Cement trowls....

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A guy came to me and wanted ten of these trowls made for a one time cement job he had going......Had to be a certain size he said.......There was some sanding and shaping after the welding was done.....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Pretty cool. I wonder why he had you go with aluminum rather than steel or SS for concrete? I use magnesium floats on some concrete, and I have aluminum kneepads for creeping out on a slab, but I have never used an aluminum float on concrete. Even my 36" bull float is a series of blades, wood, mag, and carbon steels. The tube and bracket are aluminum, but not the float itself.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Rojo I've seen several guys make alum channel floats. Usually because they are cheap vs Mag. floats and they want custom widths. All the edgers/jointers I've fabed have been out of steel / SS for the most part, though a few special ones were made from clear plastic, usually so you could see thru them for alignment when doing specialty patterns on stamp work. I've done a number of bullfloats / darbys out of wood, usually mahogany, to bring up extra moisture for working in color. Almost all the stuff we made was because we couldn't find stock items that would fit what we needed, for example edgers that were wide enough for doing the steps we usually poured. The custom sizes cut down the extra steps and saved us time.Nice work..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:yeah he didn't think the extra cost was worth it and it was a ONE TIME job with that size so longevity wasn't an issue.......was a GET ER DONE job.....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:I'm surprised anyone would use Al for concrete work. The lime in concrete eats aluminum like you wouldn't believe.
Reply:Al has been used for decades in concrete. If you do it like you are supposed to, there is very little lime exposure. You are supposed to clean the tools off every time you use them.....every single time. Some of my hand tools might get cleaned 20x a day. I have a couple of Al tools. They are going on 15 years old with heavy usage. Still in good condition, too.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS