# Old Tapers



## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

Any old tapers out there .... Would like to hear some old stories of how it was back in the good old days when things were done the hard way ?


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## Tradesman (Nov 3, 2008)

I don't know that I qualify as an "old" taper but the first stilts I bought last century back in the early 80's (after working without stilts for a few years) were Goldblatts. They were real simple, no springs, hinges, or any of that nonsense, just a plate on the floor with a round aluminum pipe stuck in the middle of it. The foot plate adjusted with a couple of setscrews that fixed its position on the pipe. Crude- uh, I mean simple- but they worked fine. I still have them but the straps are worn out and parts are no longer available.

When I encountered my first 9' ceiling, I had to buy some taller stilts of the current variety and my first time on them I couldn't walk on the springy things. After a few adjustments and a little practice, I got to really liking them. When I went back to the peglegs for a shorter job, I felt like somebody had glued all my leg joints- man, they were clumsy! Anyway, now I'm totally high-tech in the stilt department (well, not the Skywalkers, yet).

Speaking of high-tech, my first Roto-zip was just an old Skil router motor without the base, with a twist drill bit chucked in it. I had seen somebody else with the same setup and copied it. And it worked! I used that from about 1984 til 1995 when it started shorting out and zapping me when I turned it on, so I got a REAL Roto-zip.

Most guys were still nailing back then but screwguns were just becoming popular. No cordless tools at all, though. Houses were framed with hammers; no pneumatic guns.

No Strait-Flex or No-Coat, just paper or mesh tape. Metal corners, nailed at first, till we upgraded to a clincher. Hot mud was Durabond; no EZ Sand. I think that Durabond helped me improve my finishing skills, though, because if you didn't feather it well, you needed an angle grinder to sand the stuff.

Nobody used drywall lifts (if they were even available) or benches; usually a couple compound buckets and a plank.

Finally, there were no drywal forums, because computers hadn't hit the market yet!

Ah, the good old days...


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

the hangers got paid when the d/c got paid. [ that's old school]
no angle roller... take a masons brush , cut on a angle.. dip and brush . 
dip and brush. g/c wants to b1tch about paying for scrap footage .
his next job, don't cut out any windows . cut out hole big enough to crawl 
through on the doors. he will get the point...


NO CELL PHONE!hone:


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## Bill from Indy (Apr 26, 2010)

i just want the days back of me only running the tube and having 6 guys do everything else


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

I remember days of "oh my god,there's a 45 degree angle in the house " you had to free hand them in
You put durabond on your metal bead, and scraped it when it set, then sheetrock came along,it was sandable:yes:
No headers on closets,the doors went to the ceiling 
there were no sponge sanders
No HALOGEN lights
7' -6" ceilings on the upper floors of back splits
The mud was a real b1tch to sand.
no padded sand paper.
You drywalled the ceiling's with 5/8 regular drywall
sky lights were a new fad
the going rate was 8 cents to rock,10 cents to tape
the wheels on the boxes ran on the outside of your joints,so you would half to touch up a indented line on humid days
you could not buy a drywall router ,You would buy big bulky Black and Decker routers and strip them down
The 1st cordless guns were use less,think they were 6v,came with a built in battery,had to charge it by a adapter , so you had to buy 2 screw guns, use one while the other charged
you finish sanded with 100 grit
you did not check your work with a light
there were sanding crews you could hire to sand your work,cost you 2 cents.
You did not hang poly to spray pop corn/texture ceilings, you scraped down the walls then sanded them
the houses were easy,square boxes,you could get them done in 4 days easy.
One 7" box run was good enough for spay ceilings,butts were 12" wide too.
A piece of sanded paper folded over a few times acted as your sponge sander back then.
the painters would actually fix things:blink:

God I miss those days, you made good money


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## raven (Feb 17, 2011)

*Would like to introduce myself to everyone*

My name is raven i have been doing drywall for seventeen years now,i live in northern michigan i enjoy drywalling, painting, hunting, fishing,and trapping. Looking forward to meeting other hard working drywallers and talking about work. Thanks


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

you said it buck. NO CAN LIGHTS.. 
h/o had no rights then !!


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

raven said:


> My name is raven i have been doing drywall for seventeen years now,i live in northern michigan i enjoy drywalling, painting, hunting, fishing,and trapping. Looking forward to meeting other hard working drywallers and talking about work. Thanks


Hi raven, good mix of hobbies you got going on, i dont mind some fishing, got stabbed in the wrist by a fish spike last weekend, thats not recommened by the way, welcome to the forum.


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## raven (Feb 17, 2011)

Thanks for the welcome cazna. Iwas thinking about trying out that lightweigt drywall by usg. Have you use any yet. Been gitting gold bond not agood quality board lots of damage on the recess. What do you use for mechanical tools for finishing.


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

raven said:


> Thanks for the welcome cazna. Iwas thinking about trying out that lightweigt drywall by usg. Have you use any yet. Been gitting gold bond not agood quality board lots of damage on the recess. What do you use for mechanical tools for finishing.


We only have one brand of board of in nz, Which is gib, So never seen any usg board, And i use all of the mechanical tools, more than most it seems, Have a back read through some threads and search a tool or topic, its all here :thumbsup:


Back in the day here it was no taped edges, no paper tape, no screws, one or two useless coats of mud up the joins and fill the corner gap and nails, then stipple the ceilings and wallpaper, Then one day some silly prick decided to paint the walls :jester:, It was all down hill from there , Oh and the painters sanded. All before my day though.

Before that it was fiberous plasterboard, and before that it was sarking, which was 6x1 timber nailed accross the studs, no nogs, dwags, etc then it was scrimmed, which was a sacking like stuff tacked on, then mixed some flour and water for paste and then wallpaper it, That was cool on a windy day the wind would blow through the house and the scrim and paper would move in and out.

Before that it bush sticks and flax, and before that it was caves that you grafeted the walls in, You and the capt might remember that 2buck, :thumbsup:


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## carpentaper (Feb 28, 2009)

in another 20 or 30 years people will probably be laughing at the fact that we are even using tape.


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## raven (Feb 17, 2011)

I was watching the video where those so called drywallers were spraying a tapeless mud. Looks like alot of cracked drywall to me . Gotta use tape. Dont think theres any way around it. Drywall wouldn,t be drywall without tape.


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

raven said:


> I was watching the video where those so called drywallers were spraying a tapeless mud. Looks like alot of cracked drywall to me . Gotta use tape. Dont think theres any way around it. Drywall wouldn,t be drywall without tape.


Now you just pissed off Rebel20 ,,,,,raven
here's a link http://www.drywalltalk.com/f9/review-vario-tapeless-mud-824/


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## joepro0000 (Jun 14, 2008)

2buckcanuck said:


> Now you just pissed off Rebel20 ,,,,,raven
> here's a link http://www.drywalltalk.com/f9/review-vario-tapeless-mud-824/


 
Vario can be used without tape!


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