US1999367A - Trowel - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1935.. J, B, C E 1,999,367

TROWEL Filed July 29, 1952 INVENTOR JAMES BJWCCOEKLE.

' A'IDTORNEY Patented Apr. 30, 1935 TROWEL James B. McCorkle, Atlanta, Ga.,

United States Gypsum a corporation of Illinois assignor to Company, Chicago, 111.,

Application July 29, 1932, Serial No. 626,080

13 Claims.

This invention relates to trowels or smoothing tools for use in preparing walls of buildings and has reference more particularly to a trowel suitable for applying reinforcing tape over the joints 1 of wallboard.

It is customary to form walls of buildings from wall boards of gypsum composition, fiber, etc., with the boards nailed in place to wooden studs. In order to cover up the joints between boards and prevent cracking of plastic paint or other decorative coatings subsequently applied to the wall, a cementitious plastic material is applied to the joint, together with a perforated metal foil, and the plastic material is then smoothed 1 down to produce a smooth wall surface to which can be applied plastic paint or other desired decorative materials such as wallpaper. Some difliculty has beenexperienced in causing the tape to lie perfectly flat on the wall and molding the plastic material in such a way that a perfectly smooth joint is obtained.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a smoothing trowel which is simple in construction and which can be used for smoothing out reinforcing tape and plastic material over the joints of wallboard; also to improve trowels and smoothing devices in other respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

Reference is to be had to drawing forming a which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a wall construction including my improved smoothing trowel.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the smoothing trowel,

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the trowel, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the wall showing an end view of the smoothing trowel, taken on line 4 l of Fig. 1.

The improved smoothing tool comprises a metal plate ill having a slightly arcuate, broad troweling edge It along its forward end. A handle I2 is provided with an axially extending bolt it which is secured by a nut Hi to an annular section it formed on the upper end of a handle bracket E6. The lower end of the bracket I6 is provided with outstanding, laterally extending arms H which extend substantially parallel with the troweling edge H, and rearwardly and angularly extending arm I 8 which extends centrally along the trowel plate Ill. The arms H and !8 are secured to the trowel plate It in any suitable way, such as by rivets l9, and serve to form edge H into arcuate shape as well as to permit substantial pressure to be applied to the tool. Rivets the accompanying part of this specification, in

I9, it should be noted, tially spaced from the e shims may be inserted are preferably substannds of arms [9 whereby thereunder to vary the curvature of troweling edge H. The rearward end of the trowel plate It is preferably inclined 5 to the plane of the plate NJ to form a plate section 29 which is prefer ably narrower in width than the troweling edge l l. Downwardly extending flanges 2i are formed on each edge of the plate section 25!, said flanges preferably being inclined at an angle less than 99 degrees to a wallboard face 22 which isbeing troweled. The

flanges 2! are preferably also inclined somewhat to the major axis of th trowel is moved along e trowel, so that as the a perforated metal foil tape 23, said flanges tend to move plastic mate rial 24, which has previously been applied to the board joints, toward the to be acted upon and troweling edge ll.

major axis of the trowel smoothed down by the The forward end of the flanges 2! forms a feeding throat for the plastic material so as to always supply a uniform quantity of the material to the troweling edge I I, and provide a joint coating slightly arcuate in cross section and tapering to feather edges about 5" apart. The plastic material 24 is forced into the board joints between adjacent wallboards 22 prior to the application trowel Ill, said plastic of the tape 23 and the material extending inwardly into the board joints as far as to a stud 26, to which the boards nails 21.

I would state in conclu trated example constitu ment of my invention, myself precisely to these 22 are attached, as by sion that while the illustes a practical embodi- I do not wish to limit details, since manifestly,

the same may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described new and desire to secure my invention, I claim as by Letters Patent 1. A smoothing tool comprising a trowel plate having an inclined troweling edge, guide flanges extending from said plate and arranged to engage a surface being troweled so as to fix the angle of inclination of said trowel plate relative to said surface, and a handle s manual actuation.

ecured to said plate for angle to the direction of movement of said plate,

said flanges being adapted to trowel plastic material on a surface inwardl troweling edge.

y to be smoothed by said 3. A smoothing tool comprising a trowel plate having a broad, troweling edge arranged to extend beyond the edges of a metal tape applied to a board joint, a handle attached to said plate for manual actuation of said tool along said tape so as to smooth out plastic material over said tape, and means associated with said plate for troweling said plastic material inwardly to be acted upon by said troweling edge.

4. A smoothing tool comprising a troweling member having a transversely arcuate troweling edge, means extending from said member to engage a surface being troweled so as to define the angle of inclination of said member relative to said surface, and handle means for manual actuation of said member.

5. A trowel comprising a plate having a broad, transverse troweling edge, a following section on said plate having a substantially narrower width than said troweling edge, outstanding with flanges on said following section, said flanges contacting the surface being troweled, and a handle secured to said trowel.

6. A smoothing tool comprising a trowel plate having an inclined, arcuate-shaped, troweling edge, means for supplying a uniform quantity of plastic material to said troweling edge so that said edge forms a coating of plastic material over a board joint tape, the finished plastic material being slightly arcuate in cross section and having feathered edges, and a handle on said trowel plate for manual actuation of said trowel.

7. A smoothing tool comprising a trowel plate having an inclined troweling edge, guide flanges extending from said plate and arranged to en gage a surface being troweled so as to form a feeding throat at the forward ends of said flanges for supplying a uniform quantity of material to said troweling edge, and a handle associated with said plate for manual actuation of said trowel.

8. A smoothing tool comprising a substantially transversely arcuate troweling member, means on said member spaced substantially back from the forward edge of said member and adapted to engage a surface over which said tool is applied,

said means defining the angle of inclination of said member relative to said surface, and means for manual actuation of said tool.

9. A trowel for applying a uniform coating strip of plastic material to a flat surface, which comprises a broad, inclined troweling member having an arcuate troweling edge, means on said member spaced from said edge for defining the inclination of said member relative to said surface, and means adjacent said troweling edge for manual actuation of said trowel.

10. A trowel for applying plastic material in a feathered strip to a surface, which comprises a substantially arcuate troweling member, a pair of coextensive arms attached adjacent the troweling edge, said edge being slightly arcuate, said arms maintaining said edge in arcuate shape, and a handle for manually actuating said trowel.

11. A trowel for applying plastic material in a feathered strip to a surface, which comprises a slightly. arcuate troweling member, the troweling edge of said member being slightly arcuate transversely, a pair of coextensive arms attached to said member adjacent said arcuate edge and adapted to maintain said edge in arcuate shape, a handle, and means on said member to engage said surface-so as to regulate the angle of inclination of said member relative to said surface.

12. A tool adapted for applying a feather-edge strip of plastic material to a substantially arcuate surface and having a transversely arcuate troweling edge, and means secured adjacent said troweling edge in substantially parallel relation therewith for maintaining the arcuate form of the edge when pressure is applied with the trowel against said surface. 7

13. A tool for applying a feathered strip of plastic material to a surface, which comprises a a slightly arcuate troweling member having a transversely arcuate troweling edge, means secured adjacent said troweling edge to retain said edge in substantially arcuate shape when pressure is applied to said edge, and means also adjacent said edge for manually actuating said trowel.

JAMES B. MCCORKLE.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,999,367. April 30, 1935.

JAMES B. MeCORKLE.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 20, claim 5, strike out the word "with" and insert the same before "the" in line 22, of said claim; and that the said Letters Patent should he read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 9th day of July, A. D. 1935.

Bryan M, Battery (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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