C: "...special equipment IS required..."
R: Absolutely
C: "There is a healthy tendency for many of us to be skeptical of "miraculous engineering breakthroughs" and their associated marketing hype."
R: I agree with you 110%!
C: "Not to insult you, but Eastwood does indulge in some marketing hype in pitching its products (as does everybody else)."
R: Absolutely no insult taken.
We do try to stay to the facts and avoid superlatives. (it is hard not to be proud of our own product.)
C: "Patents protect Eastwood from commercial exploitation, not from hobby curiosity. We are within the entitlement granted by patent law to obtain a copy of any patent and construct an identical device for our own use."
R: Your statement is correct. However in this instance the units are in the middle of the Patent-process. If the Patents were approved, I would not hesitate to elaborate on the mechanics.
C: "I hope the Eastwood people are arranging demonstrations of the thing on the usual TV shows."
R: Yes. Several TV shows are reviewing and should be discussing and showing the units in-use over the next few months, and there is a streaming video currently available on the website. Editors of the major automotive restoration journals have product for independent test and evaluation.