CHALK BOX – Snapping lines in the rain
toolbear
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Had a wonderful day running tar paper and shingling in the rain to get this home dried in. Snapping chalk lines proved interesting. Sooner rather than later all the water on the chalk line turned the contents of the chalk box to paste and the box ground to a halt. She no crank no more.
Didn’t leave much in the way of lines, either. Rain removed most of what got down. Happily it got down to drizzle, then stopped after lunch.
Question – anyone have some practical tips on how to snap in the rain?
Do they make a waterproof lime green ink for those Japenses ink lines?
Replies
I don`t know if they make lime green or not, but I have one of the older model Tajima`s and I love the darned thing (other than the mess it leaves on your fingers). I`ve never tried to strike in the rain but it`s water based ink so the rain won`t ruin the contents. In fact, I usually just add some water if it`s been sitting a while and it runs fine. I`ll have to try it in the rain some day to see how it does. I know it leaves a fairly permanent mark, if there is such a thing. Like a little pregnant ;)
A) You shouldn't be shingling in the rain.
a) dangerous
2) Bad practice: Traps water between roofing and sheathing NOT good
2) Any self respecting Carp. can lay shingles straight w/o chalk lines.
III) IF You MUST>>>>Tarpaper has lines on it use them, they don't wash off!
Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
Life is is never to busy to stop and pet the Doggies!!
Hey!! I cant even lay shingles straight with chalk lines!!! :-) Maybe if I try a clothes line instead.
-not respecting myself.....Im a dirty dirty boy
m2akita
don't even get that stuff damp or on ya...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I have about twelve chalk lines. When I have to snap in the rain, I snap a couple of lines and switch to another chalk line. Usually, if it is not raining too much, and if there aren't too many lines to snap, this can get me through the day. I have used up to six chalk lines in one day this way. I place them in my trailer without rolling up the string so they can dry without getting the chalk inside the housing wet. At about five bucks on sale, it is not too expensive.
Use the red or yellow chalk that won't wash off your clothes ...
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I've added another box to the collection. The wet box has been drying out. Like the idea about just pulling more string. That should work. I am only using 30+ feet of 100. There was more where that came from.
Well, if you gotta work in the rain--not a great idea to start with, but....
1. Use red chalk. There is no known way to remove this stuff from anything it touches. Says so right on the box in fact....
2. Unreel the string, snap a line, then DON'T WIND IT BACK UP. Unreel some more for the next line, and so forth until you run outta dry string. (This is when you'll be glad you bought the 100 footer instead of the 50 footer....)
3. Switch to the 2nd Carp's chalk box. Then the apprentice. Then the Helper. Then ask the HO for his. And so forth....
If you put each wet string under cover while you use the next one, and squeegee the string real hard with your fingers when you wind it back in, you might be good to re-use it after an hour or so. I guess it depends on how wet the roof is....
When you run outta string and chalk boxes, it's really time to go home....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Yep ,always use the helpers chalk box on rainy jobs.
Shingles should be installed with a hatchet with the gauge nob set for the exposure needed.
Yep, assuming the helper shows up when it's raining, LOL!Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
This was a Habitat house, so the roofer and I had hatchets and the rest had whatever would pound nails. Chalk boxes are not included. I will suggest they get a few more for the tool trailer.
Shingles should be installed with a hatchet with the gauge nob set for the exposure needed.
I like my coil nailer w/ the guage set, but thats just me
here, here
Thats not a blemish....we call that character
We use black chalk and try our hardest to snap lines when it's dry. I do have an ink line and just ordered some wet weather ink and hope that will work. I frame in the pacific northwest, so we get lots of water. I can usually time it to snap lines when it isn't raining or the deck is saturated.
I can't think of anything that would help on the roof. Sorry ;-)
Give the black chalk a try. It is great. I've used it for the last 3 or 4 years. Last winter we snapped lines on a dry deck. They forecast a chance of snow for that night. We got 8". Came in and shoveled the deck off. A couple of days later, same thing. Then we had one of the wettest Feb I've worked and those lines never had to be resnapped. They were nice and crisp.
Hope this helps.
Black chalk is a new one on me. I have blue, red and lime green. We use red all the time, but not cement colorant. Persistance of all of them has been an issue. I've started marking the corners of floor layout in pencil so I can find them again to resnap lins. Never saw blackin use. Where do you find it?
This job was in Mt. Vernon, WA, in the NorthWet so we know about wet. On the island where I live it was just a drizzle. Get over to i-5 and it gets serious.
Try putting cement coloring in your box instead of chalk. Not perfect but it helps some. Bob
Head about that trick and went looking at the Depot. All they
had was liquid. So I didn't buy.
Question - anyone have some practical tips on how to snap in the rain?
Yeah, turn on the radio in the truck and snap your fingers to the music while yer sittin there.
I fell 30' off a wet roof years ago. Wasn't even raining really, just a light mist. You wouldn't get me, my chalk line or my broken pelvis within a mile of a wet roof.
Don't work in the rain??? We would never get anything done here, in the NW! LOL
However, in the eastern part of WA, they go home if it is sprinkling...talking about slipping, and getting electrocuted and such.
Black chalk? I would think it would be really hard to see on felt paper...especially with these old eyeballs!
Peace
Dinosaurhas the right idea . Why should the pro use up or damdge his own tools when "turbo" is around for all that nonsense.
Also, Bob J , I gotta try that cement idea....new to me, thanks
The thread of the day, however, goes to Gordsco..... snap your fingers to the local country station and relax. ok if it's not country......
A guy I knew took two steps away from his boss and fell a few stories and broke his back after discussing weather conditions. What I learned from anther contractor was, draw a circle about a foot wide and wait til 5 drops fall inside that circle. Quitting time then....you know the newbie will be watching that circle like a hawk. Good luck, most of all be carefull.Thats not a blemish....we call that character
I wonder if you could use one of those laser line things you can buy for about $40 to lay down a line for your shingles. I guess you'd have to set it up high enough to hit the full length of your run. Has anyone tried this?
Edited 9/4/2004 10:33 pm ET by Allen
I wonder if replacing the cotton string that most chalkboxes have with nylon mason's string would help? Cotton kills (OK, only when you're talking hypothermia in wet, cold weather) because it absorbs so much water. Nylon is more hydrophobic.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Dacron fishing line...
You'll wonder why you didn't do that years ago... Use the braided uncoated stuff...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Where to find braided, uncoated dacron fishing line?
I have been looking (in all the wrong places - Wal Mart, Big 5) for some time off and on. All I see is monofilament.
Dedicated fishing equipment store... You can get flyline backer that is uncoated and that is made from Dacron... Triple Fish make a hyper thin high test...
Comes in connected together 100yd spools or 1, 5, 25 and 100 pounders... I also use it for dry line.. Test strenghts run from 5 pound thru 2.000+... If you can only get "waxed" (excellent dry line BTW) wipe it down with paint thinner and let it air dry for awhile... Keep in mind it will be a bit before the chalk takes to it... Don't bother with the scientific coated lines.... Multi-color line seems to be more gooder stuff than solid... Ice fishing Dacron is internally coated on all the strands... Will not take chalk at all - ever...
I prefer 45#, 30 is nice, anything less is too light.. Stuff is great with CC dye too... Crisp clean lines...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
I'll also use 100lb. test in my chalk line. It takes a little while for the string to chaulk up but works great for snapping on wet floors. It leaves a nice 1/16th line. I took and ran mine thru a peice of sandpaper which seemed to help cut down on the break in period.
That works too as long as it is hyper fine...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
RE: braided dacron fishing line for chalk boxes
I Googled on braided dacron line and found that deep sea fishermen use it, but I didn't want a 50# reel of the stuff, so I will keep looking. Any suggestions on stores. Do fly flickers use this stuff?
Yup....
You can get 100yd spools of it....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
I tried some 75# test fishing line in one of those old yellow and black chalk boxes and it chalked a beautiful line. Crisp, 1/16th wide, I thought it was going to be great. But about the third or fourth time I tried to reel it in, it all tangled up in the box. I fixed it a couple times, reeled it up real slow, etc., etc., then threw the sucker away. I got a Tajima chalk box now and put the braided cotton line in it. Works like a million bucks. Got some of that new, black, waterproof chalk and get a real good line. If it rains on me, I don't try to chalk lines too much. You just ruin your tools. I'm always glad I'm not working 400 miles west of me in the Pacific Northwet.
left overs of Hurricane Francis is doin a number on me tryin to finish a roof in my neck of the woods....they're calling for rain til the weekend....half the roof is shingled the other was papered. just tarped it off tonight...(in the rain)
How 'bout waterproof guns, compressors, shinglers, laborers, chalk lines, wax crayons, .......ah screw it, I'm goin for a beer.
Thats not a blemish....we call that character
Set up one for a test using a four strand marine sennit. Mainly to see if it would work as a plumb bob. Those three strand lines want to unlay when under tension with one end free (as in plumb bobbing).
The sennit takes up less chalk and doesn't spin, but there was enough water on that paper to soak anything.
You know, that's a rather interesting idea. I had a laser in the van. You could set the layout for the tar paper on both edges after check roof for square and shoot a laser line across and lay the paper to it. Or, run a "dry line" across and do same. Then they could use the line on the paper.
I have one of those 50$ B&D lasers. It throws a purported right triange that you can lock in place for tile work and hang on the wall for self leveling. It claims on the box to be a perfect 90 dgs. LOL! What's wrong with this picture:
$500, 1/8 in 100' error
$250, 1/4 in 100
$50 perfect 90
I checked it on a 20' rt. triagle. It throws an 89.59 dg angle, so I add a measured amount to get it to 90. Useful feature set, however.
Remember one fine NorthWet day in Feburary watching framers frame.
It was just hissing down rain. They were wearing oilskins with bags over. Wonder if they were modified for the NW - with drain holes in each pouch. Probably a good reason not to use leather bags up here. Probably not a good day for electrical tools.
I was in a warm cab with the wipers running. It was better that way.
I bet that was my crew you were watching :-) I remember that day :-)
Hey toolbear.........mason twine staple on roof several places ,shingle over , live happily ever after.
That is a rather elegant idea.
I will put that in the clipping collection from this thread. I am going to send them to the crew as a lessons learned mail.
There have been a lot of creative solutions to roofing in the rain. BTW - this was a 4/12 roof. Anything with more pitch, I'm for dry weather or harnesses and really big chicken boards.
I've been doing layout work on apartments and such in the PNW for forever it seems and what I learned from the old dads here was spraying WD-40 in your chalk box.. before adding chalk soak the line real good with WD-40 "then" add chalk but don't completely fill it. Also use pure mason dye. Even the so called extreme weather stuff is cheap on the dye and ironically the mason dye is cheaper to buy. The old dads would also use diesel to do this same trick either way prepare to get it all over you;)
Also one last note..this trick works good but the lines won't last forever so get to work cause if your cold the heat is in the tools!