Metal workers, Engineers - help and I'll pay

horseguards · Post by **horseguards** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:20 am

Maybe someone can help me with this - I will pay for it.

Please refer to the picture below.

There are two options to consider:

1) To cut out identical notches on the front and right

2) To make/cut a piece of steel (8" x 3" x 1/4" or 200mm x 75mm x 5mm), again with notches cut out on all sides.

Any offers or when it can be done will be greatly appreciated.

Grant.

mikew1972 · Post by **mikew1972** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:20 am

Is it because you are left handed? I'm sure left handed ones must be available.
Going to be a lot of work without the right tools. I'd consider buying 2 trowels, separate the handles from the bases, cut em in half corner to corner and weld the 2 halfs togeather to give notches all round then reattach the handle.
Lot of work though and I'm not offering to do it, just suggesting a way to do it.
If the notches don't have to be EXACT then just attack it with an angle grinder?

horseguards · Post by **horseguards** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:55 am

Mike,

That's a clever solution but beyond my talents and resources.

Left-handed notched trowels are available (Marshalltown).

I am right-handed and would prefer to work left-to-right on the front stroke, right-to-left on the out-of-right reach return/backstroke (if you see what I mean) when spreading for tiles on a wall.

This may just be a symptom of being new to tiling but it seems that to work both ways is awkward - if not impossible. Think of plastering - you can go left-to-right, right-to-left, up-to-down, down-to-up; makes no difference in terms of ease. My suggestion would allow this.

Maybe I should get out more.

Grant.

Hitch · Post by **Hitch** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:09 pm

5mm seems a bit thick?? bit of 1.5/2mm stainless would be alright wouldn't it?

Are they some sort of hardened steel?

Adapt a bought one...

Use an angle grinder and cutting disc to cut a series of slots, then just tidy up with a file.

horseguards · Post by **horseguards** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:39 am

Hitch,

The Marshalltown finishing trowels are 1mm thick and made of stainless steel.

I specified 5mm for the simple reason a 1mm will wear-out before a 5mm. Marshalltown's (and all their imitators) 1mm is probably their built-in obsolescence, ie a very limited life span then you have to buy another. Same with cars - hasn't the reputation for reliability of Merc's taken a dive over the last few years?

I could try and adapt a new one but would probably screw-up (metalwork was not my best subject at school).

Grant.