what size trowel is best ? advice please

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rated_2000

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hi all

i just scored my first job after completing plastering course working as a labourer/improver with a local plasterer.

i have to get my first trowel, i was thinking of getting a tyzack ready to use pre worn, cause thats what they recommeded on my course, there selling tyzack 14inch for £20 in b n q on offer.

i was wondering what size should i get? i cant remember what the size we used was?

ive seen 11, 13 and 14 inch trowel and need some advice please?

what the differnce between using 13 or 14 inch? if any? what generally is used? does it make much difference? and what width is best too? am i gonna look like a mug with 14 inch trowel ? lol

cheers all in advance
 
use whatever trowel you like mate .i use marshalltown trowels i have a 18 " 14" 13" and a midgit trowel..i am still breaking my 14" in...dont budget yourself buy the best trowel you can as you are gunna be using it everyday for a long long time..80% of my work is done with my 13 " if that helps..
 
can i ask y u have a 13 and 14 inch? is there any difference?

13 seems more common in the shops but i was considering the 14 cause they on special offer for 20 quid! where exactly the same trowel in the 13ich version is £35 ?
 
not a lot innit mate to be honest, ive a 14 and a 13 tyzak, stainless worn in same as.. i tend to use the 14 more it just seems to be able to put more on the wall (maybe its psycological) but it feels better to me, the 13 feels small, but its what im used to...can recommend the tyzak range though...
ive had marshaltown pre worn and i just didnt like it....all a matter of preference and what your used to....is it makes any difference i find that if you give a newbie a trowel, any trowel, thats what theyll end up with a preference towards...or trowels of a similar feel..
 
not a lot innit mate to be honest, ive a 14 and a 13 tyzak, stainless worn in same as.. i tend to use the 14 more it just seems to be able to put more on the wall (maybe its psycological) but it feels better to me, the 13 feels small, but its what im used to...can recommend the tyzak range though...
ive had marshaltown pre worn and i just didnt like it....all a matter of preference and what your used to....is it makes any difference i find that if you give a newbie a trowel, any trowel, thats what theyll end up with a preference towards...or trowels of a similar feel..

cheers for the advice, i think i will go for the 14inch for £20, like you say more on the wall, and £20 or £35 is a big difference for an identical trowel, with an inch difference. we used tyzack and marshalltown on the course and i cant really recall any difference, i just got on with it, so same will probably be with this one as well! :), i think £20 for top class trowel is a bargain
 
whatever you start with mate you shouldn't no any different but regardless of the make of the trowel when your in the shop
have a look at the rivets and make sure there not about to pop and look down the trowel edge it wants to ideally be a very slight banana shape with the toe and the heel both very slightly pointing away from the wall, pick up a marshalltown permashape and you'll know what i mean, what you don't want is at worst bending the wrong way or the blades all over the place because when you put pressure on the wall the centre of the trowel will straighten to the heel and the toe
from my experience i wouldn't go with a permashape though they seem to go a bit over the top with the curve tyzacks are nice and light but go through them all in the shop and get one with a decent shape
 
your problem is if you dont already have a trowel then you may come unstuck as those tyzak from b&q are far from worn in and you will struggle on your finish, good luck though mate
 
got mine from toolfix in peterborough, good shop, could spend a bloody fortune in there...theyre not 'burnt in' as in knife edged, but they are 'worn in' as in slightly dished...mine replaced my old steel and to be honest i dont feel the need for that sharp as a razor edge for a finish, i only found it scuffed up a bit for the first few sets but it soon settled in, and as mentioned, theres no weight to it...
 
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get yourself a leccy sander and a vice for 30 quid and put the sander in the vice upside down and work the edges of the trowel you should have it pretty close in a couple of hours :)
or you could buy my old naturally worn in permashape 13x5 golden steel (not golden any more ;D) skimmer for £200 plus p+p if you're really desperate
 
I have always used marshaltown never known any different started with a carbon steel then went on to a stainless, still using my second trowl and thats in 18 years so you get good wear on the marshaltowns, and mostly use 13x5 but recently started using a 14 still prefer my 13 its more like a 11x3 these days but cant let it go.
 
This is a very old conversation.
Tyzack vs Marshaltown vs whatever.
It's what you get used to but don't buy cheap you'll regret it in the long run.
 
This is a very old conversation.
Tyzack vs Marshaltown vs whatever.
It's what you get used to but don't buy cheap you'll regret it in the long run.


no im not talking about brands of trowel, i will used marshalltown or tyzack i aint bothered cause i used both b4, i was asking about trowel size not brand :)
 
Maybe if you are doing mostly domestic stuff a 13 maybe easyier to start with, but as time goes you will end up with more trowels than you need anyway like some of us. :-[
 
i went i a bit over the top i bought mt permashape 13, 14 and gold permapshape 16 and worn in 14 and midget trowel and all the other marshalltown plastering hand tools ;D
 
god it must take you half an hour to decide wich trowel your gonna 'wear' that day!! ;D
 
same here mate ive got 3x13" m/town stainless, 2 x14" m/town steel a 13 and 14" tyzack, an 11" ragni (errrrrrr forget that one!)............keep blaming my work on my trowels ;D
ive just got into plain old rusty steel but i do prefer the finish :)
 
its a good job my old steel trowels still on the job today cos ive half a mind to take a picture of it to post up...its absolutely f''cked..proper the handles comin off..its covered in rust and old plaster..ive even got a bit of a carbuncle of skim goin where it fits my hand!!! i still use the bugger though...still works...end of the day its a bit of flat metal with a handle on...
the new stainless is fairin a bit better though...
 
quite like the look of the refina trowels 2, gona get a glass cabinet for the living room to put them all in lol ;D,

only use 13, also gona get 11 trowel for were the 13 cant get, and the midget is to small dont really use 14 or 16 just a trowel adicct
 
i didnt...(i know bear with me..)
bought a marshaltown worn in 14 a while ago now...hated it with a passion, gave it the labourer at the time..
carried on with my old steel ragni's..
then, cos i luurved my ragni's so much i bought a new one cos the old uns were a bit shagg'ed..
stayed with it a while but it started to come loose round the handle...(ragni used to use a plastic handle but then they tried to copy the marshaltown and forgot to bolt the f'cker on)...
so i carried on with it but bought a tyzak, worn in stainless...not a bad trowle methinks but im scuffing the surface on final trowel so the labourer gets it again and it hardly gets used..
so i then keep givin it the once over when im on me own, small sets, cos it feels nice to lay on and trowel up with...
anyway, now its had a few good sets, the 'scuffing' i was gettin has all but gone, the labourer usually uses it..(i lay on, he flattens, i flatten it properly, he gives it one, i usually finish it next time)...
so ive been grabbin it for a quickie polish last hit if i feel in the mood (just cross trowel, medium pressure, 45 degrees, prolly a minute a wall)...
and it seems fine to me now, im replacing my old steel with a stainless....maybe im a convert????
one thing i do like about stainless is they tend not to build up too much slip on em, my old steelies a crusty old git now (even though its not that old) and i like to keep my trowel really really flat right up to final, so every now and then i get this tendency of leaving a bit of scabby old plaster on the wall off the centre of the trowel...(u know when its real dry and it drags your angle down)...
moral of this story....keep the whole blade of yer trowel clean if its a steelie...not just the edges...or if youre a lazy git like me...buy a stainless!!! ;D
i used to work alone almost all the time but now i got the missus lad pretty much all the time so maybe givin a new trowel to the labourer is a good way of gettin it broke in!!
 
i bought some cheapo 11 inch trowel for £5 from the market so i could have a bash at plastering before i started college, just use that as a scraper now tho ;D
use 11 and 14 inch marshalltown and a 14 inch tyzak
 
just to let u know i bought marshalltown 14inch pre worn stainless steel , feel great :) got the hawk to match at bnq!

15% off day over £50 so saved £8, well chuffed i didnt even know it was 15% day the old boiler just knocked it off when i went to pay! happy days! wayhey! ;D
 
cant beat sales :) for £85 you can get a makita drill 2 batteries and a 101 piece drill set, ive got mine a while back for £99.99 and cant fault it, 30 minutes to charge and lasts for ages, pluis i can power my radio with the batteries, bargain 8-)
 
This is a very old conversation.
Tyzack vs Marshaltown vs whatever.
It's what you get used to but don't buy cheap you'll regret it in the long run.


no im not talking about brands of trowel, i will used marshalltown or tyzack i aint bothered cause i used both b4, i was asking about trowel size not brand  :)

Yeah I realise that and my post wasn't very good.
I meant it doesn't matter what make or size it's what you get used to.
 
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