The Road Giveth

When I bike to work I always keep a weather-eye on the road surface. Here in New England you must always be prepared to bunny-hop the odd pot-hole (yes, you can hop a recumbent, just not very high) but I also find some very nice tools on my rides.  Sparkplug wrenches are the most common, they get lost in engine compartments and fall out on the road.  Box wrenches and screwdrivers are next, but I’ve also found vise-grips, channel locks, and specialty wire crimpers too, not to mention inumerable carpet knives, and a machete.

This one is particularly timely as I am beginning work on a foundry furnace and will shortly be mixing refractory cement.

I spotted this trowel at the roadside in an upscale neighborhood, I almost didn’t take it because it had been so obviously mistreated.  This is not the tool of a professional mason, this is the tool of a hack.  I imagined that it would take a great deal of effort to remove the hardened cement and mortar.  As it turned out, a bit of a soak in Muriatic acid cleaned it up with very little effort on my part!

It’s really quit a nice trowel and I will be putting it to work very soon now!