Tried a rubber mallet instead of a trowel handle for tapping, what a difference

Piper Thompson · 2026-08-20T21:20:05.34122+00:00

I've always used my trowel handle to tap bricks into place, figured that was just how everyone did it. Last Friday on a job in Tacoma, the mason I was helping handed me a rubber mallet and said, "try this, you'll thank me later." Man, he was right. The rubber mallet spreads the force way more evenly, so I stopped chipping the corners off bricks left and right, which was a huge waste of material. Also my wrist didn't feel like it went ten rounds with a jackhammer by lunchtime. My lines are straighter too, because I can make tiny adjustments without the brick bouncing back. I'm thinking about switching over for good, but I'm curious if anyone else out there sticks with a trowel handle out of habit or if I was just the last guy to catch on.

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Tried a rubber mallet instead of a trowel handle for tapping, what a difference | Bricklayers - Rigidtalk