It's in the details
JoeE,
Blush, blush, thanks for posting all the pics. Lots of work for you, but a fine result. Thanks, too, to you and phamly for showing up at the first annual bake. The tool used for pointing the joints is called, variously, a beading tool or a grapevine. I had a devil of a time finding one, mostly because they haven't been in common use since the 19th C here. My source is out of Quebec (backward types), so if anybody's interested I'll try to get a few more and send them on. Don't remember the cost, but not cheap (read specialized), somewhere in the $25 Cdn range.
There WILL be a second annual, third weekend in May, so write it down.
Cheers,
Jim
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CanuckJim's Masonry Tools
Again more pics from Jim - He has supplied the following info on the tools
Here goes with the tool pic:
Left to right:
a large Marshalltown brick/block trowel
a 1/8 inch pointing trowel
a 1/2 inch pointing trowel
a 2 inch square end plastering trowel
a small brick/tile trowel useful for restricted spaces.
Immediately above is
a decorative 3/8 inch pointer called a beading tool or grapevine here
(gives a rounded convex shape to facade brick joints; there are other sizes).
At the very top,
a rectangular Marshalltown smoothing trowel for slabs, foundations, plaster, parging (very useful).
Not shown, an all metal, double ended block joint pointer;
it results in a concave finished joint.
Except for the beading tool, all should be available at Home Depot/Lowes/OSH....
Masonry suppliers will handle the more expensive Rose label and things
like the grapevine.
The dark staining is from refractory mortar: LaFarge Fondue.
The narrow pointers and the beading tool are all shown working faces up;
others down. I modified the length of the pointers to the size I prefer,
then rounded the noses to prevent tool marks in the finished joints.
For brick joints, simply choose the pointer width that fits most snugly.
These are also useful to dry measure and maintain consistent joint size
without using a tape.
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