Special shovel?

wingmaster

Bronze Member
Aug 10, 2009
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White's MXT all pro, MXT300 D2, 950, 4X6 DD, detech ultimate 13" DD coils
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All Treasure Hunting
I notice when digging dirt thats under water I can get a full shovel full but when raising it to the surface that the water is washing alot of the material off, even when trying to bring it up slow and keeping the shovel head as level as I can. I've seen one shovel that looks real nice but they was wanting $85.00 for it and I'm not looking to spend that much, I also seen one thats more like a scoop but only has a two foot handle. I'm thinking about buying the one with the two foot handle as its only $40.00, but would really like to find something with a longer handle that has some sides on it enough that you won't lose much material when bringing the material to the surface. Thanks for any help and have a happy thanksgiving to all
 

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Morning Wingmaster,
That is a typical problem with digging in the water. I've been thinking about having some sides welded to my shovel but have not done it yet. Post a picture of what you come up with.....63bkpkr
 

if you go ahead and have some 2 inch band iron welded to your shovel, you would save a bunch of money. BUT just remeber that these shovels have tempered steel for their blades so youll need to MIG weld or TIG weld this addition on to your shovel blade DONT ARC WELD THIS or the metal on the blade or it will crystalize the steel and crack real fast!!!
 

Buy the two foot one and change out the handle. That's what most do when they purchase the "bucket digger"
He has them made in China and it's easier/cheaper to ship with the short handle.


Or you could make one like I did. Wish I had it years ago, perfect for digging in the water or out.



GG~
 

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Yep the bucket digger was the one I was looking at, thats a great ideal changing out the handle. It would be nice if came with a longer handle to start with though, thanks for the ideal as thats what I'm probably going to do. HH
 

For $85 new your not going to get a good water scoop, good scoops for water are in the $175-$200 range. Look for a good used scoop for $100-150 , at that price you could use it for several years sell it and get all your money back...

Don't waste your money buying cheap scoops. If you know someone who does welding they can make you one.

My first water scoop I paid $80 and I broke the handle in a month digging wet sand. Dry sand is a piece of cake, wet sand requires a good heavy duty water scoop....
 

For $85 new your not going to get a good water scoop, good scoops for water are in the $175-$200 range. Look for a good used scoop for $100-150 , at that price you could use it for several years sell it and get all your money back...

Don't waste your money buying cheap scoops. If you know someone who does welding they can make you one.

My first water scoop I paid $80 and I broke the handle in a month digging wet sand. Dry sand is a piece of cake, wet sand requires a good heavy duty water scoop....

You must be talking about the scoop that metal detectorist's use for beach use. The bucket digger for gold prospecting is another animal.



bucketdigger600x462.png
 

I purchased a bolt on handle that mounts half way up the shovel handle. (google search "back saver grip") While it doesn't actually perform like a shovel with raised sides, I found it was easier to keep the blade from tipping from side to side.

I bought it for the ability to dig deeper into the stream as it allowed me to get more leverage without having to get as much of my arm wet. The design seems to allow you to use more shoulder muscles rather than arm alone when raising the shovel. The ability to bypass using extreme gripping with my lower hand to keep the blade level really allowed my old self to dig longer.

And on the bright side......it was on clearance at a local hardware store for 6 or 7 bucks. I'm going back for another one.

Remnar
 

Here is my (insert your best New Your accent) "SKOOPA".

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A warn out old flat shovel has a new life.
 

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I ordered the bucket digger and will probably change out the handle for a longer one when it comes in, I hope it works good as there just isn't much to choose from without making your own.
 

I ordered the bucket digger and will probably change out the handle for a longer one when it comes in, I hope it works good as there just isn't much to choose from without making your own.

Let us know how it works out for you.

GG~
 

underburden,
Nice looking shovel as well as your blog site and nice setup of sniping equipment. I've some plans for this coming summer that may just require me to have some sort of equipment like this.....63bkpkr
 

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