Five Tools Every Concrete Setup Man Should Own

Introduction

Concrete work rewards speed and preparation. After decades spent on commercial production concrete jobs, one lesson stands out: the right tool, even for mundane tasks, increases productivity and sets you apart from everyone else on the crew. These five tools are worth knowing about for anyone who sets concrete forms.

Burk Bar

The first must-have is the Burk bar, a jobsite pry tool that earns its place quickly. If your company does not provide one, it is worth saving up roughly $110 to keep one in your truck. Once coworkers notice what it lets you do, the reputation follows: you move faster and handle tasks others simply cannot do.

For layout and form work, having a dedicated pry bar that is always on hand means fewer trips back to the truck and more momentum through the day.

Spencer Automatic Rewind Tape

The Spencer automatic rewind tape is a layout tool with a simple advantage. The rule itself is as accurate as any steel tape, but the difference shows at the end of the measurement: the tape rewinds itself while you walk across the jobsite to the next task. Standard 100-foot windup tapes work fine, but they cost you time coiling them back up.

If you run layout, this tape will put you ahead of anyone on the crew who is still winding theirs by hand.

Gamon Reel

Plumb bob string is usually a tangled mess by the time you get it out of the box. A Gamon reel solves that. It keeps your string in usable condition, and the string and plumb bob can ride in your bags, ready to deploy at any moment and stowed again in a heartbeat.

The payoff shows at every station: you move on to the next setup while a coworker is still winding line back up, putting a knot in it, and left with string that is no good for the rest of the day.

Form Setter

Stake driving traditionally calls for a heavy single jack, but a dedicated form setter changes the equation. This is a single jack with a digging spur added, a design that came to market recently with a patent behind it.

With one tool you can drive stakes, knock rock tops off, tear whalers off forms, pry, and dig, all without walking back to the truck for a different tool. For concrete form setters, that kind of versatility translates directly into productivity.

Skilsaw Mag 77 and Going Cordless

The last tool is a confession of sorts. A corded Skilsaw Mag 77 with a long extension cord is still the pick if you can own only one saw, especially when working at height where the cord doubles as a way to raise and lower the saw. But form setters do not work at height; they work in the dirt.

Out on a spread-out jobsite, far from power, or when the cutoff person is working off a generator at the truck, a cordless saw is a genuine game changer. The cord is never tangled, you can go anywhere, and the productivity boost is immediate. If you set forms and do not already own a cordless saw, it deserves a spot on your list.

Buying Advice

Every one of these changes, aside from the rewind tape and string reel, takes a little soul searching when you are loyal to an old tool. But once you make the switch and feel the productivity gain from a superior tool, the regret disappears. Match each purchase to your actual work: pry bar and form setter for anyone on a form crew, rewind tape and string reel for layout-heavy days, and a cordless saw for jobsites where power is out of reach.

Conclusion

The best tools available make the job faster, cleaner, and more satisfying. Pick the ones that fit your crew and your sites, and let the small daily time savings do the rest.