Bluebow tools for glass and tile (2)

A sheet of glass, a 24 by 48 inch porcelain tile or a slab of polished granite has no handle, and carrying it by the edges is how fingers get cut and corners get chipped. A suction cup lifter gives the sheet a handle on its face. The Bluebow manual pair, 8 inch cups with a pressure gauge, is rated 440 lb each and 880 lb together on a clean, smooth surface. The 10 inch electric lifter pumps its own vacuum, shows the pressure on a screen, and tops itself up when the hold drops below 573 lb, back to the rated 662.

The rating is the whole story only on glass, glazed tile and polished stone. Textured, honed or porous surfaces leak air under the pad, and the vacuum lifting guidance we read is blunt about it: porous and loose material impair the hold and have dropped loads. Check the pad for nicks before the first lift of the day, weigh the sheet, keep well under the rating, and use two cups on anything wide.

These 2 tools are of the Bluebow family of tools, $49.99 to $89.99 in our last catalog update.