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True to the cliche, Craig Laun's invention was born out of necessity.

"We recently remodeled our kitchen," said the West Chester Twp. resident. "The boards had a lot of nails in them."

After being injured several years ago by a nail in a piece of scrap wood, Laun said he and his wife pulled nails from the lumber before disposing of it.

"When you start to pull out nails, you find out real fast ... it's very difficult to get a grip on a nail with a hammer," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, I can fix that.' "

The professional piano restorer turned from wood and varnish to metal, and developed the EZ-Way Nail Puller, a drill attachment that can grip and pull nails with minimal damage to the wood surface.

Laun obtained a provisional patent, and began showing his prototypes to woodworkers and tool companies.

"When I took it to woodworking stores and the guys loved it," he said. "They absolutely flipped, because it is a legitimate new product."

Laun said he now hopes to take his invention to the next level, by finding a manufacturer to bring the nail puller to market. He is scheduled to present the EZ-Way Nail Puller at this year's INPEX invention trade show, held June 11-14 in Pittsburgh.

"It's pretty much the only show (for inventors)," he said.

INPEX publicity manager Charissa Chverchko said roughly 300 inventors from as far away as Malaysia and Taiwan are expected at this year's event.

"We cover a broad scope of inventions," she said. "Some inventors have only prototypes, some have virtual

prototypes and some have products ready for sale."

Laun said he already has an appointment scheduled with toolmaker Bosch. But if that meeting fails to bear fruit, he said he will be eager to pursue any other possible avenues to bring his invention to market.

"I'll find somebody," he said. "I'm sure I'll find somebody to do it."

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or mcunningham@coxohio.com.

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