Old timer at the lumber yard showed me a brick jointer trick I'd never seen

Was grabbing a load of blocks last Tuesday and this retired mason in line behind me saw my beat up jointer. He said I was dragging it wrong, that you gotta wet the tip in a bucket every 3 joints or the drag marks stay. Tried it on my next job and yeah, my finish line came out way cleaner. Anyone else got a weird tip from an old head that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

ninasanchez1mo ago

My grandpa swore by dipping his trowel in diesel fuel instead of water.

wade_hall1mo ago

Does the diesel not mess with the mortar curing or just make it slippery enough? I'm curious how he kept the trowel from gumming up compared to water, @ninasanchez. I've seen guys swear by a quick dip in water but never heard of fuel before.