petersra
Hero Member
- Apr 26, 2006
- 577
- 14
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- Tesoro Tiger Shark + Cheap Radio Shack + Whites DF PI + Aquasound
When I started out several years ago, I made my own Scoop. From what I have heard, a lot of us have been there, done that. I figured out pretty quick that my home made scoop was not going to get the job done over the long run. My wife bought me a hand held galvanized scoop for $40 and then I spent the $150 for a good SS long handled water Scoop. That was about 1-1/2 years ago. I go hunting as often as I can get away, but that is only a couple time a week on average. My scoop is big so it gets a lot of torque on it when it takes a full bite. When it came in the mail, I could tell the welds were wimpy and were not going to hold up. Unfortunately, I was right. Below are pictures of the developing cracks and the repairs. I am not a pro stick welder, but I think this will hold up better than original equipment. Of course I added an extra pound of welding rods and SS supports to the weight of the scoop This is my first time welding SS, so there was a learing curve. My last welds were better than my first. Also, everything I read said you had to have argon gas blowing on the arc while you were welding, which of course I don't have. When I had the amps right and the speed right, the welds looked good without any obvious oxidation or pitting of the weld. So maybe a 316L rod is made to use without argon gas, because the results seemed OK to me. Time will tell how the welds hold up. Hope this give anyone who wants to make their own scoop an idea of the kind of stress a scoop needs to be able to take. HH to all. Ralph
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