# Mudding Corners-light mud left in corner seam when finishing...



## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

I do corners one side at a time. It seems like I always end up with a little bit left from mud going over the edge of the knife. This remaining mud has to be hit with the knife in order to knock it off when dry before doing the other side.

Is there a trick to preventing this? I want to get faster but it seems like I am constantly hitting the same spot to minimize this overflow???? 

Is rounding the corner on the knife ever beneficial?


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## donerightwyo (Oct 10, 2011)

Of course practice is always in order, but aside from that maybe you should try your mud a little drier. I also fill the whole side almost perfect, then clean up the other side, then come back for the final pass.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Try changing the angle of your knife as you run down the corner.

I spread the mud all the way down.... I smoothed out one more time.... I wipe my edge... I lay my knife flat on the opposite corner and clean up any overflow and then wipe one last time..... But I've had over 30 years doing it so now I just do it


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

Practice with a good flusher that'll speed things up


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## westco (Nov 21, 2007)

square off the the sides of your 6" on a stationary grinding wheel or place the knife in a vise and use a hand held grinder, take it back far enough so that you have a few inches long


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## pibe (Jan 21, 2013)

Load corner up, break the edge, [quick swipe down adjacent side to clean up any overflow if you have any], final pass.

After a while you will get to the point where you have less and less mud hitting the other side when you get down the proper pressure, angle, speed, etc.


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

Its in the angle of your knife and how you "load" the mud onto the knife.

Practice...


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks for all the tips. I'll keep practicing.

Is it standard practice for you guys to have to knock off dried mud overflow when going to do the other side or do you pretty much eliminate all over flow and keep it clean?


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

I like to keep corners clean. Sometimes if you knock mud off the corners it tends to rip some out too. I have no problem knockin mud down in the field.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

I can't offer any tricks, but in my experience it's always worth knocking it down while it's wet. I'm not perfect with finishing tools, but my rule is that the only dry work should be final sanding, and that should be avoided if possible. If I'm knocking something down that's dry, I should have been more careful or done 2 passes with the wet. Less time in the end.


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

> I like to keep corners clean. Sometimes if you knock mud off the corners it tends to rip some out too. I have no problem knockin mud down in the field.


Agreed



> I can't offer any tricks, but in my experience it's always worth knocking it down while it's wet. I'm not perfect with finishing tools, but my rule is that the only dry work should be final sanding, and that should be avoided if possible. If I'm knocking something down that's dry, I should have been more careful or done 2 passes with the wet. Less time in the end.


Agreed

After spending a few hours sanding yesterday it is most definitely best to get everything off that wont come off in one swipe of a sanding sponge.

Thanks for all the comments.


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## Mountain Man (Jun 3, 2013)

It's all about the angle of your knife, adjust it until the side of your six is pulling off the overflow on the opposite side of the angle


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## GCTony (Oct 26, 2012)

Interesting that no one mentioned finishing both sides of the angle at the same time. Is this something that most finishers don't do anymore?


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

GCTony said:


> Interesting that no one mentioned finishing both sides of the angle at the same time. Is this something that most finishers don't do anymore?


I've heard about that before.. I can't do it though...


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

GCTony said:


> Interesting that no one mentioned finishing both sides of the angle at the same time. Is this something that most finishers don't do anymore?


I did...


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## GCTony (Oct 26, 2012)

TimelessQuality said:


> I did...


Steve, is that what the term "practice with a good flusher" was refering to? Explain if you would???


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

Yeah.. should have said 'corner trowel' I use a 2.5 for bedding, then a 4 for the second (and final) coat. I did the one side at a time thing for years, and finally decided there had to be a better way. Took some practice, but now it's fast and easier with the corner trowels..


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## GCTony (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks, I never could get the hang of that corner trowel thing. Would always leave a very heavy edge that you would need to feather anyway and would end up doing too much sanding. I was taught many years ago by a VERY good finisher to use a 4" knife both sides at once. 

Finishing both sides you learn how a good hanger can make your job easier. You learn the importance of a good tape job and pull very consistent, even and tight coats.

I don't finish much these days so I'm not very good anymore but when I do finish, I still pull both sides. It's takes some time but it's like riding a bike.


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

Spencer said:


> Thanks for all the tips. I'll keep practicing.
> 
> Is it standard practice for you guys to have to knock off dried mud overflow when going to do the other side or do you pretty much eliminate all over flow and keep it clean?


Keep it clean or PRE-SAND!.. A good swipe ahead with a sponge will keep the skim coat neat... A good clean block coat really helps too!

It all starts with the hanging..If that's clean the tape's clean. If the tape coat stays clean the block coat is a breeze..etc..etc.. KWIM!


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

Mountain Man said:


> It's all about the angle of your knife, adjust it until the side of your six is pulling off the overflow on the opposite side of the angle


 A six:blink: WHY?


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## Mountain Man (Jun 3, 2013)

blacktop said:


> A six:blink: WHY?


Or whatever you use. I know the general rule is to never touch a hand finishers four inch knife! I mostly finish my angles with a 2 1/2" angle head followed by a 3" angle head. but if I'm doing it by hand, one side at a time, ill be using my trusty six which is in my back pocket from dawn til dusk.


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## Mountain Man (Jun 3, 2013)

blacktop said:


> A six:blink: WHY?


Moore!! I see you made the jump as well!! Looks like we might be having a reunion over here!! Good to see ya!!


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

One side at a time and don't over wipe I mean like don't wipe and wipe and wipe, they do make a 3 1/2" knife that has a angle on it just for this purpose I tried to find a pic of it with no luck ill see if I have one here tomorrow, not all of us have the fancy tools to do small jobs I even did my washroom in the basement like this but I used a 6 inch knife but im used to it. just takes a bit of practice that's why any new guys start with us its nail spotting first then progress to harder tasks 3 ways and inside off angles even are tricky for me at times still lol, good idea also is to clean your knife well after a wipe on your mud pan that will give you better odds of success clean tools always do better working with drywall mud.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

I'm no expert but inside corners are all about the angle of the knife, I hold my 4" knife like a pencil, pretending the corner is the lead, then as you drag it across it will conform to the correct angle.


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

I want to add it's hard to find good videos on the internet for doing taping I keep threatning my partner I want to video tape him lol but we are both camera shy lol but this subject ive seen and have been asked lots, its a lot easier to show someone than it is to try and explain all the eye hand coordination involved in doing basic task like this, which I think is basic but for someone just grabbing a six inch knife and trying to get a good result doing this can be very challenging never mind trying to find a video on using automatic tapers lol. I wonder if we made a dvd and sold it I've only come across one dvd out there never seen it yet. With all the new drywall tools available now it's really not that hard of a job and time consuming like years ago but for the DIY people out there doing small jobs it must be hard to get good info on doing small taping jobs.


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## Kiwiman (Mar 28, 2008)

IanB said:


> I want to add it's hard to find good videos on the internet for doing taping


This podgy little fella on youtube seems to know a bit about it :whistling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAWjA05c8z0


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Kiwiman said:


> This podgy little fella on youtube seems to know a bit about it :whistling
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAWjA05c8z0


His videos are top notch. It is amazing how much one can learn watching his videos.


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## GCTony (Oct 26, 2012)

Kiwiman said:


> This podgy little fella on youtube seems to know a bit about it :whistling
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAWjA05c8z0


Guy's pretty good with that hawk and trowel. Looking at some of his other vids, sure looks like he uses boxes for most of his work.


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

Kiwiman said:


> This podgy little fella on youtube seems to know a bit about it :whistling
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAWjA05c8z0


That's the first video of anyone using a bazooka on you tube glad someone took the time to do this, I gave that kid a good pointer to speed him up I hope he tries it. His jaw will drop when he reads how many feet we can spin out in a day :whistling


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## Toontowntaper (Jun 4, 2013)

IanB said:


> That's the first video of anyone using a bazooka on you tube glad someone took the time to do this, I gave that kid a good pointer to speed him up I hope he tries it. His jaw will drop when he reads how many feet we can spin out in a day :whistling


It's a training video .... Not ment to do it in actual speed... 2buck does some great videos and a good guy full of useful information.... How many feet can you do in a day?? He is also a one man crew right now


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

Toontowntaper said:


> It's a training video .... Not ment to do it in actual speed... 2buck does some great videos and a good guy full of useful information.... How many feet can you do in a day?? He is also a one man crew right now


One guy pushing bazooka 2 guys wiping behind 17000ft is are record for a day...that's flats and angles:whistling


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## Toontowntaper (Jun 4, 2013)

IanB said:


> One guy pushing bazooka 2 guys wiping behind 17000ft is are record for a day...that's flats and angles:whistling


Must of been a pretty wide open area for you to run 34 rolls of 500' not to mention the countless buckets of mud you would of had to mix... Most I've ran in a day is 10 rolls of 500' angles and flats and I was tired wiped rolled and flushed myself


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## Toontowntaper (Jun 4, 2013)

I also have a buddy who super tapes (**** box, slope bucket,mud box) and he throws up 6-7 rolls in a day but is a mess when he is done lol ..... 34 rolls would be a hell of a day I don't even want to think of that unless I had a continuos flow system


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

Are system is down to a science every second counts in this business, my friend is prob one of the best ive ever known his dad is a drywaller back in the fifties he used to mix his mud with a potatoe masher lol , he and his dad tought me most everything ive learned, he runs the bazooka and he is real fast that's why 2 have to wipe behind him and when we run angles one guy rolls and flushes and the other wipes 3 ways out just me and him working together in fort mac we used to knock off two condos every 4 days side by side units, he is the continuos flow system lol we looked at those units they would just slow us down maybe in wide open areas where you don't mind dragging hose around it may work better like a big commercial building and driving around scissor lifts which we have done also just bring few pails of mud and pump with ya good to go. I have seen lots of other crews in action and they have there own systems we always learn something new something faster most learn from us we usually get a few jobs on the go so if we get the tapes on by noon we can pack up and get another one done prob sounds like im bragging but its just the way we work been doing it since we were kids gets boring sometimes, im actually thinking of getting out of drywall I have a fused ankle now and that's slowing me down big time looking at getting into heavy equipment joysticks are a lot easier to operate than the grind on drywall. Most companies we have done work for just hand us a gold card and send us to places all over Canada to do high end stuff those are the perks if your interesting in working and learning a few things my buddy is always looking for good workers I could mention it to him?? I think he is going to start a 28 unit condo project in Lorette Manitoba soon.


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## Toontowntaper (Jun 4, 2013)

I'm usually doing 2/3 houses a week When I'm taping and mudding .... But right bow I'm doing 3 Reno jobs complete everything flooring electrical finishing carpentry painting .... Also don't think the wife would want me going outta town to do work.... But I love Learning new things


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## IanB (Apr 6, 2013)

Toontowntaper said:


> I'm usually doing 2/3 houses a week When I'm taping and mudding .... But right bow I'm doing 3 Reno jobs complete everything flooring electrical finishing carpentry painting .... Also don't think the wife would want me going outta town to do work.... But I love Learning new things


That's why im home for a bit on the road for 3 months went everywhere from way up to the arctic to few jobs in Manitoba then to lake of the woods , kids wanna go fishing me too lol!


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## Kiwiman (Mar 28, 2008)

Spencer said:


> His videos are top notch. It is amazing how much one can learn watching his videos.


Yup  we like to give each other a hard time and dig each other in the ribs for a laugh but at the end of the day I have a lot of respect for his knowledge of taping, If you're a bazooka user then you'll learn a lot from him as well :thumbsup: The other thing he's good at is he can pick up a new tool, use it for one day and then be able to offer advice about it as if he'd been using it for years. 
OK 2Buck, I did what you said now let my family go like you promised :sneaky2:


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 7, 2010)

IanB said:


> One guy pushing bazooka 2 guys wiping behind 17000ft is are record for a day...that's flats and angles


Phffftt, amateur:whistling, you better times that 17,000 by 2

I did a nursing home where they were so far behind with the taping, there was wing after wing ready to go. There was me, my trusty apprentice 2buckjr, and my idiot son, so we were 2 and a half men strong. The units were a straight go, stand ups, 8 foot high, and the sky was the limit, no one was telling us what we couldn't do. We went angles first, then I would drop back to do the flats for my slow poke son to do. We were not really thinking about how much we could do. We just finished one wing, and went into the next one. The second wing we got half the units done, then finished up the day laying flats in the last units (putting the claim on them). Theres no telling how far a zook and a crew can go when laying tape if there's unlimited drywall to do, the question is, is how much your willing to finish for the week. Because were not that stupid, we dropped back to finish the first wing.

What I do remember more about the job, was not the amount of tape we laid that first day, it was the job site super b1tching at us about our hard hats.

The second day the super was like"wear you hard hats or your off the job, we don't compromise safety on this job" to which I replied, "does that mean stilts are out of the question then?" (since they were illegal back then). 

Well he was blowing his stack, I looked at the lads and said "pack her up boys, were outta here........ He couldn't believe it:blink:,,,, till he seen us pack up the truck and were leaving the site. He stopped us in our truck, said lets make a compromise, hats in the hallway, but not in the units,,,, he did turn out to be a really cool job site super in the long run....We never really thought about how much tape we laid, till invoice day, then we were like wow:blink:

Now fast forward to today, getting older, slower and fat. It took me six hours to tape out a 7,000 sq ft house of angles by myself in a super easy shack,,,,,,,, I'm sure you can kick my arse right now Ianb

Sucks getting old:sad:


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## Toontowntaper (Jun 4, 2013)

I can't remember who said it so sorry for the no credit but remember " I don't want to be the best taper out there or the fastest I just want to be the best paid taper out there" I believe that's the quote. It's not always about your speed 2buck your knowledge and skills will always go a long way. Your videos are very educational and the fact that your still able to do the sqft you do alone and like you said getting older. Along with the ways your able to adapt to whatever situation that's presented makes you a mentor to a lot. Thanks 2buck for your knowledge


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

Toontowntaper said:


> I can't remember who said it so sorry for the no credit but remember " I don't want to be the best taper out there or the fastest I just want to be the best paid taper out there" I believe that's the quote. It's not always about your speed 2buck your knowledge and skills will always go a long way. Your videos are very educational and the fact that your still able to do the sqft you do alone and like you said getting older. Along with the ways your able to adapt to whatever situation that's presented makes you a mentor to a lot. Thanks 2buck for your knowledge


FENEZ said that....To me!:whistling LOL!!


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