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The Drywall Buffer and ‘salty’ terminology

Cutting drywall is a simple operation in most cases. Sometime the cut edges are not clean, having bumps where the material is sticking beyond where your  cut line is.
Db1

In the trade these are known as ‘dogballs’.(no i have no clue either, it just is) It is important to clean them up for a clean tight drywall job. For that you need a Buffer.
Buffer1
This is a Stanley Pocket Plane, aka the mutherf*cker.

(another bit of salty trade terminology whose antecedents goes back to time is money. Drywall hangers for the most part are paid footage, which means that having to stop to buff off dogballs means taking time away from hanging, making the job less profitable, which is why they call this the mutherf*ucker. Professional drywall hanging is much more precise than it seems.)

Having a situation, and a buffer, a few quick strokes, and you are ready to hang your sheet.
Db2 The tighter your joints, the easier to tape, the cleaner and better job you will produce.

You can use the edge of your keyhole saw or the edge of a taping knife to do this, but it is more time consuming, messier and less elegant.

January 24th, 2009 | Category: Drywall, Remodeling Basics, Tools, Tools and Tips | 4 comments - (Comments are closed)

Drywall Circle Cutter

One of the more recent trends in home design for the home remodeler is the installation of recessed can lights, and speakers. Marking and Cutting the holes for them is real easy with a
Drywall Circle Cutter.Circlecutter1
This is one of those tools that is not strictly necessary for the home remodeler, but if you are doing a lot of round lights or speakers, will make your life a whole lot easier.(this one allows you to mark holes up to 16'')

It is a very simple tool. It has a cutting wheel and a movable pivot. Once you have determined your hole center, by measuring the center of your light/hole from the edges of the sheets or walls, and transferred these to your drywall, you loosen the pivot and move it to the size you need, remembering that your measurement is at the front edge of the pivot. The photo below shows us we are making a 2 /3/4'' diameter hole. 

Note: You may want to make your hole a bit larger than your fixture diameter. A 6'' hole you may want to cut 6 1/4'' to allow for any imperfections in fixture or measurements. Care needs to be taken here, especially if using narrow trim rings.

Circlecutter2<

Note that the pivot point is lower than the cutting wheel to allow you to get a solid pivot point. 

You press the pivot into the center of your marks and rotate the tool around, maintaining pressure on the cutter to cut through the paper.

Circlecutter3

Once you have completed your circle, depending on the size and location, either carefully hammer inside the circle to break the drywall,(you will need to use your utility knife to clean up the edges if you hammer) or use your keyhole saw to cut it out. 

This can also be used for the holes for the waste lines in your kitchen/bath/laundry rooms.

January 24th, 2009 | Category: Drywall, Tools | Comments are closed