Appreciation post: Finally figured out why my bull floats were chattering

Been fighting this problem for about six months where my bull float would skip and chatter on wet concrete, leaving these ugly little ridges. I tried everything, different angles, different pressure, even switched to a magnesium float. Turns out I was just putting the float down too fast and at too steep of an angle. Once I slowed down and laid it flat it smoothed right out. Anybody else deal with something stupid simple that took way too long to figure out?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucas4987d ago

Wait wait wait, you went six months? I mean that's rough, I figured that one out after like three weeks but it was still driving me nuts. I was doing the exact same thing though, coming in way too hot and steep like I was trying to plane the surface or something. Idk why nobody just tells you to set it down like you're putting a baby to bed instead of slamming it on there.

zara_hunt7d ago

That "putting a baby to bed" comparison is spot on, @lucas498. I actually noticed the same thing with a lot of other stuff, like closing a car door or even just setting down a glass of water. For months I was pushing the door shut with too much force and it felt weird, then one day I just let the latch do the work and it clicked perfectly. Same with the router bit on my trimmer, I was forcing it down instead of letting the tool do its thing and it tore up the wood every time. It's like we're all trained to think more force equals more control, but really it's the opposite for most fine adjustments. Your mileage may vary but I've found that soft hands and a light touch fix way more problems than people give them credit for.

troyp377d ago

Maybe it's just me but I wonder if part of it is how we're taught mechanics and tools in a mostly male-centric way where everything's about torque and muscle. Soft hands and finesse just feels counterintuitive when you've spent years thinking you gotta manhandle everything.