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I finally tossed that $180 'self-leveling' rake that never leveled anything
Bought a so-called self-leveling rake off a tool truck back in March for $180, and I want to warn anybody thinking about it. The teeth are too short and too close together, so it just drags a ridge of mud along instead of cutting it down, and the head is so light it floats right over the low spots. I fought with it on a 900 sq ft garage slab in Tacoma for two days straight, chasing birdbaths with a hand float while the clock ran, and the homeowner walked out and pointed at three dips I still had. Ended up pulling my old magnesium rake out of the truck, the one with the wide teeth, and flattened the whole thing in about 40 minutes. That rake cost me $180 plus a half day of labor I ate, and I'm still sour about it. If you're new and a salesman tells you the rake does the leveling for you, it does not, your arms and your eye do it. What do you all actually use for big open pours, magnesium or aluminum, and has anybody found a rake that cuts without digging trenches?
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barbara39910h ago
Plenty of guys run that style of rake and swear by it, so maybe the tool wasn't the problem. On a 900 foot slab you have to get the mud close first with a screed or a mag float, then the rake just shaves the high spots after, and if the mix is wet or you're dragging full of mud it will ridge no matter what brand you hold. Take it with a grain of salt since I wasn't there, but blaming one rake for three dips feels a bit off when the base and the timing do most of the work.
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