How EasyScribe came about

EasyScribe was developed by Brendan O’Hare, a carpenter and builder with more than 40 years’ experience in the trade.

Over the years, Brendan was always looking for simple ways to make awkward jobs easier. One of those ideas was a basic scribing tool he had started experimenting with himself, using a rough prototype made from a piece of pipe and clay.

In 2016, Brendan had a serious accident at work and broke his neck. He spent several months in hospital and, initially, was unable to walk. At the time, there was a real possibility that he might not be able to return to work as a carpenter.

While he was recovering, he decided to take the rough prototype further and develop it into the tool he had in mind.

The aim was straightforward: to create a small, adjustable tool that could produce a clean, accurate scribe line without having to improvise with bits of wood, washers or spacers.

From there, EasyScribe gradually took shape.

Since then, EasyScribe has gone from a homemade prototype to a commercially produced tool used by tradespeople in the UK and overseas.

Brendan has continued to design and develop other products through Norbrae Developments, usually starting with the same question: is there a simpler way to do this? The ideas tend to come from jobs on site that are awkward, cumbersome or more time-consuming than they need to be.

One of those products is 4Sight, a simple magnetic stud finder designed to locate the fixings in plasterboard and help identify the position of the timber stud behind it — without batteries or complicated setup.

The aim with both products is much the same: take a familiar job and make it quicker, simpler and easier to get right.