ProductFocus Tools + Supplies
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nnovation drives industry. The manufacturers included in this year’s Tools & Supplies Product Focus are producing equipment that propels our industry forward, helping you produce superior results and meet ever-rising customer expectations.
abrasives 3M 3M’s Easy Change disc buffer system makes blending scratches and chatter marks or sanding patterned hardwood floors easier than ever, the company says. Contractors can now quickly change from one 3M Hook-it II abrasive grit to another without tools. The discs are available in grades 20 to 150. www.3m.com
Bona US The Bona Blue Anti-Static abrasive line, featuring sanding belts and edger discs, combines grit materials and antistatic properties that help prevent dust from clinging to the belt, leading to a more consistent cut and less dust on the floor, the company says. www.bona.com
Festool Grits for Festool’s Granat line of abrasives range from 40 to 1,500. They are designed for solvent-based, high-VOC surfaces and paints. These abrasives feature a hardened aluminum oxide with ceramic grit and stearate coating. What’s more, Festool says the abrasives have exceptional anti-clogging properties. www.festool.com
Mercer Abrasives, a Division of Mercer Tool Corp. Mercer Abrasives offers heavy-duty belts and pads of various grits and sizes. Mercer says these are cool-cutting and long-lasting. Its Premium Zirconia Floor Sanding Belts feature Zirconia grain, a resin-on-resin bond and a butt-tape joint for bidirectional sanding. www.mercerabrasives.com
Virginia Abrasives Designed for use in between-coat finish preparation, Blue Magic pads feature hard, sharp abrasive grains. Blue Magic has been tested and approved by top finish manufacturers, the company says, adding that the nonwoven material allows for a more consistent abrasion without removing too much finish. www.virginiaabrasives.com
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ProductFocus applicators
Tools + Supplies
Glitsa, a Division of Rudd Company Inc.
Bona US Bona US offers a European nap roller for waterborne finishes. It features a candy stripe that shows whether the roller is dragging. The specially designed roller is for use with Bona finishes.
Glitsa’s waterborne roller cover and frame help professional finishers achieve an even finish; Glitsa’s 18-inch roller cover with 3⁄8-inch nap fits perfectly into the adjustable frame. The frame is balanced on both sides to ensure even finish application, and it adjusts to fit roller covers from 12 to 18 inches.
www.bona.com
www.glitsa.com
Mercer Abrasives, a Division of Mercer Tool Corp.
Padco Inc. Padco’s Crack & Groove Tool is a lightweight applicator with a narrow woven pad that can get into hard-to-reach areas; it can be used with all stains and finishes. The applicator is made of solvent-resistant plastic and comes in 2- and 6-inch sizes.
Made of premium, thick lambskin, Mercer’s applicators are available up to 18 inches in size, with or without a wooden applicator block. Thumbscrews hold the 6-inch-wide pad in place between two 21/4-inchwide blocks. They can be used to apply stain, sealer and surface finish.
www.padco.com
www.mercerabrasives.com
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products The Woodwise Nap Saver suspends an applicator pad inside a polycarbonate housing so the nap doesn’t get crushed. Since the nap never touches the sides, it keeps applicator pads like new so they can be used again and again without compromising quality, Woodwise says. www.woodwise.com
floor manufacturing equipment Great Lakes Custom Tool Mfg. Inc. Great Lakes Custom Tool’s Great-Loc SG Universal Floor Cutters lets users change inserts and backers in order to cut different flooring profiles while still using the same cutter body, something the company says eliminates the need to purchase additional cutter bodies. Each insert is precision-ground and optically inspected. www.glct.com
Royce-Ayr Cutting Tools Inc. Royce-Ayr produces fully adjustable tooling for the hardwood flooring industry. The company says its products combine the ETP-Cubit adjustment system with either insert- or diamond-tipped cutters to achieve precise results, and that this combination works extremely well in high-feed applications because tools can be adjusted while still mounted to save set-up time. www.royceayr.com
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Product Focus | Tools + Supplies
moisture meters Delmhorst Instrument Co. Delmhorst’s Total Check features pin and pinless moisture measurement and a thermo-hygrometer attachment that conforms to the ASTM F-2170 standard. Advanced features include corrections for 69 wood species, a calibrated drywall scale and a reference scale for non-wood materials. Stored readings can be downloaded to a spreadsheet, providing clear, complete documentation of every job. www.delmhorst.com
Lignomat USA Ltd. The Ligno-Scanner SDM offers individual calibration curves and calibration settings for wood and the most common bamboo floor plank styles, including horizontal, vertical, strand, natural and carbonized. The meter has two measuring depths of ¼ inch and ¾ inch. www.lignomat.com
scrapers
Duo-Fast Floor Fastening Systems
www.duo-fast.com
Porta-Nails Inc. Porta-Nails’ Portamatic Evolution is an 18-gauge flooring cleat nailer. It is designed to install 3 ⁄8- to ¾-inch-thick engineered and solid wood flooring, including bamboo products. It features an ergonomic design and fully adjustable shoe base for increased stability. www.porta-nails.com
Powernail Company Inc. Powernail’s Flex nailer can be used to install a variety of tongue-and-groove flooring types, including both solid and engineered flooring from 3⁄8 to ¾ inch thick; it eliminates the need for pads and shims through adjusting to the floor height. It uses an 18-gauge cleat and is made from rugged cast aluminum, while its pressure-sealed body eliminates leaks, the company says.
Primatech Primatech’s 250 Series is for use with 5⁄8- to ¾-inch flooring with 16-gauge L or T nails, or 15½-gauge staples. The 550 Series is for use with 3⁄8- to ¾-inch flooring with 18-gauge L cleats. With many enhancement options, Primatech says both of these nailers can be used on residential or larger jobs.
Hardwood Industry Products Hardwood Industry Products offers a full line of hardwood flooring scrapers designed to create hand-distressed looks. Its Optimum, Ultimate and Pro scrapers (pictured top to bottom) vary in handle curve and profile, offering different amounts of leverage needed for either bench-scraping or on-site applications. The scrapers come with a lifetime warranty. www.hardwoodindustryproducts.com
Mercer Abrasives, a Division of Mercer Tool Company Mercer’s premium, heavyduty scrapers allow contractors to scrape without gouging any tough surface edge sanders can’t reach. They’re available with either rubber-molded or premium hardwood handles, and they feature double-hardened, high-carbon steel blade edges, angled to reach corners, edges and recesses. www.mercerabrasives.com
www.primatech.ca
www.powernail.com
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products Woodwise makes a rectangular-head nail set for L or T cleats. This tool, which is made from case-hardened impacttool steel, sets the nail below the wood surface. www.woodwise.com
Wagner says contractors can instantly and accurately measure moisture content of rough- or finish-grade wood with its MMC 220 moisture meter. The tool measures from 5 to 30 percent moisture content (MC) and has a species selection feature, eliminating the need to reference correction tables. It also has an extended range feature, which allows for an extended species setting range for exotics. www.wagnermeters.com
nailers The Floormaster 250BN is a hardwood finish nailer. It features a patent-pending no-mar guide for precise blind nailing, and it drives into denser exotic woods with ease, Duo-Fast says. Also, this finish nailer offers an adjustable depth of drive, which the company says reduces tongue splitting.
Wagner Electronic Products Inc.
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products Woodwise’s V-Groove Scraper cleans out V-groove flooring during the refinishing process, while its Nosing Scraper helps maintain the round surface of nosing or tread; a 14-inch Sharpening File is also available for the Nosing Scraper, and replaceable blades are available for both scrapers. www.woodwise.com
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Product Focus | Tools + Supplies
sanding equipment Cherryhill Manufacturing Corporation
Bona US Bona’s sanding systems feature the Bona Portable Dust Containment System and the Bona Edge, which offers a reduced sanding arm but maintains the ergonomics and feel of a traditional edger, the company says. Plus, the company says its dust containment systems are the only Greenguard-certified systems in the industry. www.bona.com
The U-Sand Pro weighs 40 pounds less than the original U-Sand and is more aggressive. Utilizing Cherryhill Manufacturing Corporation’s patented four-pad, random-orbital design, the U-Sand Pro will not damage the floor, the company says, adding that it works as a sander, edger and buffer to provide a single, user-friendly machine.
Clarke American Sanders Clarke’s OBS 18 and OBS 18DC random-orbital sanders remove scratch patterns left by drum or rotary sanders. The company says these tools leave the floor smooth, flat and ready for refinishing, and that they’re perfect for the interim “screen and recoat” process. www.americansanders.com
www.u-sand.com
CS Unitec Inc. CS Unitec’s 110-volt ERS 180 rotary sander features slide rollers for sanding along a surface’s edge, and it can be paired with a vacuum for dust collection. It includes a variablespeed motor and lock-on button to maintain a steady speed. This sander can accommodate 7-inch discs, and it weighs six pounds. www.csunitec.com
Festool Festool’s RO 90 Multi-Mode Sander has a tool-less design, allowing it to quickly change from a round pad sander to a delta-shaped, random-orbit detail sander in seconds, the company says. It also features a rotary mode for rough surfaces. www.festool.com
Mercer Abrasives, a Division of Mercer Tool Corp. Mercer now offers narrow, elastic-neck floor sander bags with zippers. Made with 100 percent cotton flannel and napped on the inside, Mercer says its sander bags are perfect for heavy-duty floor sanders and edgers. Also, the company still offers its standard bags with reinforced grommets and a drawstring closure that prevents dust from escaping. www.mercertools.com
Revolution Inc.
U.S. Sander LLC
Werkmaster
Revolution Inc. manufactures a new product called the FlexPad. Designed by contractor Wayne Lee, this pad replaces the rubber pad for Clarke’s B2 and S7R edgers. Revolution says this pad cuts flatter than other pads due to its “flex.” It also sands smoother than rubber edger pads, leaving fewer scratches to take out.
U.S. Sander now offers the HEPA Jet Dust Containment System, which meets the EPA’s RRP Lead Safe Work Practices requirements to sand hardwood floors in homes built before 1978. It features a large, certified and tested HEPA filter that is rated at 1000 CFM and includes indicators to show when the filter is contaminated. The system fully outdraws up to two sanders.
Werkmaster says its Viper 1700 is like having seven machines in one. This variable-speed machine can grind, polish, edge, sand, buff, burnish and strip coatings from concrete and hardwood. The sandpaper-less machine has a 17-inch footprint and low profile, and it edges to within 1⁄8 inch.
www.101revolution.com
www.werkmaster.com
www.ussander.com
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products Woodwise Dust Collection Bags are made from 12-ounce brushed denim for maximum durability. All sewn edges are finished for added strength and to prevent raveling. The bags open wide for easy emptying, and hemmed drawstrings ensure complete closure. The bags are available in large sander, large edger, and double-bottom edger sizes. www.woodwise.com
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Product Focus | Tools + Supplies
other Amana Tool Amana Tool offers a full collection of cutting tools that enable users to create custom tongue and groove wood flooring inlays from solid wood. Included in this collection are router bits, plunge router bits, a shaper cutter set, and an undercut saw blade. www.amanatool.com
Bona US
Bosch Power Tools
Bona offers the Bona Microfiber Mop for cleaning the job site. When used dry it picks up loose dust particles before sealing or staining a sanded floor. It can also be used to wet-tack between coats of finish. The Bona Microfiber Cleaning Pad is washable for more than 300 uses.
Bosch Power Tools says its GTS1031 10-inch portable table saw is lightweight and designed to be carried in one hand. It includes an expandable tabletop to meet cut needs up to 18 inches, and it has an all-steel base and ergonomic handle. www. boschusa.com
www.bona.com
Festool Festool’s CT Workcenter WCR 1000 mounts to the top of its CT Dust Extractor vacuum. The Workcenter features all sorts of hooks, pegs and shelves, so it can hold a variety of tools needed on the job site.
FEIN FEIN says flooring installers get more done faster with the quality and durability of its MultiMaster tool. As the inventor of oscillating technology, FEIN says it brings a system perfect for flooring applications. With the MultiMaster, users can efficiently remove old floor coverings, plunge-cut parquet or laminated flooring with ease, and quickly trim boards and doorframes.
www.festool. com
Mercer Abrasives, a Division of Mercer Tool Corp. Mercer Abrasives says it supplies safety products to guarantee a safe work environment. The N95 Particulate Respirator is NIOSH-approved and protects against dusts and mists produced by sanding. The soft, closed-cell nose foam and adjustable nosepiece increases comfort and ensures the compatibility of glasses/goggles.
www.themultimastersystem.com
www.mercerabrasives.com
North American Caster Limited
Starborn Industries
North American Caster says its Floor-Care brand of self-adhesive felt floor protectors have super-strong adhesive. The 110-piece pack pictured contains all of the most popular sizes to accommodate all kinds of furniture, it adds. These protectors can be used with all hard-surface flooring, and they are made in Canada.
Powernail Company Inc. Powernail’s PowerJack 500, with its drop-down self-adjusting jaw, handles flooring from 5⁄16- to ¾-inch thick. Powernail says it speeds up installation of starter and finishing rows, and that its slim design and angled handle allow users to fit it under toe kicks and cabinets, ensuring tight flooring strips by either pushing or pulling.
Starborn Industries Inc.’s Smart-Bit Pro Plug system is for plugging wood flooring and decking. It features a patentpending glue nozzle that delivers glue to the sidewalls of the plug hole. The system includes a tool for pre-drilling and counter-boring, fasteners, a glue nozzle and plugs. www.starbornindustries.com
www.powernail.com
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Product Focus | Tools + Supplies SKIL Power Tools SKIL’s model 1830 router runs a variable-speed 2¼-hp motor and features both an aluminum fixed base and aluminum plunge base. A quick-release lever allows for easy adjustments and removal, while a depth rod and adjustable turret make repeatable plunging possible. www.skiltools.com
Taylor Tools While Oil-Flo 141 Urethane Buster easily removes mastic, adhesive, ink, chewing gum, and asphalt, it is especially formulated to remove cured and uncured urethane from hardwood surfaces without damage or discoloration of the finish. It is a low-odor, non-flammable solvent that is water-soluble and USDA-approved, containing no chlorinated solvents or CFCs. www.taylortools.com
Treska Products Game lines are easy to install with Treska’s Line-Rite Tape Machine, the company says. The machine applies masking tape for painting sports court game lines, accurately applying the masking tape for each side of the line at the same time. Line-Rite is adjustable for different widths and is especially useful for applying basketball circles, key ways and three-point lines, the company adds. www.treskaproducts.com
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products Woodwise Felt Floor Protector Pads protect wood, vinyl, parquet and ceramic floors from scratches, dents and rust stains. By allowing furniture to glide across a floor, the pads also help prevent furniture leg joints from becoming loose. The pads come in ¾- and 1-inch sizes for the peel-and-stick kind, while the tap-in kind are available in 7⁄8and 1¼-inch sizes. www.woodwise.comv
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