herbajones
Member
Hi again everyone....
I just want everyone to see my new digging tool I made recently. About a month ago I bought a little portable fold up shovel for $12.99 at Mountain Sports. I wanted something smaller than a mini shovel but bigger than a trowel. Needless to say it broke where the spade connected to the shaft so all that was left usable was the digging spade piece. It is the perfect size spade (3 3/4"wide x 5" tall.
I wanted to keep it because even though my Lesche digger is good for cutting out plugs, it doesn't scoop out more soil when needed instead of using your hands and this spade is a great cutter into the ground and also a great scooper. As you can see by the pictures it is as tough as it looks. The shaft is from an extra garage door opener part. It's the link that connects the door to the long rail of the assembly. It comes with a curve in it but I cut it off to be straight. It is 1/4" thick steel so it won't break or even bend. It also comes with adjusting holes which makes it very light.
The overall length of the tool is 19" ...The height of the spade part is 5" and I added an 8" section for the top handle portion from one of those window squeegees which is solid light weight plastic I stole from a self pump gas station and bolted it after drilling holes in it, to the steel shaft which already has holes in it. I used a total of 4 carriage bolts and nuts to attach the spade and the handle because they are a flatter fit. If you have these pieces like I did it will cost you nothing with the exception of the original little folding shovel like I had. To me, being able to have a tool small enough to carry and efficient enough to do the job quick and easy is a huge part of this hobby. This tool meets those requirements perfectly and it weighs a lttle over 1 lb. I painted the spade black and silver but that won't last long. This little jewel is indestructible...
Thanks again for reading...Herb
I just want everyone to see my new digging tool I made recently. About a month ago I bought a little portable fold up shovel for $12.99 at Mountain Sports. I wanted something smaller than a mini shovel but bigger than a trowel. Needless to say it broke where the spade connected to the shaft so all that was left usable was the digging spade piece. It is the perfect size spade (3 3/4"wide x 5" tall.
I wanted to keep it because even though my Lesche digger is good for cutting out plugs, it doesn't scoop out more soil when needed instead of using your hands and this spade is a great cutter into the ground and also a great scooper. As you can see by the pictures it is as tough as it looks. The shaft is from an extra garage door opener part. It's the link that connects the door to the long rail of the assembly. It comes with a curve in it but I cut it off to be straight. It is 1/4" thick steel so it won't break or even bend. It also comes with adjusting holes which makes it very light.
The overall length of the tool is 19" ...The height of the spade part is 5" and I added an 8" section for the top handle portion from one of those window squeegees which is solid light weight plastic I stole from a self pump gas station and bolted it after drilling holes in it, to the steel shaft which already has holes in it. I used a total of 4 carriage bolts and nuts to attach the spade and the handle because they are a flatter fit. If you have these pieces like I did it will cost you nothing with the exception of the original little folding shovel like I had. To me, being able to have a tool small enough to carry and efficient enough to do the job quick and easy is a huge part of this hobby. This tool meets those requirements perfectly and it weighs a lttle over 1 lb. I painted the spade black and silver but that won't last long. This little jewel is indestructible...
Thanks again for reading...Herb