Sheetrock Finishing Tools!!!

Mud Master

On Friday Ames Taping Tools had a showcase at my local store. They had free food(mexican food of course), give aways like a 42" plasma tv, tee shirts, hats, of which I have 10 of each, and even a Perry scaffold. unfortunatly I got there too late for all the big give aways, except of course the the shirts and hats. But all the names were there..


Wallboard
Marshalltown
USG
LaFarge North America
All-Wall
Columbia
Etc..

SHEETROCK was also there, and they had thier new line of Finishing knives.

I went originally because I needed a new floor scraper, and I wanted to check out what was going on, since they had 25%-30% discounts on everything. So of course when I first got there I was bombarded by the local hispanic crews wanting to give me thier number for sub work, of which I only took the time to talk to one guy, who actually did a very good job on selling himself and his crew..licensed, insured..and LEGAL! I know, I couldn't believe it either!..BUT ANYWAY..

After that was over I went and got to talking with the rep's from the different manufacturer's. The big thing is of course trying to sell or have me rent auto tapers, bazookas,etc, however we don't use them. Lafarge gave me 3 free buckets of mud to try out, Marshalltown offered 40% off thier new SkyWalker 4.0 slilts, which was a GREAT deal, except I have no use for them, but I did give my guys the info if they wanted them.

I keep getting off topic, sorry. Point is everyone was there and everyone had GREAT deals.

I got to talkin' with the SHEETROCK rep, and he had the new Matrix line of thier finishing tools, and he had me try them out on a display they had set up. I've always been old school and have ALWAYS used Wallboard finishing tools..and have 2 sets that are broken in so well I would cry if one broke or got lost.

HOWEVER...It was not what I expected, they are AWESOME!! They have a contoured bottom that makes it 10x easier to mix,grip, clean, and scoop out your mud. The knives are constructed of high carbon stainless steel, also available in blue steel, with soft grip handles, a linear tapered handle, and more. The best part I thought was the bottom of the knife, that integrates a hammer like no other knife I have ever used. Makes it great for banging in those pesky screws that will not drive in no matter what you do. Also they have designed them so that they WON'T fall on the knife itself, but rather it is bottom heavy and will ALWAYS fall on the handle, which I thought was really really cool. The cool thing is that even with it being bottom heavy, it is still lightwieght..they come in 3 different wieghts so you can choose how heavy you like. Also the most important thing, of course, was the way they finsh. They are sturdy enough not to ever break(they guarantee they will last forever, or they will replace it), but flexable enough to let you work the mud..I was really impressed with thier workability on the rock.

Needless to say I bought an entire set. Plus the rep told me to put 3 extra "in my back pocket", so I paid for a set, but got a set and a half. It will break my heart to break in another set of knives after 20 years(started when I was 14), however I could not resist.

I recommend to ALL the finishers on this board who are into the latest tools, to check out the matrix line of pans and knives by SHEETROCK, and tell all your men or co-workers..Trust me if it was not good I would not be writing this post, because I believe in sticking with what works.

Try em' out my fellow finishers!

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La2venida

Have something to say about your "comments", i think your attitudes towards mexicans, and some others, are pretty ignorant and arrogant. you call yourself a professional, but being a pro, is not just your work, it's your overall person. Anyway, i don't want to say alot, b/c i know that what i say to you probably makes no sense.

Just a humble and honest opinion,

fastg60

i think in this day and age, it's hard not to have a skeptical attitude towards latinos, with all the illegals here, how are we to know who is and who isn't?

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Around The House

Remodeling and painting.

Second Look

I know a few contractors who hire employees and have no worker's comp policy. That makes them illegals.

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Greg Di

I won a set of the new Sheetrock knives and mud pan and I have to agree that it's the coolest thing going. The mud pan is a pleasure to use and is very easy to clean. The knives are gorgeous too.

Definitely worth checking out.

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Mud Master

La2venida,

I am sorry you felt I was attacking the hispanics, that was not my intention. I do agree with Fastg60, that you can never be to sure who is and is not legal..and because I am a professional, I need to be diligent of who I allow to work as a sub for my company. I do not sub that much to begin with, except for my single family homes under 1000 sheets, which are not worth my time really..and I sub that to a buddy of mine. Sometimes I will sub my commercial fit outs if I get behind, and the sub I use has hispanics, and it does not bother me, because they are legal. BUT, when I DO sub, I want to make sure that the contractor I hire is not illegal, unlicensed, or uninsured. I had guys that worked for OTHER drywall companies wanting to hang and finish for me, that I cannot have.

Like Second Look said, these guys don't carry workers comp, insurance, or even licenses sometimes. If they are working for me, and do not carry the proper credentials and someone gets hurt..it falls back on me, and I cannot have that.

Maybe my feelings are stereotypical, but with the influx of unlicensed and illegal hispanics..you can never be to sure.

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jmthouston

THINKPAINTING

Your kidding right?

send_it_all

To be honest, when I read the original post, I found it to be a little disrespectful towards hispanics as a whole. I do, however, agree with Mudmaster's 2nd post about CONTRACTORS who hire illegal workers. They are the problem in this industry. I cant fault the workers themselves for wanting to make a better life for themselves and put food on the table. We should grant them citizenship and deport the ones who were born here who just want to sell drugs and shoot eachother....I'll make that trade any day of the week.

Big Bison Tools

Interesting comments on the SHEETROCK Tools. I'm anxious to get my hands on a set and give them a try. I checked them out on their website and they sure are nice looking tools.

The two drywall related items I'm most interested in trying right now are the SHEETROCK Tools and the Trim-Tex crown molding. I can't help but get "geeked up" whenever I find out about new drywall stuff.

Cashking63

don't waste your time on the crown, it looks like crap

drywallpaul

I was wondering about that Trim-Tex molding, looks a little flimsy.

Tim0282

Haven't been able to convince my suppliers to get the Sheetrock brand tools. Found them on DrywallToolsOutlet.com
Decent pricing, I thought, since I haven't found them anywhere else.
Tim

Cashking63

The Sheetrock brand mud mixer is straight up bad a$$

Drywall1

only if you use boxes though. Buckets its just too much power.

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fr8train

Drywall1, I disagree, we mix our own all day, everyday, and never had a problem. Although, it helps to have a variable speed drill and a light touch on the trigger to get things started.

1wallboardsman

Just wondering what the reason might be for not using tapers, is it just tapers or all automatic tools?

jdl

Mudd Dogg

I've been using the Sheetrock Classic knives and sheetrock mudpan with the magnetic gripper since they first came out with them. I wouldn't use any other knife or pan again. The handles on the knives are the most comfortable I've found. I like the fact that no matter what size knife you are using, you always have a hammer end. The rounded corners of the pan make it a lot easier to hang on to.

I also use the Sheet rock mud paddle. It may be expensive as far as paddles go but in my opinion no other paddle measures up.

bassfisher

I thought we had it bad up here in toronto, canada, general shortage of labor as peep head off for oil feilds of west, guess its too cold for the amigos up here.
As a small builder and renovator, biz demands i hire the low cost provider, too bad our home grown peep up here do not want to work (overpaid/under skilled) and with our booming real estate market being at all time highs you hire what you can and take your chances.

I do not want to be a sm@rt @ss, my circumstances are way diff then y'alls, and i respect your decisions. . . .up here we are being limited in what tools for drywall as home despots and rona have monopolized the materials and equip markets, we get the few marshaltown prods they offer
or buy while on vacation in the south.
Good luck, don't take your eyes off the prize, the mexicans just want what we all desire, raise our families in peace and comfort. I know some of my people came over 'illegally' back in the late 1800s from the States to avoid a little problem down that way called the civil war.
Regards and respect, thanx for the lead in the tool seller, hope they ship to canada before bass season opens.

Tapingfool

@ mudmaster

why no need for automatic tapers? they are so much faster you make so much more $$$ and they are easy to run..