Paid $400 for a power trowel attachment that did nothing my hands couldn't do better

Bought one of those helicopter blade add-ons for my walk-behind last spring. Saw a guy on YouTube using it and thought man that looks slick. First job with it was a 40 yard pour over at the old warehouse on Maple Street. Thing wobbled like crazy left these swirl marks I had to hand finish anyway. Took me twice as long to clean up the mess. Called the supplier and they said I was probably using it wrong but come on. Sold it on Craigslist for 150 bucks. Anybody else try those attachments and actually get them to work right?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_schmidt24d ago

Man I tried one too and had the exact same wobble problem. What finally worked for me was running it at way lower RPMs than I thought and keeping the concrete a bit stiffer than usual.

west.henry23d ago

And that stiffer mix is the real trick nobody talks about. I got the same wobble and figured out if you let the concrete set up just a bit longer before you start, like until it's got some real resistance when you poke at it, the trowel bites in instead of skipping around. Also found out the hard way that spinning it too fast just flings the cream everywhere and leaves those ugly ridges. Lower RPMs and a drier mix turned my last slab from a disaster into something I could actually sell to a customer without apologizing.

rileynelson24d ago

Oh man, I bought the exact same thing last year. Thought I was getting some pro level tool and all I got was a wobbly mess that left my concrete looking like a bad haircut. I spent three hours on a Saturday going over my own driveway trying to fix those swirl marks before I gave up and just called it a "textured finish." Called the company too and got the same line about user error. Sold mine for a hundred bucks and felt lucky to get that. Those things are just gimmicks for YouTube videos if you ask me. Stick with your hands and a good finishing trowel, you'll save money and your sanity.