The Shovel Discussion Thread!

My few shovels except for the O AMES which was too cool to leave out.
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A17 said:
Splitting the pics up to help with downloading the page. Best thing about these is the fact that (except for the handles I'll have to buy) these were free.
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Lots of nice shovels.
My favorite shovel is a UFH razorback # IR2 irrigation spade.
 
Square_peg said:
I love it! Very well done!

I have a couple old army shovels that I'm fond of. They haven't been restored, just cleaned up and oiled. The one with the pick is Korean made but never the less is very sturdy. It's my 'keep behind the seat of the truck' shovel. The other is a genuine WWII Ames army shovel. It's my favorite and stays with my camping gear.

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Very nice.
My Grandfather was career army (Retired a colonel at Ft Monmouth NJ). I still have and use the shovel he carried through WWII and Korea, signal corp, 101st.
I should think about restoring it and hanging it with his medals
 
quinton said:
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Novel and lovely re-cycle and re-use project! Unfortunately fired-clay bricks don't fare well on or in the ground and subject to frost. Up my way the current Nat'l Building Code requires clay brick only to be used minimum 1/2 meter (20") away from water or soil contact. I've used scavenged clay bricks a few times over the past 50 years (foundation and floor of an elaborate but scavenged materials-made pigeon coop was my first time, back in 1965) and all of them spalled into loose chips quick and eroded into coloured dirt within a decade. Constant freeze/thaw cycles are the real killer for moisture-soaked bricks. Cement (ie concrete) bricks (or 'pavers') are what is recommended for these situations and those do hold up well.
 
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300Six said:
Novel and lovely re-cycle and re-use project! Unfortunately fired-clay bricks don't fare well on or in the ground and subject to frost. Up my way the current Nat'l Building Code requires clay brick only to be used at least 1/2 meter (20") away from water or soil contact. I've used scavenged clay bricks a few times over the past 50 years (foundation and floor of an elaborate but inexpensive pigeon coop was my first time, back in 1965) and all of them spalled into loose chips and eroded into coloured dirt within a decade. Constant freeze/thaw cycles are the real killer for moisture-soaked bricks. Cement (ie concrete) bricks (or 'pavers') are what is recommended for these situations and those do hold up well.
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You're spot on as usual, 300.
Here's the story:
Everything you said is correct, as usual, and was explained to the homeowners. They are an older couple who's home was built in 1975 by my father. The couple decided that they would do their own landscaping, and sidewalks to save money back then. Other than a narrow concrete walk in the front of the house, the sidewalks never got done, amongst other things.

Those brick chimneys we tore down, and repurposed into sideways were on the wife's childhood home, just a couple of miles away on their farm, and made by her great uncle on site, in 1909. She wanted to use them for sidewalks regardless of what was destined to happen in a few years. My brother even found the Holy Grail brick for her when were cleaning them, a single brick with her uncle's name and date of manufacture scratched into it!
 
I could hear my late Dad's voice..."Cholly, (from Brooklyn) , take care of your tools and
they will take care of you". So, $2.00 (yard sale) shovel... wire brushed, edge refreshed,
oiled blade, and, peened the rivets tight (multiple healthy whacks with 2 3/4 # hammer).
Then, coated with BLO.... should last for years .
Charles
https://imgur.com/a/yBle9MC
 
Drum4fun said:
I could hear my late Dad's voice..."Cholly, (from Brooklyn) , take care of your tools and
they will take care of you". So, $2.00 (yard sale) shovel... wire brushed, edge refreshed,
oiled blade, and, peened the rivets tight (multiple healthy whacks with 2 3/4 # hammer).
Then, coated with BLO.... should last for years .
Charles
https://imgur.com/a/yBle9MC
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It's funny, most people wouldn't spend even a moment doing maintenance on a shovel. But the payoff in performance is great. It you come across a quality vintage shovel with great steel and a closed back (to prevent mud/clay build-up) then you have a wonderful tool for life. They're easy to rehandle, though that's seldom necessary if you put a good one on it and use it with just a little care - shovels aren't pry bars.

Just tightening the rivets as you just did is often all that's necessary. Oh, and a little file work now and then.
 
Square_peg said:
It's funny, most people wouldn't spend even a moment doing maintenance on a shovel. But the payoff in performance is great. It you come across a quality vintage shovel with great steel and a closed back (to prevent mud/clay build-up) then you have a wonderful tool for life. They're easy to rehandle, though that's seldom necessary if you put a good one on it and use it with just a little care - shovels aren't pry bars.

Just tightening the rivets as you just did is often all that's necessary. Oh, and a little file work now and then.
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Unless you need a new handle for an old strapped-style shovel. I have one that belonged to my grandfather and while the handle is sound currently, if it ever breaks I'd have to self-fabricate a handle for it 'cause to the best of my knowledge no one makes replacements for those off the shelf anymore.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Unless you need a new handle for an old strapped-style shovel. I have one that belonged to my grandfather and while the handle is sound currently, if it ever breaks I'd have to self-fabricate a handle for it 'cause to the best of my knowledge no one makes replacements for those off the shelf anymore.
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I have several good old split socket shovels that i use and love. I also have a couple of heads that need handles, one being a #3 round point. I've never seen but one. I need to make a couple of handles for them but I really need a socket pattern to bend the wood. Everytime I stop at a flea market i hope to find an old strapped head that has a short piece of handle that isn't rotted out for a pattern.
 
quinton said:
Everytime I stop at a flea market i hope to find an old strapped head that has a short piece of handle that isn't rotted out for a pattern.
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Maybe you could shove a socket full of playdoh and then pull it out once it's half hardened and shrunk a little. I always planned on doing this for my kirve but I haven't got around to it yet.
 
The ideal would be to steam bend it, but honestly most of the load is carried by the end of the straight portion so you really could just saw-cut from good vertically-aligned grained wood and rasp it to shape. Once it's actually in there that bent portion will still be quite strong and it'll be the portion just past it that takes most of the force anyhow so it'll be good enough. They're such a sturdy design overall that the steam bending is kind of overkill for all but the most brutal use that even the hardest users today wouldn't typically be up to.
 
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