Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
0.5 and holding.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                           

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Caulking Gun with a Clear Base

A clear window/gap at the base would have been nice.
  (+1, -3)
(+1, -3)
  [vote for,
against]

I was using a caulking gun to fill the fractures in my pool, and found it rather irritating to not know how much caulking goo was left. It was the expensive - 30$US per cartridge - kind, and there were a lot of , since the people who originally built the poo, chose a bad site.

There were a lot of , and not so much caulking goo, and I wanted to know how much I had left so I could get as much done as possible. But I couldn't tell. The cartridge was encased in metal, and the rod sticking out wasn't much help.

A clear window/gap at the base would have been nice.

DesertFox, Jun 30 2006

[link]






       You can take the tube, pull the rod back out of it and look up its backside. If it goes very deep, you are almost out.
bungston, Jun 30 2006
  

       But if you have caulk on your hands (as I did, it is easy to get that stuff stuck to your fingers) you'll get the caulking gun all gooey and bleh.
DesertFox, Jun 30 2006
  

       You could also paint markings on the rod sticking out the back so that what is read where it sticks out is how much you got left in the ol' tube. It works for me anyway.
NotTheSharpestSpoon, Jun 30 2006
  

       There are so many ways you should have been able to check how much you had left, but so much of the home improvement industry is about selling gadgets to people who can't figure these things out. Bone for your caulking skills, but bun for your idea!
strange606, Jun 30 2006
  

       I feel a bit silly having to even suggest this, but: How about a device that, using the interpretation of reflected vibration, tells you via a bluetooth interface with your mobile phone whether you are about to run out of caulk. Once the level of caulk has reached a pre-set minimum limit, your cellphone can SMS the store for a replacement tube.
methinksnot, Jun 30 2006
  

       I can tell real easily when it's empty: the caulk stops coming out, and the handle stops. How much advance warning do you need? The rod gives you a pretty good estimate.   

       By the way, my caulking gun has been all gooey and bleh for about 15 years now. It's part of the chore.
oxen crossing, Jun 30 2006
  

       [DF] I'm slightly intrigued as to the repeated phrase, "there were a lot of " - a lot of what? Leprechauns stealing your sealant?   

       Further to that, I'm concerned that people built poo in your back garden. I'd advise talking to your local authority to sort them out. We can't have that sort of behaviour.
david_scothern, Jun 30 2006
  

       I was concerned as well, [david_scothern], but in my family we just politely ignore when someone mentally hiccups like that. Makes them feel that much more embarrassed when they found out what they've done.   

       You know,[methinksnot], it occurred to me if all of the devices that the HB suggested where to in fact become reality, we would never get anything done because of all of the cell phone answering we would have to do.   

       <ring! ring!> "Hello? Oh, thank you!"
"Who was that?"
"That was my caulk gun telling me it was almost empty."
<ring! ring!> "Hello? Oh, thank you!"
"Who was that?"
"That was my ice machine telling me that we have all the ice we could possibly want right now."
<ring! ring!> and on and on...
NotTheSharpestSpoon, Jun 30 2006
  

       "Good Morning"......just laughing at all the annos. Why don't they make the entire tube out of clear plastic?
xandram, Jun 30 2006
  

       If you cannot figure out how much caulking you have left, you have no business operating the gun.
Jscotty, Jun 30 2006
  

       ...which doesn't mean a product shouldn't be improved.   

       Well, unless the product in question is, say, an automatic rifle or a nuclear missile. Making them easier to use might not be the way forward.
david_scothern, Jun 30 2006
  

       One summer, about 25 years ago, I was foreman of a construction crew in rural Colorado. The final step of putting up the steel half-round buildings was caulking all the seams. Our motto ?   

       "What you do with your caulk is your business"   

       My boss was concerned about how much of the time the crew spent laughing, until we completed the job and he paid me a bonus for breaking all the records for that size building.
normzone, Jun 30 2006
  

       Guns don't caulk people, people do.
methinksnot, Jul 01 2006
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle