Home Depot diamabrush is trying to kill me

[jwvess00]

I rented the Diamabrush attachment and the floor prep machine from Home Depot. I apparently do not know how to use it.

If the machine is sitting flat on the pad when I turn it on, it swings violently to the left. It's so hard that I can't hold it. I'm 6', 200 lbs., and I can lift and carry pretty heavy stuff. This thing's whipping me.

The only way I can use it at all is to tip the machine on its wheels, start the machine, and gently lower it until the Diamabrush just makes contact with the concrete. That's as much as it can touch and still let me have any control over its direction.

Something is obviously wrong. Youtube videos show people using a floor machine with a Diamabrush flat on the floor without any problem. This machine's trying to remove my arms.


Here's the machine I was rented:
http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Floor_Polisher/56382881/

Here's the pad:
http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Concrete_Prep_Tool/12570/

What am I doing wrong? I will admit in advance that I'm an idiot so don't hold back.

 

[jwvess00]

Like I said, I'm an idiot.

RTFM -- a re-reading told me what I'm doing wrong, namely -- pressure downward on the handle == go left, lift on the handle == go right. A little bit goes a long way. I had some downward pressure on the handle when I started it, and it reacted.

Time to machine a 30x56 floor...

 

[d.swanson]

Been years since I used one back in high school - seems like it is a balancing act - lean it too far forward and it will want to swing one way and lean it too far back and it will want to swing the opposite way (same thing if you lean it left vs right) - you have to "balance" it so the forces are equal in both directions - looks like I need to type faster...

 

[Zeke]

I wondered if you'd ever used a floor buffer.

 

[southalabama]

Reminds me of my first time using a floor buffer just out of high school some 30 years ago.

Keep working with it and you'll get the hang of it.

 

[ADSR]

I wondered if you'd ever used a floor buffer.

I find they work better if someone stands on it while you push

 

[mrpizza]

I've had a ton of practice with buffers in the military. I'll be good to go when I finally get to do a floor of my own!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

It's definitely a balancing act.

 

[67carl]

I've had a ton of practice with buffers in the military. I'll be good to go when I finally get to do a floor of my own!

^this! They are tricky bastards until you get the hang of them, but when you do the fun starts! Buffer Rodeo was always good for some laughs, but I don't recommend you try to ride a grinder!

As others have mentioned it's a balancing act and when you get the hang of it it will be easy peasy. Until you get complacent and it smacks you down. Post up some pics when you're done!

 

[nanan00]

I was the only one in the squad bay to not go flying when it turned on because I knew how to use a buffer... So I got saddled with it and kept that job, beats scrubbing toilets.

 

[Austin_Jim]

^this! They are tricky bastards until you get the hang of them, but when you do the fun starts! Buffer Rodeo was always good for some laughs, but I don't recommend you try to ride a grinder!

As others have mentioned it's a balancing act and when you get the hang of it it will be easy peasy. Until you get complacent and it smacks you down. Post up some pics when you're done!

Hillarious. I was just going through some old basic camp pictures from the barracks. Lot's of pictures with a bunch of guys in tighty-whitey's riding floor buffers with cowboy hats and money on the floor to see who could ride the longest. Good times at Ft Knox. I would scan them in, but my guess is that you guys don't want to see that.

 

[Dataguy]

Don't need to see it, I lived it.

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