Wallboard butt joint preparation

Abstract

The preparation of a pair of abutting straight edges of a pair of wallboard panels for receiving spackle to provide smooth planar butt joints includes the use of a rotary tool having a tool bit to form a channel extending on both sides of the butt joint after the wallboard panels have been installed. After the formation of the channel, spackling of the butt joint in a conventional manner results in a smooth planar finished surface.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . Apparatus for preparing a pair of abutting straight edges of a pair of wallboard panels for receiving spackle to provide a smooth planar butt joint, comprising: 
 a rotary tool having a bit-receiving chuck on an output shaft of the tool;    a collar mounted to said tool and surrounding said chuck, said collar having a first guide fin extending radially from the output shaft; and    a tool bit having a peripheral cutting edge and a bit shaft adapted for receipt in said chuck.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the tool bit further includes a disc secured orthogonally to the bit shaft and wherein the cutting edge is secured to the periphery of the disc.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the collar comprises a second guide fin extending radially from the output shaft on the other side of the output shaft from the first guide fin.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the cutting edge is at an angle to the bit shaft in the range from about 0° to about 90°.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 4  wherein the cutting edge is at a 45° angle to the bit shaft.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the tool bit has a diameter in the range from about 0.25 inch to about 2.00 inches.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the tool bit has a kerf in the range from about {fraction (1/32)} inch to about ⅜ inch.  
     
     
         8 . A method for preparing a pair of abutting straight edges of a pair of wallboard panels for receiving spackle to provide a smooth planar butt joint, comprising the steps of: 
 securing in place to an underlying support a first of the pair of panels having a first of the pair of edges;    securing in place to the underlying support the second of the pair of panels having the second of the pair of edges, with the first and second edges being parallel one to the other;    providing a rotary tool with a tool bit having a peripheral cutting edge; and    using the rotary tool to form a channel in said pair of panels parallel to said first and second edges and extending substantially equally in both said pair of panels.    
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8  wherein: 
 the step of securing the second panel includes the step of providing a gap of a predetermined width between the first and second edges;  
 the step of providing a rotary tool includes the step of providing a guide projection for the tool bit, wherein the guide projection has a dimension slightly less than said predetermined width; and  
 the step of using the rotary tool includes the steps of:  
 inserting the guide projection into the gap; and  
 moving the tool while keeping the guide projection in the gap.  
 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9  wherein the step of providing a gap includes the step of utilizing a spacer.  
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10  wherein the step of utilizing a spacer includes the step of utilizing a spacer having a thickness in the range from about {fraction (1/32)} inch to about 1-{fraction ( 1 / 2 )} inches.  
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11  wherein the step of utilizing a spacer includes the step of removing the spacer after the step of securing the second panel and before the step of using the rotary tool.  
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 8  wherein the step of using the rotary tool includes the step of moving the tool bit below the face paper of the pair of wallboard panels so as to remove core material from the pair of wallboard panels without removing the face paper.  
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 8  further including the step of using a roller to apply pressure to the edges of the channel.