On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 23:26:58 +0100, Robin wrote:

Without it I was bloody useless at pointing. With it I am bloody useless
at pointing but a lot faster and more confident of getting the muck
fully to the back of the joint.

Do you have brick jointer or
similar?

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand...+Jointer+13mm/
d10/sd2816/p58432

Makes it far easier to get the muck right into the joint. The width
of the jointer needs to be the same, or a tad smaller, that the joint
width. I improvised with a bit of bent oval section steel strip,
approx 1/2" wide and 1/8" thick so nice an rigid. Works like a dream
compared to trying to use something that won't go into the joint.
Just put the muck on a rectangular trowel offer edge to bottom of
joint and slide muck off trowel into joint pushing it right to the
back with the jointer. Bear in mind I was also pointing rough stone
so joints varied from 1" to virtually nothing and from 1/2" to
several inches deep.

On Roger's point about the mix, in my limited (and probably useless)
experience you do need to make the muck really light and fluffy.

That's the thought that went through my mind when I saw the tool. The
mix would have to be really soft to squidge through the nozzle
without having to apply loads of effort to the plunger. So soft that
it would probably slump out of the joint. Off a trowel with jointer
you can use a nice stiff mix that stays where you put it...

--
Cheers
Dave.