I’m shopping for a bull float. I always imagined the blade would be made of wood because the bull float is the first tooling to be used on a freshly poured slab. But now I see bull floats can be made of other materials: magnesium or aluminum. What are the attributes of a magnesium or aluminum bull float? Why would either be used over a wooden one? They come in various sizes… 36″, 48″, and 60″. Would a newbie be wise to start with a 36″ bull float because it might be easier to maneuver? Or does it stand to reason to buy the biggest bull float possible? Also, what is a multi-groove bull float? Thanks in advance!
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stronger, don't split, won't serate, won't fuzz, lighter, float out a lot nicer and clean up cleaner too....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Never seen a wooden bull float. Since it is maneuvered on a long handle, light is good. The good ones have a handle that twists and adjusts the angle of attack. The size would depend totally on what you are finishing. Big would be for someone finishing lots of big slabs in a hurry, without a lot of plumbing penetrations etc. to go around. I imaging you would get fewer bullfloat marks with a bigger float, but those aren't that big an issue anyway so don't know if that is an advantage. On my crew, the bull float guy has no problem keeping up, so the three footer is plenty.
What are the attributes of a magnesium or aluminum bull float?
They are used with different kinds/mixes of concrete. Magnesium is used with air entrained concrete, not sure what aluminum would be used for.