Concrete Edging Tool
- Simple and effective, the common hand edger appears in every concrete mason's tool chest. An angled metal base plate and attached handle are the two parts of the concrete edger. The rigid metal base plate bends at a right angle along one edge. The smooth radius of the bend results in a lip that the mason inserts between concrete form work and the slab's side. An edger's handle protrudes directly from the top of the base plate. Handles are made of wood, metal or plastic and are typically U shaped or L shaped.
- Like the hand edger, the pole edger's primary component is an angled base plate that slides between form work and concrete. However, the mason does not grip the pole edger by handle but directs the tool with an extension pole attached to the base plate's topside. Pole-mounted edgers allow masons to reach distant areas without walking across freshly poured concrete. Extension poles usually attach to edger base plates with screw-like threads.
- The term "curbing tools" refers to edging tools specially designed to create sidewalk edges, curbs and gutters. Like standard concrete edgers, curbing tools consist of a metal base plate and attached handle or pole-mount assembly. However, the profile of a curbing tool's base plate is molded to create the precise dimensions of standard curbs and gutters. The base plates of some curbing tools are S-shaped, allowing the tool to create both gutter and curb at once.
- Edging power equipment is specially designed to pave landscape edging, retaining walls, gutters and curbs. Although specific designs vary according to manufacturer, edging equipment generally consists of a wheel-mounted motor, concrete hopper and mechanical die. Paving professionals load a relatively dry mix of concrete into the machine's hopper and the hopper feeds the mix to the mechanical die. The machine's motor causes the die to grab the concrete and press it into a specific shape on the ground, such as an edging profile, curb or gutter. Because of the dryness of the mixture and the compressive force of the machine, the concrete holds its form. The power edger continuously lays the concrete form as the operator rolls the machine across the landscape.
- The power edging trowel floats and smooths the edges of recently poured concrete slabs. The power edging trowel looks similar to a floor buffer; its flat-bottomed, circular base connects to a waist-high, T-shaped handle. A series of edging trowel blades, similar to hand edgers, mount to the underside of the tool's base. A gas-powered engine drives the rotation of the blades. To use the power edging trowel, a mason activates the engine and runs the machine across a slab's edge.