I realize this is an Infinium Forum, but I thought perhaps as the machine is used by many hunters as a beach hunting unit, perhaps this post would be of interest!
I could not find a scoop of the kind I built at anywhere near the cost of these.
They are simple to build and work just fine!
[attachment 131148 100_0006_2.JPG]
This smaller of the two (51/2" X 10 1/2") is great for wet sand and hard digging (not for working the water though)
[attachment 131149 100_0007.JPG]
The larger one (71/2" X 113/4") is great for dry sand, but most of the time I'll use the smaller one
[attachment 131150 100_0008.JPG]
I have done some heavy gravel digging and wet sand digging and dry sand digging and so for I am very pleased with these scoops.
The scoop is made of stainless steel and is not very heavy and is quite strong.
The raw materials cost less than ten dollars per scoop and is easy to assemble..
[attachment 131151 100_0008_3.JPG]
I found the raw material at a local metal scrap yard for less than $10.00 per scoop.
The larger one has an aluminum handle and the smaller one has a tubular steel handle and as they are kept dry the handles should last many years.
The bucket is stainless and is a metal labratory container (cost about a dollar as scrap) found at a local scrap metal recycling yard..
The welded stainless 1/2" mesh (Very strong!!) is from a labratory cage such as mice are housed in and again scrap metal for about a dollar at the same source.
The handle I found with several others at the recycling bin at our local dump----Free!!
Two 1/4" stainless steel bolts, nuts, lock washers, and two larger outside diameter fender washers about three dollars at our local hardware store.
A bit of careful cutting (using a 4" grinder with an abrasive cut-off wheel), drilling (2----1/4'' holes with a portable electric hand drill) and assembly have produced two really durable, low cost scoops that have served me well for a while now!!
Scoops of this caliber would cost many times what I have invested and there is the satisfaction of building a very useful tool.
Building them required using the abrasive cutting wheel (eye protection is a must!!) to cut off the rolled lip of the stainless container, then the bottom is removed i the same way.
I then split the length of the container for the smaller scoop to allow squeezing the resulting split tube down to a uniform diameter using a ratchet type tie down strap.
When the tube was a diameter I was satisfied with I drilled two 1/4" holes through the overlapped part of the resulting smaller tube form and therefore had a re-inforced section where the resulting over-lap occurred to attach the handle to.
The handle is a bent tubular piece of an old folding bed or some such thing.
I used a metal cutting blade in a hack-saw to make the handle the length I desired and after removing the sharp edges and burrs left by cutting of the various metal pieces with a file, I assembled the scoop.
The wire is rolled into a tube of the desired diameter and the protruding ends are wrapped around the contact parts to lock the tube into its shape permanently.
A piece of the wire screen is cut and fitted and secured in a similar fashion as a bottom and the finished product is a very strong and durable stainless steel sand scoop.
Various demensions can be altered to suit the builders needs.
CJ
I could not find a scoop of the kind I built at anywhere near the cost of these.
They are simple to build and work just fine!
[attachment 131148 100_0006_2.JPG]
This smaller of the two (51/2" X 10 1/2") is great for wet sand and hard digging (not for working the water though)
[attachment 131149 100_0007.JPG]
The larger one (71/2" X 113/4") is great for dry sand, but most of the time I'll use the smaller one
[attachment 131150 100_0008.JPG]
I have done some heavy gravel digging and wet sand digging and dry sand digging and so for I am very pleased with these scoops.
The scoop is made of stainless steel and is not very heavy and is quite strong.
The raw materials cost less than ten dollars per scoop and is easy to assemble..
[attachment 131151 100_0008_3.JPG]
I found the raw material at a local metal scrap yard for less than $10.00 per scoop.
The larger one has an aluminum handle and the smaller one has a tubular steel handle and as they are kept dry the handles should last many years.
The bucket is stainless and is a metal labratory container (cost about a dollar as scrap) found at a local scrap metal recycling yard..
The welded stainless 1/2" mesh (Very strong!!) is from a labratory cage such as mice are housed in and again scrap metal for about a dollar at the same source.
The handle I found with several others at the recycling bin at our local dump----Free!!
Two 1/4" stainless steel bolts, nuts, lock washers, and two larger outside diameter fender washers about three dollars at our local hardware store.
A bit of careful cutting (using a 4" grinder with an abrasive cut-off wheel), drilling (2----1/4'' holes with a portable electric hand drill) and assembly have produced two really durable, low cost scoops that have served me well for a while now!!
Scoops of this caliber would cost many times what I have invested and there is the satisfaction of building a very useful tool.
Building them required using the abrasive cutting wheel (eye protection is a must!!) to cut off the rolled lip of the stainless container, then the bottom is removed i the same way.
I then split the length of the container for the smaller scoop to allow squeezing the resulting split tube down to a uniform diameter using a ratchet type tie down strap.
When the tube was a diameter I was satisfied with I drilled two 1/4" holes through the overlapped part of the resulting smaller tube form and therefore had a re-inforced section where the resulting over-lap occurred to attach the handle to.
The handle is a bent tubular piece of an old folding bed or some such thing.
I used a metal cutting blade in a hack-saw to make the handle the length I desired and after removing the sharp edges and burrs left by cutting of the various metal pieces with a file, I assembled the scoop.
The wire is rolled into a tube of the desired diameter and the protruding ends are wrapped around the contact parts to lock the tube into its shape permanently.
A piece of the wire screen is cut and fitted and secured in a similar fashion as a bottom and the finished product is a very strong and durable stainless steel sand scoop.
Various demensions can be altered to suit the builders needs.
CJ
Pretty cool
Do you put a magnet in yours? I do. Helps to pick up those tiny pesky little iron pieces that our PI detectors love so much. Good luck lookin' for that ring. Happy Hunting!