Any of you Make your own tools for hunting treasure?, I do, saves me a lot of $$$

[Goldfinger450]

My shop is a Treasure to have and add to (tools). I noticed these small pics for digging are around $60, I have metal working tools and can make an tool as good or better from the scrap pile in about 20 minutes on average, first pick was some Old Buggy leaf spring, that is usually 5160 spring steel, a 2- 1/2 ft pipe , weld it up and grind the edges and it holds up to a tough Beating, Prying, Hammering regime any time it goes out.

Want one lighter and triangle V Blade?? Old Bed rail is the ticket, Hard steel and a screw in type handle fitting is welded on to hold the wood or Aluminum handle , works out dandy!!! Have built Dredges from scratch and scrap, specially adapted 4x4 4 wheelers(Went to AUS) for Nugget hunting.

If I were a Young man I would be in Argentina making and selling Mining equipment and doing my own Prospecting it is so untouched there.Hmm, Just Noticed you have tool section, Mods Please delete, Thanks.

 

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[Oddjob]

Only thing I have ever hand made was crevice picks, did not see a point on spend 30 bucks for a set that would only get used 3 weeks out of the year.

I have modified tools and gear, or used tools not related but I am not the only one there. I have a Sapper pick I use at times. My craziest mod was taking off the crummy tires from my GPR and replacing it with the big sand tires from my Hobie PA 17t cradle, was not much to do really, just fabricate and build 8 brackets, that would fit Surly Bill trailer axles. That only went well because I already owned a couple of the trailers and have spare axles and also owned two cradles from Hobie as well.

Not really the gift sort of fella who can just run from nothing, but if I have a few key items I can cannibalize like on the GPR then coming up with the brackets is not hard.

In the past I had a couple MDs I mounted piccatinny rails to, just left over rails I had from so CAA Gucci (they always send extra), had plenty of weapon lights and I needed more than what I had on my head lamp. Do not use that set up any longer, no need now.

changed many of shovels, tanker bars and pinch bars around.

All sorts of odd ends and bits one can do to save money.

 

[boogeyman]

Words from wise old grandpa "Never buy something you can make." Why pay big bucks for example a magnet fishing rig. Pile of trashed computer hard drives will give a pile of surprisingly strong magnets all for $5 - $6. Use existing holes to put three of them together in a circle. Add a piece of steel cable 1/8" and you have a rig that'll pick up a 5hp Briggs & Stratton motor and you can drag it across the yard without losing it. Total cost? Around $5! Add in 100' of rope $2 from the dollar store. $1 per 50'. Started making my own tools back in the days when there weren't 20 companies making basically the same thing with all kinds of different prices. Water proof coils!?!? Had to seal them, add enough rubber compound (SPL) to the top to make it neutral or negative if you wanted and off we went!
The best part is you get exactly what you want, not what a manufacturer thinks everyone wants. If you can make it, you sure as heck can fix it.

 

[TerryC]

Years ago, I made a digging tool. I took a geologist's hammer (one side is pointy) and welded on a flat blade on the hammer head end. The leather handle stuff has since rotted away so I wound para-cord in its place. But.... I confess my BEST digging tool is my Calvin Bunker (posts as Bunk here) digging tool. I cut down the handle to put the weight more forward. ╦╦Ç