Masonry Magazine July 2003 Page. 30
Tuckpointing Tools
It didn't take long for this dust to be considered a nuisance, and soon jobs were shut down because of complaints and contamination. With this change, the contractor was now responsible for getting all of the dust cleaned up, a nearly impossible task. Many contractors went back to wet cutting, as the headaches from this type of clean up were far easier than the dry dust issues. Some contractors looked toward different types of secondary containment and dust collection devices similar to those that have been used in the abrasive blast industry for many years.
Most recently, regulatory groups have refined the rules of dust collection because of health and exposure issues. One of the latest recommendations is a point-of-process recovery of debris- basically the use of special shrouding and dust collection systems to protect the operator as well as prevent environmental exposure of the fines produced during the cutting process.
New saws available on the market from several manufacturers address this issue. They use grinder motors to propel a dry cutting diamond blade. They have an enclosed shroud to new saws available on the market from several manufacturers address environmental and health issues.
WHIRLING WHEELS
A tuckpointing grinder uses a wheel to remove material from the mortar joint. According to Ed Pchola, product manager for grinders at Robert Bosch Tool Corp., Chicago, Ill., their tuckpointing grinders, including the newly released 1775E model, use a diamond wheel. The wheel is 1/4 inch thick, more than the usual five-inch diamond saw blade, and coated with abrasive diamonds on the segments. The wheel can be adjusted for depths from 1/2- to 3/4-inch-which are common tuck pointing depths - up to 1 1/4-inches for serious cleaning.
The operator is protected by a two-sided guard or shield, an important consideration as, according to Pchola, tuckpointers tend to use the grinder inverted, which would cause the normally uncovered wheel to throw debris. The shield has an acrylic "view window" that allows the operator to see the joint as he or she works the job.
Bosch has made grinders for years, of course, but the new line is specifically designed for tuckpointing, incorporating the aforementioned features with easy wheel access for exchanging elements, a multi-position head for ease of use, and protected motor windings and switches to prolong tool life. It also has a vacuum attachment that, according to Pchola, provides dust removal at a rate of 95 per cent or more. That means the tool meets Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) and OSHA's requirements for a clean, safe work area.
Weighing a little over five and a half pounds with an 11,000 RPM motor, the 1775E tuckpointing grinder should make completing tuck pointing less stressful and more worker-friendly, whether the job site is near the top of a high-rise or the bottom of a residential chimney.
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