Homemade Shallow Water Tools ($9 long handle scoop)

[Discrimination Dave]

Im still waiting on my Stingray II.
I'm convinced I'll do well in the water because almost nobody MD's around these parts and people throng to every beach in all but the worst weather. I do have a wife, a 7 year old and a 3 year old and we just bought a beautiful new home last October so my wife is understandably tight with the cash. After having the Tesoro shipped to Japan the cost is nearing $400. I needed to put together some tools that were functional yet I could buy with my own pocket money and not have to hit her up again. Here's what I did. The scoop cost me about $9 and I have about $15 in the floating sifter. The scoop only needs to last me long enough to find about $200 in gold so that I can buy a good scoop. I don't think I could buy a better sifter though.
Give me your estimates on how long you think the scoop will last

Here's what I spent. I converted currency and measurements. I dont have a welder so I was limited.

 

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[Discrimination Dave]

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

Wish you would have asked sooner or searched the site some for ideas. If your in an area that produces and isn't hunted you should have just bought a small bladed, long handled shovel and hit the wet and dry sand until you got enough finds to convert into a good scoop. Digging in the water is tougher than most people think. If I was using your scoop in the water, the sides and back would probably break off in the first couple of digs into Terra firma while recovering my first target and the rest would be broken not long after that. Good Luck

 

[mumszie]

I think you did great with what you had and not being able to weld. I'd think it would last you long enough to find enough gold to buy a better scoop especially for where you are going to hunt! Lots of people no other hunters...... yep I'd say you are going to do very well. I hope you will post your finds! I bet you will do as well as Crackbadger did in Korea!

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Wish you would have asked sooner or searched the site some for ideas. If your in an area that produces and isn't hunted you should have just bought a small bladed, long handled shovel and hit the wet and dry sand until you got enough finds to convert into a good scoop. Digging in the water is tougher than most people think. If I was using your scoop in the water, the sides and back would probably break off in the first couple of digs into Terra firma while recovering my first target and the rest would be broken not long after that. Good Luck

Thanks NewYorker,
Ideas? Shoot me some man! I've been all over this site for the last two years.
I have a shovel and have hunted the beach and wet sand. I've done ok, but bookoos of trash. Im hoping there wont be so much out in the water. Tomorrow is a holiday in Japan so I will talley up my pull tabs, cash and rings from my last two beach hunts and post them. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. They are all still bagged up. . You may be right. That little scoop may not hold up. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

I think you did great with what you had and not being able to weld. I'd think it would last you long enough to find enough gold to buy a better scoop especially for where you are going to hunt! Lots of people no other hunters...... yep I'd say you are going to do very well. I hope you will post your finds! I bet you will do as well as Crackbadger did in Korea!

Thanks Mumszie!
I will keep you posted! I had the water detector shipped to the states and now it is on its way here so could be another week or two before I ever start fiddlin with it. I got a good feeling and Spring is near!
Later!
dave

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

Thanks NewYorker,
Ideas? Shoot me some man! I've been all over this site for the last two years.
I have a shovel and have hunted the beach and wet sand. I've done ok, but bookoos of trash. Im hoping there wont be so much out in the water. Tomorrow is a holiday in Japan so I will talley up my pull tabs, cash and rings from my last two beach hunts and post them. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. They are all still bagged up. . You may be right. That little scoop may not hold up. I'll keep you all posted.

Heres an idea, if you post up a crap scoop and ask for criticism, don't wet your panties when someone tells it like it is. You've been on the site for 2 years and still decided to construct that thing? For not much more than the 40 bucks and the time you wasted you could have bought a half decent scoop to get by with.
You obviously have no clue, your complaining about trash and you are hoping there is less trash in the water? I'll bet your first target in the water is trash and you break the scoop trying to dig it....Ironic huh?

 

[erikk]

About 1/2 way through your first dig

 

[COTTON]

Like T.DiggerNY said,(shovel)I stared out using one for a couple years,They work pretty good,I drilled holes in mine .

 

[wrecker]

There is nothing wrong with your floating sifter. Looks better than mine. Like was said before- that scoop wont last 10 minutes, a normal shovel will do just fine. Good luck!

 

[GibH]

Heres an idea,

Geez dude, who peed in your Post Toasties? Unless he changed a post and I didn't see it, I don't see what warranted your response.

 

[khpony]

I think OLEDAVIDBOY did a great job. It will serve it's purpose and do a fine job until he makes enought to buy a better one. The mind is an amazing thing. We always find a way to accomplish something and be cost concious at the same time.
Ken

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Heres an idea,

Geez dude, who peed in your Post Toasties? Unless he changed a post and I didn't see it, I don't see what warranted your response.

No sh*t!
wow. no post changed or removed. sad....
ANYWHO!!!!!!
Let`s gamble!
Im saying the cheap piece of crap WILL last me two hunts or more! I wont be digging down 12 inches with every thrust!
at least not until I buy a real scoop (and pay for shipping over here). Im betting i do find $150 worth of yellow before it falls to pieces. Call me on it! If I can't, I'll send you a sexy pic of my girlfriend but don't tell my wife

 

[petersra]

"A" for effort..... I am an architect and my finished designs almost never looks like my first idea, that first idea is usually a good place to start..... Unfortunately, I think New york is correct in his assessment of how long your scoop will last, and how difficult water hunting really is. Try standing on the end of your scoop and push the handle away from you. If it can't lift you off the ground without bending or breaking, it won't work digging in the sand under water more than one time. There is a whole lot of torque on the connection point between the scoop and the handle. Your design won't resist that torque as you pull back on the handle to dig. Look at the scoops on the market like, http://www.rtgstore.com/rtgroyalscoops.htm or http://www.gold-scoop.com/thescoop.html . Note that they have a lot of connection (either welded or capture) between the handle and the scoop itself. Perhaps you could find a piece of scrap aluminum commercial irrigation pipe. It is thin wall and probably comes as big as 6" in diameter. You might be able to drill some hole, add hardware cloth to the back with epoxy and rig up something to push against. However the handle would probably have to pass thru the pipe to get enough strength like the Sunspot Stealth scoop. Hope it works for you. I won't show you what I made for my first sand scoop, but I will say "It didn't work". I shovel on wet sand works just fine.

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

You guys need to lighten up, you also need a reality check.

GibH I've seen some of your past posts....Now you're the post police? PLEASE. Your new to digging in the surf yourself, do you really think this scoop will work? The foundation of it is a pooper scooper for picking up dog crap

Oledavidboy, I gave you an honest opinion in my first post. You obviously have trouble taking criticism.

For anyone else who thinks that this scoop and plan was money well spent or thinks that this is a good scoop that will work needs to have their head examined and needs to spend more time digging on the beach.

Get real, get some time on the beach then come back.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Petersra,
great post, appreciate.
I can tell you, and you can probably tell by the pics that that thing would not hold my weight in the matter you described.
Interesting. I can't wait to get my greenhorn butt out there and put to test all this knowledge you fine experienced surf-searchers are sending my way. THANKS.

As for you NY...
WTF did i say to make you think i didnt take your "criticism" (your words) well?
find a wife, get a life, relax dude!

 

[petersra]

Relax Guys....

"Thanks NewYorker,
Ideas? Shoot me some man! I've been all over this site for the last two years.".......

Unless I missed something in Davie's post above, he was appreciative of the constructive criticism of New York Treasure Digger, BUT was genuinely asking for input of ideas of how he might improve his design. I have been around this site for a while myself and haven't seen any posts of home made water scoop designs that really work well. Since Davie is in Japan and given his finances that he shared, I think he is commendable for trying to see what he can put together with little spending money. I think there is a misunderstanding going on here, and it doesn't do this great site justice. Read back over the posts and start over if you need to. Worthy effort on Davie's part, reasonable critique and suggestion from New York, (misunderstanding somewhere after that) some ideas, Now Davie is going to give it a try and tell us how long it lasted. Hope it works for him. And it could if the person just lost the ring and he doesn't have to dig for it, just scoop it off the surface of the sand under water. However, those of us who have hunted in the waves trying to recover a target that keeps dropping deeper into the sand are skeptical. Lets keep it constructive and respectful of other. Life is too short to waste the pleasure of this great hobby on a misunderstanding.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

hmmm...
I hear ya.
After hearing all that everyone has to say I WOULD just leave it home except for the two hours that i put into that little thumb twiddler.
So I guess I'll take it out there and break it. I'll bring a big shovel though.

 

[cavador del oro]

oledavidboy thanks for taking the time to post.

Your design could work in some locations for the shallower stuff but one would have to go a little easy with it. But then the price is very low and it sure beats jumping into the water and trying to feel the item with your fingers.

I hunt inland lakes, streams, and swamps. There are rocks, roots, and other nasty stuff so I need a monster steel scoop.