US2906115A - Flexible edged plasters repair and finishing tool - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1959 P. P. PASTORET 2,

FLEXIBLE EDGED PLASTERS REPAIR AND FINISHING TOOL Filed Aug. 16, 1956 i 22 25 j l r I .50

INVENTOR Pieff'e' Pas'l'oiet 0 B? TOMB United States Patent FLEXIBLE EDGED 'PL'ASTERS REPAIR AND 'FINISHIN G TOOL Pierre P. Pastoret,.St. Paul, Minn.

Application August '16, 1956, Serial No.1604;459

1 Claim. j(Cl. 72-i1'3..6)

This-invention relatesto a flexible edged plasters re- ;pair and-finishing tool. More particularly the invention or improvement relates to an improved tool for filling cracks in plastered smooth and sand finished walls to efiecta finish wherein the filledcracks arefim'shed flush with the wall and the filled area blends ;in uniformly to leave a wall surface wherein the crack doesnot appear as a filled in area irrespective of expert .or nonexpert handling. In addition, the toolis conveniently utilizable to apply plaster and sealers about thecorner edgesalong bath tubs, coves, rounded surfaces, window casing edges, and the like applications needed particularly in'jhome repair work.

At present, the use of knives, board edges and .Other or special like tools are utilized to finish and smoothen out filled in crack areas. When such tools are utilized by inexperienced hands, the cracks usually show up and cannot be covered by painting. Consequently, the filling: .of cracks by thenon-expert usuallyleaves a visible defect can fill cracks in walls .havingxsmooth and sand finishes without leaving any appearanceof the wall having been repaired.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved economical tool for home use in working with plastic fillers and sealers on visible surfaces desired to be given the appearance of blending in smoothly and uniformly with the surfaces to which the fillers and sealers are applied.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved finishing tool, for use by the inexperienced workman and the experts, for applying plaster, plastics and sealers having relatively flexible working properties, the tool being provided with flexible tongue edges and flexible smooth edges, with resilient corners, for forcing the plaster, plastic and sealers into cracks and leaving the top surface with a smooth or sanded appearance, generally obtained only by the workmanship of an expert and with a saving of about 75% of the time usually required for such work.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of my plaster tool.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective of a modification of the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is an end view of the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In the application of plaster to fill a wall crack, the problem is to leave the wall finish of uniform appearance. The difiiculty is in matching the filled area to the balance of the wall plaster. On a smooth surface this problem is not so diflicult. However, when the surface has a sand finish, there is no known conveniently 2,906,115 Patented Sept. 29, 1959 i2 1 usable tool which affords the non-expert with a means for filling and leveling the crack area with a sand covering, so as to leave the wall withits'normal finished .ap;

pearance.

To provide a structure for this purpose, usable by either a right or left handedpersom there is shownn'n Figures 1 and 2 arectangularly shaped rubber block A .shaped to beheld and supported by the fingers of :the

hand when pushed or dragged across a body of plaster on plastic-material usedito fill cracks.

The block A is a cutor molded resilient rubber material 10 .havinga thickened resilient center section .11 on the topsideanda like thickened center section 1-2 ,onthe base-side. .From the center; section 11, each of the .two opposite sides 13 and 14, along the length of the block A, slope graduallyin a; rounded taper to the relatively thinner outside. flexible edges 15 and 16, respectively. The undersides 17 and 18 of base 1-2 are-similarly gradually tapered to provideedge -15 as anarrow-resilieng-flat block surface and edge 16 as a tapered resilient feather edge, respectively.

The relative ends 20 and 21 of top section '11 :are also gradually tapered towards the outside'end edges 22 and 23, respectively. The ,ends of the under surface, asillustrated by25, one only being shown, are exactly similarly tapered as-the ends 20 and 2 1 to form the thin resilent feather blade, edge 22 and the resilient blunt or narrow blade edge 23. I V

The side edge 16 1is-provided with a series of narrow slits or cuts,.as at 27 and 28, extending inparallel relaitionship along therlength of the-sloping sides .14 and .18.

The slits 27 are cut at right angles .to the edge 16and to a. slightly greater depth into the body of the block than the slits:28. The spacings 29 between therelativecuts '27 and 23;form:a:serieslofclose adjacent resilient flexible fingers or tongues having a thickened base supportedasan integral portion .of-therubber block with the outermost .endshavingthe; ability'to-fiex and spread-in order :to pass over :a sand surface --,wit hout dragging or pitting up, the

sand. With-the cuts 2.7 provided ata greaterde pth than cuts 28, slightly more spacing and flexing of the flexible fingers and tongues are obtained in different sizes of sand grains. The feathered end edge 22 is provided with another series of parallel cuts 30 extending at right angles for an equal distance into the relatively sloping ends, one side only being shown at 20, which forms the edge 22. The row of parallel cuts 30 provides a series of closely adjacent small, integral flexible fingers or tongues 31 of relatively uniform size which produces a comparatively uniform edge for passing over fine sand grains in a patching and finishing operation. The closely adjacent relationship of the tongues or fingers 29 and 31 are such as to make the edges 16 and 22, respectively, appear as a solid body with relative slits being determined only by close observation and bending or spreading of the relatively resilient body, or bending and displacing the flexible tongues.

The modified structure shown by rectangular block B in Figure 3 is formed of a molded rubber with the top section 11' and is formed similarly to the top section 11 shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4. The opposite sides 13' and 14' and ends 20 and 21 are leveled or tapered towards the resilient edges of the block B. The taper of sides 13' and 21' are such as to form the narrow blunt side edges 15 and 23'. The taper of the sides 14' and 20' are such as to form relatively feathered edges 16' and 22'.

The modification is provided by forming the block B with a flat underside 34 (not specifically turned to show the flat surface) recognizable in this view with the elimination of the underside portion 12 and its associated tapering sides and ends. In addition, a further illustrative modification is that the series of slits 28 cut through along 3 the elongated edge 16, while they may be of the char acter described with reference to Figure 1, are illustra tively of a uniform depth to provide displaceable tongues or fingers 29 for leveling out a flat sand surface and giving uniform decorative swirls in sanded wall finishes. The more narrow end 22 is provided with a series of cuts 30 to form the parallel alignments of relatively flexible fingers 31' which are displaced when sliding the block the adjacent wall surfaces with any sand covering left uniformly distributed over the fresh plaster or plastic by displacement of the resilient tongues or fingers, as described. When the wall area is smooth and without a 'sand finish, the relatively blunt sides 15, 15 or 23, 23

are pulled over the surface of a plaster or plastic to squeeze it into a crack and leave it at the level of the adjacent wall surfaces. The flat level surface 34 of block B is used to work and smoothen out a large surface area, when desired.

In addition, either of the tools are applicable to finishing curved sanded or smooth surfaces and corners. The resilient block bodies A and B having corners 35 and 35 are provided with flexible fingers 29, 29' and 31, 31' at right angles, respectively. The relatively resilient nature of the rubber block body corners 35 and 35 permits them to follow sanded surface corner contours and the fingers or tongues, as described, are displaced by the sand as the tool is moved or pulled over a sanded surface. The opposite corners 36 and 36' of blocks A and B, respectively, are provided to finish smooth surfaces of corners and rounded finishes. For example, in sealing cracks with a plastic strip about bathtubs, windows and the like, the relative resilient corners 36 and 36' are used to force the sealer into the cracks and as the tools are pulled under the application of pressure across the plastic, the plastic is forced into the crack leaving a smoothly rounded surface blending in with the relative edges of the crack. Simultaneously, the smooth Wall surfaces along the edge of the crack are wiped relatively clean of any deposits of the plastic.

Additional work fields for the tool is in ceramics, boat building and repair and automobile building and repair.

The tool, as herein described, is formed of rubber or synthetic rubbery material compounded with conventional stiffening fillers in a conventional manner to provide a stiffened but flexible body, as described.

In accordancewith the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my flexible edged plasters repair and finishing tool, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

A finishing tool for plaster and the like comprising a generally rectangular body of resilient rubber like material having a thickened portion tapering to a substantially straight feather edge along its parallel sides and its parallel ends, a series of parallel cuts in said feather edge extending into said body at substantially right angles thereto from one of said sides and from one of said ends, said cuts forming a series of resilient tongues in side by side contacting relation of progressively increasing thickness to form a thickened base with alternate cuts extending from one of said sides being longer than the other, the ends of said tongues forming a continuous edge in normal position but said tongues being capable of individually flexing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,055,406 Mason et al Mar. 11, 1913 1,388,282 Meredith Aug. 23, 1921 1,575,318 Cowan Mar. 2, 1926 1,761,109 Dietz June 3, 1930 1,868,013 Humphreys July 19, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 810,076 France Nov. 19, 1936

Images