GB2234006A - Tool for raking out mortar - Google Patents

Abstract

A tool for raking out mortar from joints between bricks comprises a plate (10) of substantial area from one surface (13) of which projects a chisel (16). A spigot (17) projects from the other surface (14) of the plate and is adapted to be impacted by a hammer, e.g. by connection to a hammer gun (25). In operation, the surface (13) is applied to the surface of the wall whose joints are to be raked and an operator holds a handle (26) in one hand and the gun (25) in the other and moves the chisel along the joint while operating the gun. Notches 35 and 36 in the edges of the plate assist the operator in guiding the tool. <IMAGE>

Description

TOOL FOR RAKING OUT MORTAR This invention relates to a tool for raking out the mortar between courses of bricks, and between individual bricks of a course, prior to pointing. Such a tool is hereinafter referred to as a "raking tool". The invention also relates to a method of using a raking tool.

At present such raking is generally carried out h.- one of two methods. In the first a chisel is manually inserted in the joint and is held by an operator in one hand while the operator holds a hammer in his other hand and hits this chisel as he moves it along the joint. Thls is a very time-consuming operation and the uniformity of the depth to which the joint is raked depends very much Olt tl, ill of the operator.

The other method uses a rotary cutting disc wh inserted in the joint and moved along it. Tn 1 he hand of a skilled operator a reasonably satisfactory job can be made of the horizontal joints between courses although a great deal of dust is created. However it is ot possible to obtain a uniform depth of cut in the vertical joints between individual bricks because the diameter of the cutting disc is comparable with the thickness of a brick.

Thus one gets a groove of, say, 1/2" in depth in the middle of the thickness of the brick tapering to very little or nothing at the upper and lower edges. There is also the danger that the disc may cut into the brick of the adjacent courses.

It has also been proposed in GB PS 2 207 380 to provide a raking tool in the form of a chisel comprising a bodj supporting an elongate tip and defining shoulder extending transversely of the tip. In use the tip is inserted into the joint to be raked and the shoulders engage the face of the wall to limit the depth of insertion of the tip into the joint. The chisel is reciprocated by a conventional tool attached to the body.

A number of different designs are disclosed in GB PS 2 207 380. In some of the designs the shoulders are wedge-shaped and are narrow in width considered along the length of the joint being raked. In use these shoulders will tend to dig into the surface of the wall, especially when the bricks are soft as is often the case Kith wills being @ laked.

Moreover the body will tend to spin about its axis since it is located only bs the shoulders. The latter, being narrow.

do not give the operator sufficient guidance as to the angle to the wall at which the chisel should tt held and if this varies the depth of insertion of the tip into the joint will vary.

In other designs disclosed in GB PS 2 207 380. tbc chisel is mounted on a wheeled carriage. This is a complicated, cumbersome and expensive arrangement. In addition the wheels provide only a small bearing area on the wall and will tend to mark the latter. As before the chisel will have a tendency to spin about its axis in use.

In all the above designs it is very difficult to steer the chisel since the only control the operator has on the chisel is through the reciprocating tool to which it is attached.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a simple raking tool which overcomes the disadvantages of the methods previously used and proposed.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a raking tool comprising a rigid rectangular flat plate having shorter and longer sides which bound opposite surfaces; a chisel assembly secured in an aperture in the plate and comprising a chisel extending parallel to the longer sides and projecting from one of said surfaces adjacent to the middle of the plate and a spigot for connection to a power hammer projecting from the other surface and inclined thereto, the chisel having an operative front face which is generally normal t said on surface; and a handle mounted on the plate and projecting from said other surface thereof the plate being of substantial area and having apertures and/ol notches in the body and/or the edges thereof respectively and aligned with said front face.

In use, the plate engages a vertical surface of the wall the joints of which are to be raked, the chisel i . engaged in the joint to be raked and the spigot is hammered by a power hammer as the plate is moved along the wall to n.'o'e the chisel along the joint to rake thp mortar out . Because the plate is of substantial area it effectively holds Ihe chisel in a fixed orientation when the one surface of the plate is engaged with said wall surface and all thaA tbe operator has to do to ensure that the chisel is correctly positioned is to ensure that the facing surfaces of the wall and the plate are in engagement.

The tool is effectively guided by the operator who holds the power hammer in one of his hands and the handle in the other. The operator's grasp of the handle and the substantial area of the plate ensure that the chisel does not spin about its axis in use. The aperture and/or notches in the plate enable the operator to line up the front face of the chisel with the joint being raked. In addition any apertures in the body of the plate allow the material raked from the joint to escape from under the plate. As a result of the foregoing the joint is effectively raked to a uniform depth determined by the distance that the chisel projects from said one surface of the plate and the operator is always aware of the position of the front face of the chisel by means of the apertures and/or notches.Notches in the longer edges of the plate enable an operator raking a vertical joint to know the position of the front face of the chisel so a to avoid damaging bricks in adjacent courses.

Preferably there is a resilient mounting betweeen t the handle and the plate. The mounting will be sufficienty tiff to allow the operator to control th tool while it the can time attentuating the vibrations transmitted from the tool to the operators hand.

Preferably the spigot and the chisel are part.- (,f t unitary member which passes through the aperture in the plate and is secured therein. The unitary member may ho releasably secured to the plate. This enables chisels of diffeient sizes to be used with the same plate and/or to allow replacement of the chisel when worn. Alternatively t the unitary member may be fixedly secured to the plate, e.g. by welding.

The chisel may have a rear face inclined to said one surface to provide a relief behind the operative front face. Preferably also the chisel tapers in thickness in a direction away from said operative front face.

The plate may have a leading edge which is chamfored. being inclined rearwardly from said other surface to said one surface. This edge prevents the plate being snagged on small projections from the wall as it is moRed along. Said one surface of the plate may be faced with a removable wear strip made, for example, of plastic material.

The invention also includes the combination of a raking tool as described above with a pneumatic or other power hammer secured to said spigot.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of using a raking tool which avoids the disavantages noted above.

Accordingly, from another aspect, the invention include a method of raking out mortar from a joint in a b@ick "al] comprising engaging a vertical surface of t he wall with ct flat plate, using the plate to hold a chi -r 1 cit a@ angle to said surface and to project past said surface int i }te joint by a fixed distance, hammering the chisel while moving the plate along the wall so that the chisel travels along said joint and rakes out the mortar therein, and guiding the plate by lining up apertures and or notches in the body of the plate and/or the edges thereof respectively with one or more joints in the wall.

The plate may be part of a tool embodying the first aspect of the invention The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a raking tool embodying the invention; Figures 2 and 3 are front and rear elevations respectively of the tool shown in Figure 1 looking in the directions of the yarrows A and B in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is an end elevation of the tool looking in the direction of the arrow C in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the tool there shown comprises a rigid metal plate 10 which is rectangular and has longer and shorter sides 11 and 12 which bound opposite surfaces 13 and 14. It will be seen that the plate is of substantial area and may conveniently be approximately of the size and shape of the side of a brick which i exposed when built into a wall. Thus for example it Thi t- between 7 and 9 inches long and about 3 1/2 inclie--. wide Rigidly mounted in an aperture in the plate i a chisel assembly 15 which comprises a chisel 16 projections from the surface 13 and a spigot 17 projecting from the surface 14 and inclined thereto.

The chisel has an operative front face 18 which is generally normal to the surface 13 but slightly iiiclited rearwardly from its tip 19 and an inclined real face 20. As shown in Figure 2, the chisel tapers in thi ckiiess away fnm the front face 18.

It will be seen from Figure 3 that the spigot 17 lies parallel to the longer sides 11 although inclined to the surface 14. The spigot is formed with a shoulder 21 and a thickened portion 22 which is adapted to be engaged by a spring connector 23. The connector 23 engages the operative part 24 of a pneumatic or other power hammer 25.

A handle 26 is mounted on the surface 14 ty means of a resilient mounting 27 and is inclined to thc surface 14 as shown in Figure 4. The mounting comprises a base plate 28 which is bolted to the plate 10 at 29 and an upper plate 30 which is bolted to the handle at 31. A block of resilient material 32 is bonded to the plates 28 and 30 and thus provides a resilient connection between the handle 26 and the plate 10. The resilient mounting is sufficiently stiff to enable the operator to guide the plate 10 in use while serving to attenuate the vibrations passed from the plate to the handle. The handle preferably has a resilieiit grip shown in dotted lines at 32a.

The leading edge of the plate when the tool is in operation is indicated at 33 and is chamfered. The face 1 of the plate 10 may be provided with a removable wear sti i-- made of a suitable plastic material when the example and shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 at 34.

Notches 35 and 36 are provided in the longer and shorter sides 11 and 12 respectively and these are aligned with the operative front face 18 of the chisel Apertures 37 tire provided in the body of the plate and these lie Oil the line between the notches 36 and are also aligned with the face 18.

In operation, the spigot 17 is connected to the power hammer 25 by the connector 23. The operator holds the hammer 25 in one hand and the handle 26 in the other. He applies the surface 13 to the wall to be raked and lines up the chisel with the joint to be raked. He can do this b use of the notches 36 and the apertures 37. He then operates the hammer and moves the tool in the direction of the arrow D in Figure 1 so that the chisel 16 moves along the joint to be raked while it is being reciprocated hy the hammer 25.

Because the plate 10 is of substantial area it will overlap the bricks on either side of the joint being raked to an extent which will prevent the chisel from either spinning or rocking in use. Moreover the operator has complete control of the tool during raking since he has the hammer 25 in one hand and the handle 26 in the other.

Moreover, because the chisel 16 projects a fixed distance from the surface 13, or the wear strip 34 if provided, if the latter is in engagement with the surface of the wall, the joint being raked will be cleared to a depth corresponding to the projection of the chisel from the surface 13 and this will be uniform all along the joint.

Mortar can escape from behind the plate through the apertures 37 which thus serve a duti 1 purpose.

When the operator is raking vertical joints he can u:--e tiie notches 35, which are in line with the face 18. to ensure that he does not damage the bricks in the adjacent courses and will stop raking en the edges of these bricks are aligned with these notches. It is possible using the tool of the invention to clear vertical joints to a uni form depth along their whole lengths.

The invention has been described using a chisel arid spigot forming a unitary assembly welded to the plate. If desired such assembly could be detachablg fixed to the plate and this would enable the size of the chisel and/or its projection from the plate to be adjusted. Moreover this would allow for the replacement of worn chisels.

Although it is preferred to have a resilient mounting between the plate 10 and the handle 26, the handle sould be secured directly to the plate if required.

It will be seen that the raking tool of the invention has considerable advantages over the tools previously used or proposed.

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A raking tool comprising a rigid rectangular flat plate having shorter and longer sides which bound opposite surfaces; a chisel assembly secured in an aperture in the plate and comprising a chisel extending parallel to the longer sides and projecting from one of said surfaces adjacent to the middle of the plate and a spigot for connection to a power hammer projecting from the other surface and inclined thereto, the chisel having an operative front face which is generally normal to said one surface; and a handle mounted on the plate and projecting from said other surface thereof; the plate being of substantial area and having apertures and/or i1-.-t cli cs in the body or the edges thereof respectively and aligned ith said front face.

2. A raking tool according to Claim 1, including a resilient mounting between the handle and said Plate

3. A raking tool according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the chisel and the spigot form parts of a unitary member.

4. A raking tool according to Claim 3, wherein the uni tars member is fixedly secured to the plate, e.g. by welding.

5. A raking tool according to Claim 3, wherein the unitary member is releasably secured to the plate.

6. A raking tool according to any preceding claim, wherein the chisel tapers in thickness in a direction away from said operative front face.

7. A raking tool according to any preceding claiM, wherein the plate has a leading edge which is chamfered, being inclined rearwardly from said other surface to said one surface.

8. A raking tool according to any preceding claim including a removable wear strip releasably secured to said one surface of the plate.

9. The combination of a raking tool according to any one of the preceding claims and a pneumatic or other power hammer secured to said spigot.

10. A method of raking out mortar from a joint in a brick wall, comprising engaging a vertical surface of the wull with a rigid flat plate, using the plate to hold a chisel at an angle to said surface and to project pat said surface into the joint by a fised distance, hammering the chisel while moving the plate along the wall so that the chisel travels along said joint and rakes out the mortar therein, and guiding the plate by lining up apertures and/or notches in the body of the plate or the edges thereof respectively with one or more joint(s) in the wall.

11. A method according to Claim 8, wherein the hammering is carried out by connecting a pneumatic or other power hammer to the chisel and controlling the plate bg the hammer and by a handle mounted thereon.

12. A method according to Claim 10 or Claim 11 wherein the plate forms part of a tool as claimed in an of Claims 1 to 8.

13. A raking tool substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of raking out mortar from a joint in a brick wall substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.