Soil/Privy Probe?

[MrSchulz]

Looking to buy a cheap one, or make one. Any advice? I'm a broke teenager and i'd like to dig the privy(s) in my yard from my 1945 house before winter gets here

 

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[boogeyman]

Easiest cheapest is to got to a scrap yard. Find a 1/2 or 3/4" piece of rod 5' long. Drill a hole in the middle of a piece of 1/2" pipe 12 or 14 inches long for a handle. You can either thread the rod & use two bolts or weld it to the handle. Cheap! & it should last you for a long time. If you want the bead on the tip thread or weld / braze a nut about 1 1/2" up the shaft & grind it round. Shouldn't cost you more than $20. HINT: If you use the nuts for the handle, the handle can be slid down the shaft to make hauling the thing through thick brush easier.

 

[jaken]

I build quality spring steel probes up to 5 feet. New spring steel, not recycled stuff. Email me jaken@hughes,net

 

[CurlysGold]

You should post a link to your website which has pictures.

 

[Dwight S]

You should post a link to your website which has pictures.

He can't really since he isn't a sponsor... But I know him and I've got one of his probes. The build quality is fantastic.

He builds them primarily for hut digging, but it'll work jsut fine for a privy!

Check out his info on Civil War hut digging for more info.

HUT DIGGIN' 101

 

[FLauthor]

Find old cars at junk yards with spring steel rods in the truck. Ask the owner of the junk yard, he'll know what you are seeking. Grind one end into a rounded point and fashion a handle on the other. Shouldn't cost but a couple of bucks for the scrap.

 

[jaken]

Not trying to be smart but, how do you "fashion" a handle on spring steel and what about the tip? If you don't have a larger diameter tip than the shaft it will be almost impossible to get out of the ground. Not as easy as you may think.

 

[jaken]

Again, I'm not trying to be a smart alec but 1/2" rod is wayyy to big for a probe. You will never find a scrap trunk rod 5 feet long and threading spring steel is a real exercise in futility. I have been building probes for ten years and have tried it all.

 

[boogeyman]

Again, I'm not trying to be a smart alec but 1/2" rod is wayyy to big for a probe. You will never find a scrap trunk rod 5 feet long and threading spring steel is a real exercise in futility. I have been building probes for ten years and have tried it all.

Hey Jaken Thanks for catching my mistake! Meant 1/4". Appreciate the correction, my coffee IV must've run dry!

 

[stoneshirt]

Hello.Find a wrecking Yard,and get the Rod that's used to prop up the Hood,on older Cars/Trucks.It's SPRING STEEL.And I guess you already know, to Braze/Weld a small Ball Bearing,slightly larger than the Probe Dia.onto the Tip,it sinks better.And when you put a "T" Handle on,Drill only ONE whole,not all the way through the Handle.If you were to have the Rod going clear through,and the weld breaks,with all your weight on it,it will IMPALE YOU!

stoneshirt

 

[caretaker]

Boogyman, I had to reread it too, I have made a few and still have my last one, it's in my garage , with my sifter