let's get the chop saw.
[upbeat rock music]
It would be a great idea
to weld these guys in standing up.
I'm a little nervous about welding,
'cause my total experience to date
is maybe around 40 minutes.
We'll see how it goes.
‐ You ain't seen trouble. But it's coming.
‐ I'm gonna fire this baby up
and actually see if I can do this.
[laughs] ‐ Mm, I don't know.
Different builders, different skill sets.
‐ Yeah.
‐ I guess we'll start right here.
‐ A lot of welding. Have you ever welded?
‐ I have spot welded. ‐ Just around the house?
‐ Yeah, you know, when the doors fall off the cabinets.
‐ Yeah. ‐ I weld them shut.
Sorry, we can't use that anymore.
[welder crackling]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
‐ Doesn't look good.
‐ I don't know if it's gonna make it.
But we're gonna find out, right?
♪ ♪
Holy cow.
Told you that weld wasn't good. It fell off.
♪ ♪
[sighs] [bleep].
‐ Very curious story.
I got to go on a Navy attack sub.
And I love boats.
‐ They let you on? ‐ That's a great lead‐in.
‐ Yes, they let me drive it.
Props on fast boats tend to cavitate,
and it means that they can get spinning so muh
that there's oxygen produced around it,
and they can actually burn a blade underwater,
it gets so hot. ‐ Interesting.
‐ So I asked the guy in the submarine,
why don't your props cavitate? And he goes, "Really?
"You step on to a U. S. Navy submarine
and you ask the number one question?"
I go, "God, forget that." And I wouldn't let it go.
I said, "I'm not gonna tell the Russians."
He goes, "I can't tell you why our props don't cavitate."
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
‐ Holy cow, it fell off. ‐ Oh, boy.
‐ As I was pushing the cart in,
my wonderful welding job failed me,
and one of the wheels fell off.
So, it shouldn't just fall off.
‐ [laughs] ‐ All right.
‐ Before it gets to California,
it's gonna be sound.
‐ Good, good, good. Glad to hear that.
‐ Today was‐‐it was tough.
I've had little‐‐minimal experience with welding.
I thought it was gonna go better than it did,
and it didn't, so...
But I am really excited
about what's been done today and what's coming up.
‐ Well, look at the bright side.
Your hair looks fabulous.
‐ [laughs]
[laid‐back rock music]
♪ ♪
‐ Going into day two, I feel pretty confident
that things are going really well.
So, what I expect to get built today
will be all of my side panels,
and I wanna get the pressure washer
and the air compressor mounted to the cart.
I wanna start to run lines.
And if I have enough time in the day,
I might even start to test a few things
to see if they're gonna work.
I'm not someone who sits down and sketches
everything out to the minute detail.
‐ Yeah, why bother? Just get in the RV and drive.
"Look, I'm at the end of the driveway‐‐now where?"
‐ I made magic.
[both laugh]
All right, all right. Look at that, look at that.
[heavy rock music]
‐ Hey, Google, can you set a timer for nine hours, please?
‐ All right, nine hours. Starting now.
‐ Awesome, we're on. Day two!
I still am feeling like I'm behind the ball,
because how long I spent with welding yesterday.
So, I loaded the two files in a printer,
and now I'm gonna select one of the files
and tell this thing to get going.
I do a lot of 3D printing.
Really valuable to be able to have the machines running
in the other room while I'm out here building.
‐ So, Bret's able to keep building his cart
while those printers create some new parts for him.
Look at that. ‐ One guy's a freaky clown
just going by the seat of his pants,
and this guy, he's got‐‐
‐ Well, this guy's got a place for everything,
and everything in its place. ‐ 3D printer's going.
‐ Yeah.
[saw buzzing]
‐ While we've been out here working,
that part that we designed on the computer
and are 3D printing‐‐it should be done right about now.
It just finished. It's still 150 degrees.
But we got our part. Let's go check it out.
This goes into here.
‐ He can do whatever he wants, he can build
literally some of the smallest component parts,
depending on his vision.
‐ While he's doing something else.
[compressor whirring]
♪ ♪
‐ He found the leak. ‐ [laughs]
Um...
Think they're over here.
[light music]
These might work.
Here is the new gasket.
This one, however, looks different.
And both of those holes were letting the pressure leak by.
‐ He did the same thing Doug did,
just used a gasket from one of his own motors.
♪ ♪
‐ It's gonna get loud.
[compressor whirring]
[lively rock music]
‐ I'm feeling really good about where I'm at,
to the point where I might even add some extras to the cart
to see if I can wow Tim and Richard.
‐ Well, he talks a big game. ‐ All right.
‐ Let's see what he can do.
‐ I'm gonna take this broom,
and I'm gonna modify it so that it actually has a way for soap
to come out of the bristles.
‐ He's building a soap gun with the broom.
‐ Damn. ‐ That's pretty impressive.
‐ I'm gonna add this, so I can turn it on and turn it off.
This one's gonna be cool.
They can actually use this on their car.
‐ I take laundering my cars pretty seriously.
Having a brush near the car‐‐ not a good idea.
‐ Is that gonna scratch the finish?
‐ Yeah‐‐not a good idea. ‐ You think?
‐ Here's one of my secret weapons: a foam cannon.
So, you're gonna be able to attach this
to the pressure washer sprayer,
and it's gonna come out like foam utopia.
‐ Foam utopia.
‐ [laughs]
‐ I want to test my pressure washer,
air compressor, foam brush.
I wanna get all those things tested
to make sure that they work,
so I can mount them back on to the pivot table.
This is my first test.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
That is not what I want.
I want that to soap up.
I'm seeing liquid here, so it's not coming out of there foam.
Okay. Running the air back out,
Letting that run back in there.
[light tense music]
♪ ♪
Right now, the most difficult part for me is the foam brus.
‐ Doesn't seem so confident about that foam brush.
‐ Why don't we see what hack April has for us today,
to make the most of our time in the shop?
Hey April, have you seen Tim?
‐ He got distracted with magnets.
‐ Oh. Well, he loves magnets,
especially the ones he can't pull apart.
‐ Let's talk about pulling apart a drill
before we get sidetracked. ‐ Okay.
‐ So, power tools. ‐ Yes, love them.
‐ In order to prolong the life, especially on a cordless drill,
where they're just constantly around dust and grime,
it's really good, every once in a while, take it apart,
and then just spray some compressed air
all in these components,
because, of course, you have intake and exhaust on this.
‐ No, that's a smart thing to do.
‐ Ten screws to take that apart, though.
When you say simple, ten screws.
‐ You're focusing on the negativity.
We're focusing on the positivity
of prolonging power tools.
‐ Well, after you figure out how to unscrew the first on,
the next nine are a breeze.
‐ Is that right? ‐ Look, magnets.
A magnetic mat, though.
‐ Oh really? ‐ Yeah.
So, the iFixit mat‐‐ not only can you draw on it
so that I have my diagram of where all the screws go,
but the mat itself will also prevent me from losing them.
‐ Gosh, where did you get an iFixit mat?
‐ And then, also, the magnet
at the tip of the screwdriver itself,
so that as you're taking things out, things won't get lost.
‐ Right. ‐ I love tools.
‐ Proper maintenance will turn your old tools into new tools.
‐ I just want to‐‐I had trouble seeing‐‐reading this.
‐ That's what I'm here for.
I'll do all your reading for you.
You can sit there and look pretty.
‐ I don't want any help. I wanna do it myself.
‐ Right now, the most difficult part
for me is the foam brush.
I'm gonna try out a new idea, where I swap the lines.
So the straw that goes down into the liquid
is now gonna be blowing air,
and the line that typically does air,
it should be allowing the foam to go out.
Just‐‐we're just gonna test this.
Test number two of my foam brush.
‐ "Foam brush."
‐ I can see that some of it's coming up here.
I'm gonna go ahead and relieve some of that pressure.
I see foam.
‐ Look, he's got the soap brush working.
‐ I think we have success!
‐ Nylon bristles on a car?
There's detail people all over the world going,
"Oh, no. Don't do that."
[upbeat rock music]
‐ I got a foam brush.
‐ At the end of day two,
I was going over in my head all the different elements
that are partially done.
‐ I love how different these guys are in their approaches.
One is literally hotwiring a broom,
and the other is doing 3D designs on his computer.
‐ I wanna get started on the wiring,
'cause there's hours of wiring to get done
the way I want it to be done‐‐
to be safe, waterproof, and clean,
all in one location. You plug one plug in the wall,
and everything is switched on right here.
‐ Well, get to it.
‐ But I'm wondering, am I on par?
Am I trying to do more than what was expected‐‐beyond?
Or am I actually not doing enough?
‐ Wow.
‐ This is rough.
‐ I'm feeling a little bit more on the clock right now.
I really have a lot of little things
that I want to get accomplished today.
Day four is my do‐or‐die. I wanna work on the vacuum.
I wanna make sure that it gets to a point
where it works properly.
So I'm gonna use the old nozzle
that I started with.
This time I'm gonna add in a screen mesh.
‐ So he's modifying the round one build to improve it.
‐ It really didn't perform the way I wanted it to
during my round one.
And that's been kind of gnawing at me.
My hope is that my suckability rating will go up.
[both laugh]
‐ April. Come over here.
I believe this vacuum that I just got‐‐
'cause I thought it was cool‐‐ my wife goes,
"So that means you're gonna be vacuuming more?"
I go, "I didn't say that."
This is my favorite thing I've done at my house.
You're taking the vacuum cleaner.
You go over a paper clip, like, five times.
"Jeez. Just pick it up."
‐ No, most people stop the vacuum.
‐ Pick it up, look at it,
put it back down, and take another shot at it.
‐ Really? Most people do that?
‐ I do that.
[laughter]
‐ Day four. Big list of to‐dos.
But I'm gonna stack them all up and knock them down.
‐ His hair hasn't moved.
‐ Well, why would it? It's cemented in place.
‐ [laughs]
‐ I've got a long ways to go.
Or do I stop, cut two new pieces, and use the CNC mill,
and be done with this, and have clean circles?
Um...
[saw buzzing]
[light rock music]
♪ ♪
‐ That's amazing.
[device whirring]
‐ I'm gonna put a plate inside of this mitt.
Attach that to an electric motor.
And then we're gonna have this mitt on that handheld motor
that will be a spinning, washing device.
Let's pull one out.
‐ Very, very careful about wiring, I like it.
You know, it's thoughtful, functional.
Wow.
‐ Hello, Miss Moo.
Day five. I wanna make sure
that I provide a vacuum that's gonna be hardy.
‐ Yeah.
‐ Something that's gonna really do the job.
My vacuum today is really my big build.
‐ Middle of the day today, my plan is to have
everything fully assembled, and only need to do detail
aesthetic treatments and testing.
‐ These guys have to possess
every single maker skill there is
in order to complete this challenge.
It's insane.
‐ You're almost out of time. You gotta get going, go.
‐ Hurry up.
[upbeat rock music]
[drill whirring]
‐ I finished all the wiring,
so let's see what's gonna happen.
Let's do a compressor.
Check.
Pressure washer check.
Check.
‐ I got two hours left.
I'm gonna quickly test my vacuum.
Nothing.
So I got a problem here with my vacuum now.
[tense music]
Two hours left, and of course you gotta come down
to the wire with the stupid vacuum.
This was working, and now it's not working.
[sighs]
[tense music]
[sighs]
[bleep]
All right. Let me think here for a secon.
[laid‐back rock music]
♪ ♪
So it works.
‐ What was the problem? ‐ The fan contacted the motor,
and it wouldn't turn. ‐ Okay.
‐ And so when I took it all apart,
it was able to turn, and to move freely then.
‐ Ooh, quick thinking. And not a moment too soon.
[lively rock music]
[compressor whirring]
♪ ♪
Final countdown.
♪ ♪
Five, four, three.
Two, one.
Time's up. Put down your tools.
‐ All right.
‐ There's the end‐of‐day beer. ‐ [chuckles]
‐ Good job, you guys.
We look forward to seeing your builds.
Oh, boy. Look at that.
‐ All of a sudden, a clown pops out of the box.
"Wait a minute!"
‐ A magician's box.
‐ Why don't we see what hack April has for us today,
to make the most of our time in the shop?
Hey April, have you seen Tim?
‐ He got distracted with magnets.
‐ Oh. Well, he loves magnets,
especially the ones he can't pull apart.
‐ Let's talk about pulling apart a drill
before we get sidetracked. ‐ Okay.
‐ So, power tools. ‐ Yes, love them.
‐ In order to prolong the life, especially on a cordless drill,
where they're just constantly around dust and grime,
it's really good, every once in a while, take it apart,
and then just spray some compressed air
all in these components,
because, of course, you have intake and exhaust on this.
‐ No, that's a smart thing to do.
‐ Ten screws to take that apart, though.
When you say simple, ten screws.
‐ You're focusing on the negativity.
We're focusing on the positivity
of prolonging power tools.
‐ Well, after you figure out how to unscrew the first on,
the next nine are a breeze.
‐ Is that right? ‐ Look, magnets.
A magnetic mat, though.
‐ Oh really? ‐ Yeah.
So, the iFixit mat‐‐ not only can you draw on it
so that I have my diagram of where all the screws go,
but the mat itself will also prevent me from losing them.
‐ Gosh, where did you get an iFixit mat?
‐ And then, also, the magnet
at the tip of the screwdriver itself,
so that as you're taking things out, things won't get lost.
‐ Right. ‐ I love tools.
‐ Proper maintenance will turn your old tools into new tools.
‐ I just want to‐‐I had trouble seeing‐‐reading this.
‐ That's what I'm here for.
I'll do all your reading for you.
You can sit there and look pretty.
‐ I don't want any help. I wanna do it myself.
‐ Right now, the most difficult part
for me is the foam brush.
I'm gonna try out a new idea, where I swap the lines.
So the straw that goes down into the liquid
is now gonna be blowing air,
and the line that typically does air,
it should be allowing the foam to go out.
Just‐‐we're just gonna test this.
Test number two of my foam brush.
‐ "Foam brush."
‐ I can see that some of it's coming up here.
I'm gonna go ahead and relieve some of that pressure.
I see foam.
‐ Look, he's got the soap brush working.
‐ I think we have success!
‐ Nylon bristles on a car?
There's detail people all over the world going,
"Oh, no. Don't do that."
[upbeat rock music]
‐ I got a foam brush.
‐ At the end of day two,
I was going over in my head all the different elements
that are partially done.
‐ I love how different these guys are in their approaches.
One is literally hotwiring a broom,
and the other is doing 3D designs on his computer.
‐ I wanna get started on the wiring,
'cause there's hours of wiring to get done
the way I want it to be done‐‐
to be safe, waterproof, and clean,
all in one location. You plug one plug in the wall,
and everything is switched on right here.
‐ Well, get to it.
‐ But I'm wondering, am I on par?
Am I trying to do more than what was expected‐‐beyond?
Or am I actually not doing enough?
‐ Wow.
‐ This is rough.
‐ I'm feeling a little bit more on the clock right now.
I really have a lot of little things
that I want to get accomplished today.
Day four is my do‐or‐die. I wanna work on the vacuum.
I wanna make sure that it gets to a point
where it works properly.
So I'm gonna use the old nozzle
that I started with.
This time I'm gonna add in a screen mesh.
‐ So he's modifying the round one build to improve it.
‐ It really didn't perform the way I wanted it to
during my round one.
And that's been kind of gnawing at me.
My hope is that my suckability rating will go up.
[both laugh]
‐ April. Come over here.
I believe this vacuum that I just got‐‐
'cause I thought it was cool‐‐ my wife goes,
"So that means you're gonna be vacuuming more?"
I go, "I didn't say that."
This is my favorite thing I've done at my house.
You're taking the vacuum cleaner.
You go over a paper clip, like, five times.
"Jeez. Just pick it up."
‐ No, most people stop the vacuum.
‐ Pick it up, look at it,
put it back down, and take another shot at it.
‐ Really? Most people do that?
‐ I do that.
[laughter]
‐ Day four. Big list of to‐dos.
But I'm gonna stack them all up and knock them down.
‐ His hair hasn't moved.
‐ Well, why would it? It's cemented in place.
‐ [laughs]
‐ I've got a long ways to go.
Or do I stop, cut two new pieces, and use the CNC mill,
and be done with this, and have clean circles?
Um...
[saw buzzing]
[light rock music]
♪ ♪
‐ That's amazing.
[device whirring]
‐ I'm gonna put a plate inside of this mitt.
Attach that to an electric motor.
And then we're gonna have this mitt on that handheld motor
that will be a spinning, washing device.
Let's pull one out.
‐ Very, very careful about wiring, I like it.
You know, it's thoughtful, functional.
Wow.
‐ Hello, Miss Moo.
Day five. I wanna make sure
that I provide a vacuum that's gonna be hardy.
‐ Yeah.
‐ Something that's gonna really do the job.
My vacuum today is really my big build.
‐ Middle of the day today, my plan is to have
everything fully assembled, and only need to do detail
aesthetic treatments and testing.
‐ These guys have to possess
every single maker skill there is
in order to complete this challenge.
It's insane.
‐ You're almost out of time. You gotta get going, go.
‐ Hurry up.
[upbeat rock music]
[drill whirring]
‐ I finished all the wiring,
so let's see what's gonna happen.
Let's do a compressor.
Check.
Pressure washer check.
Check.
‐ I got two hours left.
I'm gonna quickly test my vacuum.
Nothing.
So I got a problem here with my vacuum now.
[tense music]
Two hours left, and of course you gotta come down
to the wire with the stupid vacuum.
This was working, and now it's not working.
[sighs]
[tense music]
[sighs]
[bleep]
All right. Let me think here for a secon.
[laid‐back rock music]
♪ ♪
So it works.
‐ What was the problem? ‐ The fan contacted the motor,
and it wouldn't turn. ‐ Okay.
‐ And so when I took it all apart,
it was able to turn, and to move freely then.
‐ Ooh, quick thinking. And not a moment too soon.
[lively rock music]
[compressor whirring]
♪ ♪
Final countdown.
♪ ♪
Five, four, three.
Two, one.
Time's up. Put down your tools.
‐ All right.
‐ There's the end‐of‐day beer. ‐ [chuckles]
‐ Good job, you guys.
We look forward to seeing your builds.
Oh, boy. Look at that.
‐ All of a sudden, a clown pops out of the box.
"Wait a minute!"
‐ A magician's box.
‐ I asked these guys to build me
the ultimate mobile car washing machine,
and I'm definitely impressed with what I've seen.
Doug has created a self‐contained,
beautifully crafted cleaning station on wheels.
But not to be outdone, Bret has put together
a multi‐functioning car washing cart.
Gets right down to the business of cleaning.
Question is: when it comes to the car washing contest,
who's gonna come out smelling like a rose?
Without the thorn?
Well, we wanna start with design.
‐ All right, we've got two very different builds.
Doug's design.
It all stores away into a stylish box.
‐ If that's what you're looking for, that's great.
I would probably leave it like this.
I'm not gonna do that Mickey Mouse thing.
‐ I would just leave it like that?
‐ Yeah, why‐‐what's‐‐ what are we doing?
I'm ADD. It's a mess to me.
'Cause this is how it came.
A little bit disjoined for me, the ADD guy.
‐ This, on the other hand, is you see what you get.
They both‐‐ ‐ Form follows function.
It's got a hose reservoir. ‐ Yeah.
Bret also has wax and soap.
‐ Spray wax, spray soap. Pressure washer.
Air compressor. All his bits and tools.
Yeah, Bret did a great job putting stuff in here.
‐ And something softer for the finish of the car.
‐ Yeah, that brush would be‐‐
‐ Now, you were worried about that this might scratch.
But look, feel that. That's not that‐‐
‐ It's nylon. ‐ It's not that‐‐
‐ Okay, well... ‐ It's not a hard bristle.
‐ You use it on your car.
‐ Which design to you like the best?
[rock music]
♪ ♪
Let's talk about ingenuity. ‐ That's a good one.
‐ Okay. ‐ Doug's is ingenious.
That flip top is cool. It's innovative.
‐ This is original. ‐ Yes.
‐ This is‐‐Bret's is very, kind of, straightforward.
‐ Utilitarian.
‐ It does what it's supposed to do.
‐ Yes it does. ‐ This does what it does,
but it also adds a splash of style.
‐ Does it usurp‐‐ overwhelm the‐‐
how simple he has this set up?
‐ Ingenuity.
‐ I mean, just 'cause he did all this‐‐
I gotta call it ingenious.
‐ We come down to functionality.
‐ Yeah.
‐ So let's fire these babies up
and see if they can wash a car.
‐ Oh yeah, baby.
[heavy rock music]
‐ To really see how well
these mobile car washing machines function,
Tim and I are truly gonna put them to the test,
by soaking, soaping, rinsing, and vacuuming
these two very filthy cars.
Last one to finish buys lunc.
[fast‐paced rock music]
Tim will be washing Bret's car,
while I'll be tackling Doug's.
I don't even think I need soap.
‐ Yeah.
♪ ♪
[music slow, stops]
[light music]
‐ Okay, let's go to plan B.
‐ Ah!
[energetic rock music]
♪ ♪
Yeah, baby.
♪ ♪
[vacuum whining]
Whoo!
♪ ♪
‐ [groans]
♪ ♪
‐ Thank you. I gotta get going.
Here you go. Buy yourself something special.
‐ Thank you. Thank you very much.
♪ ♪
Well, Doug and Bret's cars are finished.
Let's go in and call them. Give them the good, bad new.
‐ All right.
April, April, come and help us. [sobs]
‐ She's way ahead of you. All right.
Hey, Bret.
Hey, Doug. Can you hear us?
‐ I can hear you.
‐ We just got finished washing
two very dirty cars with your car wash machines.
Bret, tell me about your build.
‐ I've never built a product for someone
where the first iteration was what I delivered.
In the back of my head, I'm going, "God, there's, like,
a bunch of different approaches I could have taken to this."
‐ Don't second‐guess yourself.
Doug, we found a half a woman in that box.
You left the other half somewhere in Vegas, right?
‐ Exactly. That's the way I work, yes.
‐ The design was "I'm going to make dirt disappear."
But both of you built great machines, designs that work.
‐ Yes, but just one of them was more functional.
The maker of the winning build is...
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
Bret!
‐ Awesome!
‐ Congratulations. How do you feel?
‐ I feel incredible.
‐ Doug, we just loved the fun of your build.
When we got out there and did it,
your competitor was very simplistic
in the design, utilitarian.
It had more items. It was more functional.
And it allowed the car to be washed mush faster.
‐ It was really hard to decide.
But by the way, Bret, you won $5,000.
‐ Courtesy of iFixit.
You guys are also gonna both be sent the Ultimate Fixer Kit.
‐ That is so cool. ‐ The good news is
Doug can get back to clowning around and drinking beer.
‐ Win, lose, or draw, I'm happy with what I put out there.
Because when you walk up on it,
you get that wow factor.
And I'm okay with that.
‐ Congratulations, guys. ‐ And Bret, you know,
on top of the $5,000 you won, you also learned how to weld.
‐ So embarrassing.
‐ That's nothing to be embarrassed about.
‐ Yes, it is. ‐ [laughs]
‐ How often do you weld?
‐ I'm gonna go weld right now. ‐ He doesn't weld.
‐ I'm on my way to a SIG welder, MIG, or gig welde.
[laughter]
Thanks, guys.
‐ Congratulations, Bret. ‐ Thanks, Doug.
‐ I love good sportsmanship. ‐ I gotta go wash my car now.
‐ I feel ecstatic.
This competition, where I was making something
and just putting my creativity out there‐‐
really happy to have come out on top.
[rock music]