ideas on making a heavy duty scoop for water hunting

[Czhunter]

Any ideas are appreciated. Post pics of what you've made if you have some. I've been looking at scoops on ebay, but the decent looking ones are pretty darn expensive.

 

[Water wizard]

They are well worth the money, if you can weld you should be able to make a good one though. Go for a round not square scoop, have the lip sticking out at the bottom, check out metal jackets, they are so good

 

[Czhunter]

I will check em out

 

[undertoe]

I have made a few different types,aluminum and stainless steel. Here are a few.

 

[mudpuppy]

Heres one I made out of an ice scoop, alumaweld, and some scrap aluminum plate....I'm a woodworker, so I applied those skills and dovetailed and, keyholed everything so it all holds itself together even without any welding skills. The alumaweld joints have since broken off, but the thing is all locked together anyway and is solid and works just fine I alumawelded the tip and that is a good idea, since the alumaweld is tougher than regular aluminum......I cut everything with a Jigsaw and a metal blade as well as a hacksaw, drilled the holes easily with a regular old 3/8 drill with a 7/16 drillbit I think...it took me a few hours, and has held together for 3yrs of HEAVY use now... I bought two ice scoops for less than 30 bucks off some internet deal that caters to restaurants and this kind of product...I believe they are 54oz? Anyway, for my use in deep fine Lake Mich sand it has been working very well...I can see why the Pro mfgs get the money for a good scoop though...lots of engineering and balance involved, and theres a lot of different types of bottom a guy has to deal with. .this scoop would probably not be the thing in rocks or heavy clay, but for gravel, sand, shells, its fine... my crappy looking scoop has some benefits like the long shallow basket, where a fellow can see right away whats in it and not have to dig around in there with your hand, or pour the contents out in a sifter, If I bounce it a few time under water the shells and light stuff float right out.. I dig with it as if it were a hoe, and can really excavate a nice hole even in fairly heavy surf before it can fill back in...deep targets on the dry I chop with it like it was an axe, most shallow targets are just simply scooped up with a sweep of the arm. A guy would build this without any welding and use some screws in strategic areas I suppose. That long vertical piece is keyholed through the horizontal piece, drilled to fit around the ice scoop handle, and then with a pair of U bolts, attaches to the wood shaft...that flat horizontal piece is countersunk into the scoop, and you can see how I keyed it into the sides of the scoop to really lock it in there good...without doing this, the whole thing would have broke up long ago as the Alumaweld does not hold at all very well in high stress areas..
Mud

 

[KinTN]

mudpuppy, I like how regular your hole pattern is. I've tried working in plastic once and I know that's not an easy thing to accomplish. Also like the smaller holes in the rear of the scoop for earrings and such. You guys have so much more talent and patience than I do. Color me envious.

 

[Czhunter]

Those are awesome builds!

 

[bootyhoundpa]

I hope this works- new computer -haven't mastered it all yet.... anyway, ive built 2 scoops... the latest one I just made on memorial day.... it was made from a 6 quart farber or faberware cook pot... its stainless steel with re-enforced 1/8 inch thick base.... [attachment 273679 reszdscoop-Copy.jpg][attachment 273680 reszscoop4-Copy.jpg] I laid it out with magic marker 1st then cut to shape with an electric grinder with a cutting wheel attached.....I use 5/32 colbalt drill bit as my 1st pass then use a 1/4 or vari-bit to make the holes to my liking...after holes are drilled I use the grinder to knock off the sharp burrs... I then attached a new shovel handle to the scoop with U-bolts.... l bought the pot at a yard sale for $2, shovel handle was $10 and u-bolt hardware was like $10 from tractor supply co.... I put small holes on bottom of 8 in scoop to make it easier to retrieve stud earings without loosing them...it was a success.... the other scoop is a 6 in piece of caphilon cookware also with re-inforce bottom....same construction process..[attachment 273682 reszscoop21-Copy.jpg][attachment 273683 reszscoop3.jpg] ive been using it like 3 years now and its served me well...if I lived closer to the shore I would invest in one of those stavr scoops ,they look awesome but for now my redneck engineering will have to suffice..... always remember the holes can always be drilled bigger but there is no way to make them smaller.... safety glasses gloves and hearing protection are a must if you try to make one yourself... good luck....

 

[mudpuppy]

Good job BH! I like the D handle and the low grip, and I bet that thing slices through sand like nothing!...Everyone should attempt to build their own scoop just once to appreciate what goes into such an endeavor!
Mud

 

[bootyhoundpa]

thanks mud.. your ice scoop looks pretty crafty as well.... I have thought of using an ice scoop in the past but just wasn't able to get my hands on one.... like you mentioned above I also use my smaller scoop with the one handed chopping action or like a hoe to get those deep in wet sand ..it works well that way..... the handle on my smaller scoop is actually from my milwaukie electric drill just attached with a 3/4 inch split ring.... I use the noodle for lake hunting so I never have to bend over to pick up my scoop... and yes you are right about how much work can go into making a decent scoop....these are the 2 that worked out ok im not showing the 3 others that ended up as scap metal because they just weren't practical..... happy hunting... bootyhound.....

 

[mudpuppy]

Looks like Undertoe has this scoop building down pat so far! Really professional looking scoops there. Nice work!
Mud

 

[undertoe]

Thanks Mud, I appreciate the compliment.

 

[Czhunter]

Those are some good ideas. I ordered a scoop, but I think I wanna make another one. Heck, I should have done that in the first place and I would've save a lot.