My $80 mortar mixer paddle bent on the third job

Bought a cheap paddle from a big box store. First two jobs were fine, third one had a few too many rocks and now it wobbles like crazy. Anyone else just stick with the name brand ones from the supply house?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxp682d ago

Big box store paddles are made for homeowner use where you mix a bag a year. The metal is softer and the welds are weaker. I had one shear the blade right off on a batch of type S mortar. Grabbed a Marshalltown from the supply house and that thing has been through rocks, rebar chunks, and even a dropped trowel without so much as a wobble. The steel is just thicker and they heat treat the shafts different.

young.emma1d ago

Preach. I learned this the hard way too. Bought one of those cheap blue paddles from the home center and it bent like a wet noodle on the second bag of thinset. The blade started wobbling so bad I thought it was going to fly off and put a hole in the drywall. Switched to a Marshalltown and it's been a tank for two years now, mixing everything from floor leveler to bagged concrete. You can just feel the difference in the steel when you grab it. The handle doesn't get that weird flex either. Why do people keep wasting money on the cheap ones when the good one costs like fifteen bucks more and lasts forever?