Unpopular opinion: Apprentices skip hand-trowel practice now. How do you teach the basics in a power tool world?

3 comments

3 Comments

Yeah, you gotta make the hand tools the first step they can't skip. We tell new guys the power trowel is a privilege you earn after proving you can fix your own mistakes by hand (and you will make mistakes). Had a kid last week who tried to jump straight to the machine and left ridges everywhere, spent the next day smoothing it out with a hand trowel. That's the lesson, right there.

paulyoung15d ago

Classic move, thinking the machine does the work for you lol. Bet that kid was real proud of his time saving idea right up until he saw those ridge lines the next morning. Now his arms are probably jelly from all that hand troweling, and that floor is gonna have his name on it forever. Serves him right for trying to skip to the finish line.

the_joseph3d ago

Forget the idea that the machine is a reward for good hand work. A power trowel is just a different tool for a different part of the job. The real lesson is learning when to use each one, not treating one like a prize.