Aluminum shovels...

[thinkin2]

anybody know where to buy these? I like using a shovel if I'm not going into the water but having a good all aluminum one would be nice. Only thing I've been able to google is for snow shovels. If none are commercially available guess I'll have to design and make one. Any help appreciated.
Jerry

 

[coastwise]

hey jerrti use a ditching shovel called razorback, its four inches wide, u kind find then in lowes,sears hardeware,

coastwise

Joe

 

[thinkin2]

Thanks, Joe. Is it a spade or one of those big snow shovel looking things? A spade works better and I don't want to have to do any cutting or modifying but guess I may have to if I'm going to get what I'm after. Thanks for the tip.
Jerry

 

[locusman]

Unless you make out of aircraft aluminum and weld the sucker, just like beach scoops are made. My first trenching shovel was U.S Army issue, but was riveted aluminum. Surprisingly, it only lasted about a year, before all the torque and pulling on it caused it to fatigue and break.

Subsequently, I decided to go with a U.S. Army steel issue, and now I get at least 5-7 years use out of each one. If fact the only reason my last one broke is that I tried to chip through solid frozen ground in winter, I was basically swinging my shovel at each hole as if it were an ax, and it eventually broke that same day.

If you want the aircraft aluminum one, why not ask Bill Babb, a maker of quality heavy-duty aluminum water scoops and detector accessories. He has all the equipment to weld and fabricate aluminum to whatever thickness you want and he is an expert at making quality stuff. If you want to be put into contact with Bill to ask him if he can make this item for you, email me at markrossman@hotmail.com

Hope this helped,

Mark

 

[thinkin2]

I have a Babb's straight shaft for my Excal so I know his work is good. The aluminum shovel is not a thing I really have to have but thought it would be a neat thing for when you just want to hunt the beach and not go into the water. Regular spade shovels work just fine but steel only lasts for so long in a saltwater environment and you never know exactly when they're going to bring up their last heavy load of wet sand before cashing in. I could keep a spare in my jeep but it's a regular soft top jeep and not too secure for locking things in. I've read a post or two by others who prefer to use a shovel also so thought I would try to find if one was already out there. Maybe Babb should consider designing and making one for marketing. I'm willing to bet it would be a good seller. Thanks for your post but I think it would probably be too costly to have someone like Bill Babb design one just for me. But, Bill, if you're looking in you might just have another item for marketing. Just a thought. Thanks again, Mark, for taking the time and have a good one.
Jerry

 

[therick]

I have had one for about 15 years and love it. It is made out of 3/4 in. aircraft aluminum and the the bucket itself holds about a gallon of material. Very sturdy for use here in Florida but we do not have to deal with a lot of rocks here so depending where you are, it may not be strong enough. The last time I saw one it was listed for about $200.00. Maybe if you Google "Beach Brute sand scoop" or something similar, you'll come up with a distributor. Good luck.

therick

 

[David from Suffolk]

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/accessories/longhand.htm

 

[thinkin2]

but I already have a good scoop. What I was thinking about was a shovel for when I'm not going into the water, just working the sand. A shovel is easier than a scoop on the beach because it's harder to get the sand to drop out of the bucket of the scoop. Thanks again for your replies.
Jerry

 

[therick]

n/t