I keep snapping scoop handles... why?

[catamount]

I'm having a string of bad luck with scoop handles on my Stealth. I am not a large person, 5'11 and about 170 lbs. I don't unga bunga on the handle but I do like to get as much material as I can... isn't that the point?

I'm on my third handle in about 1 month of scooping. And not much scooping, either. Maybe 10 hours total.

The most disappointing break was yesterday, when the handle snapped on my 2nd scoop! I had broken one on Friday, went out with a new one on Saturday and on literally my second scoop with this brand new handle I heard a snap and I was out of commission.

I'm on my last handle and I've got a crack forming. I've put a couple of hose clamps on there in an effort to get a little more time out of it but I'm nervous while digging now.

I like to get a lot of material at once, but now I'm treating this thing like a china doll for fear of snapping my last handle. Do you guys dig gingerly? I'm wondering if I need to change my approach, or take much smaller bites. I certainly can't afford to buy new handles once a week.

 

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[Peyton Manning]

what kind of wood?

 

[Peyton Manning]

I'd use oak

 

[DrunkBrother]

One simple advice: Buy A stainless steet handle ;-) i broke 5 or more voden and fibre glass ones before i decided, screw that, i will have extra weight but solid scoop

 

[Peyton Manning]

they spell funny in NZ

 

[Red James Cash]

I keep snapping scoop handles... why?

Made in china garbage?If so theres your answer.

 

[Peyton Manning]

LOL, like where a tree grows makes a difference

 

[catamount]

These are the handles Sunspot sells. I highly doubt they are made in China. I think they're made here, out of ash. Anyway, is it common to go through wooden handles? Has anyone found a strong replacement that will fit the Stealth?

 

[Higgy]

Honestly, I have been a second-generation machinist my whole life. I grew up in my father's shop. Whenever he wanted something, he made it. Therefore - and I hate to brag - but I'm a fair engineer. In my honest, and humble opinion, the design of where those stealth scoops attach to the handle is a poor one, considering the most-common handle materials used.

Look at it a minute: The handle clamps down on the wood about right where the whole amount of torque from levering back with a full scoop of material. Clamping those U-bolts down even tighter only squeezes and compresses the wood fibers, making sure that any lateral stresses applied will only make them crack and split even more prematurely.

If I had a stealth scoop, I would surely use a stainless tube as a handle. It would surely bend before it breaks. The carbon fiber handle is probably quite rugged as well, albeit quite costly. If you are looking for a low-cost solution, I would try some 1" EMT. Cheap and strong.

I hope some of this resonates and helps. Let us know if you make a change and how it works! Good luck and HH!

Higgy

 

[catamount]

Higgy,

Thanks very much for your feedback! I think you are right about the u-bolts compressing the wood and making it more fragile. I definitely think that the connection between the handle and the scoop does need to be reinforced somehow. Perhaps a thin metal shim between the u-bolt and handle before tightening the bolt down would do the trick. 1" EMP sounds like a good idea! It sounds heavy though :/

I'd also like everyone to know that I'm digging in the water, in wet heavy sand. The scoop itself is built like a brick sh__house. I'm a big fan of the scoop! It's just the bottom of the handle that takes a real beating.

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

One simple advice: Buy A stainless steet handle ;-) i broke 5 or more voden and fibre glass ones before i decided, screw that, i will have extra weight but solid scoop

Dude! You broke fiberglass scoop handles? You gotta be some serial waite liftur!

 

[Higgy]

Higgy,
I definitely think that the connection between the handle and the scoop does need to be reinforced somehow. Perhaps a thin metal shim between the u-bolt and handle before tightening the bolt down would do the trick. 1" EMP sounds like a good idea! It sounds heavy though :/

I would suggest buying a piece of the EMT approximately the same diameter as the wood handle. Cut off a section - maybe 12-18 inches, and slice it in half, lengthwise. Clamshell it onto the handle, and then clamp it . That way it may act to distribute the clamping forces to spread over a wider area. Hey its worth a try?

 

[Red James Cash]

LOL, like where a tree grows makes a difference

No it doesnt,but it seems to me the type of wood that is used does.

 

[catamount]

I would suggest buying a piece of the EMT approximately the same diameter as the wood handle. Cut off a section - maybe 12-18 inches, and slice it in half, lengthwise. Clamshell it onto the handle, and then clamp it . That way it may act to distribute the clamping forces to spread over a wider area. Hey its worth a try?

Not a bad idea, but I don't think it's possible. The wood handles from Stealth come with a machined face in the back (to fit snugly against the flat back of the mount) and pre-routed indentations for the u-bolts. In other words, there is VERY little room for slack in the setup, and certainly no room for a clamshelled pipe of any thickness. It's actually a tight fit just getting the u-bolts on as-is.

 

[niffler]

I have that exact scoop and I put an orange fiberglass pultruded handle on mine (salvaged from a pole saw). At first the ubolts crushed it so I cut it off and put fiberglass resin in the first 6 inches so the ubolts can't crush it...no problems so far, although I have only used it about 10 times.

 

[lookindown]

Are you making sure the u bolts are tight? I had to retighten the u bolts after each of my first three hunts. After getting them good and tight they have stayed that way. I thought if it had some play that it might cause it to break so I tightened the heck out of em. Two years on mine and I pry full buckets of wet sand. Did you buy all those handles at one time? Maybe a weak batch of handles?

 

[HARRASS]

Before I went to non-metal scoops I had the same problems, mainly where the handle meets the scoop. The secret is to take the stress off the area where the two are connected. The solution is the triangle. As you pull backwards the stress is on the bar... not where the handle and scoop are joined. As you can see I have destroyed these two, which I no longer use, and where they are connected they are still intact. The one on the left, all I did was flatten the metal and use two small nuts and bolts to attach the handle to the basket. Without the piece that goes from the handle to the front of the basket one pull and it would snap.
No matter what you use there will always be stress on where the handle is connected to the scoop. Try and remove that stress.
By the way... your handles are made of oak. There are a few woods that might be a bit stronger, however, you would have the same problem. Hope this helps you. Gary

 

[WaterWalker]

If the wood is "machined" on the back side and where the U-bolt attaches...that will only weaken the handle.

I have broken an original carbon steel handle that came with my scoop back in 1992, replacements of single tube aluminum and 2 double tube aluminum before went to stainless steel. The stainless steel is still going strong after 12 years and 4000+ hours of digging in the ocean and fresh water beaches (in the water - no sand scooping).

I did put shrink tubing over the stainless steel to increase the grip and I wear nitrile coated gloves in the summer and Edmont nemox 9-430 gauntlet (trapper) gloves in the winter. Hope this helps.

 

[romanf]

I had similar problems so I got an aluminum handle. It is extremely strong and does not bend. Got it from Amazon, not as heavy as a steel one, but it is hardened. Used in construction of airplanes. Has a very thick wall on it. It is standard size 1.25" so it fits a variety of common scoops. Here is the Amazon title:

Aluminum 6061-T6 Extruded Round Tubing, ASTM B210, 0.25" OD, 0.75" ID, 0.25" Wall, 48" Length

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I would go with aluminum handle and put heat shrink on end of it where hands go......