lopez.brooke•1mo agoMost Upvoted

I was burning through magnesium floats for years until a guy in Boise set me straight

I was working a big patio pour in Boise last summer and my float was just dragging, leaving marks. This older finisher on the crew saw me struggling and said, 'Kid, you're pressing down like you're trying to bury it.' He showed me how to let the weight of the tool do the work, just guiding it. I'd been using way too much arm force the whole time, which is why my floats wore out so fast. Anyone else have a simple trick that saved them a ton of effort and cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

brooke711mo ago

Honestly that's good advice about letting the tool do the work. But saying the weight of a magnesium float is enough isn't quite right, those things are pretty light. You still need a tiny bit of downward pressure to get it to cut, especially on a stiffer mix. The real trick is keeping it flat and not tilting the front edge down, that's what digs in and wears it out fast.

josephj741mo ago

Oh sure, blame the float for your heavy hands. Maybe the mix is just tired of your nonsense and getting stiff on purpose. That front edge digging in is a classic move, like using a shovel to spread butter. You ever think the concrete is just judging your form?