shovel trouble!!!!!

[chipper]

Every shovel i buy i break the handle it doesn't matter whether fiberglass or wood is there a heavier duty shovel out there maybe steel handle or have you ever made your own handle and what did you use thanks for any info g.j

 

[SMKS]

What are you doing to break them?

 

[chipper]

Digging up stumps and root balls from bushes and small trees that I've cleared i admit that probably put more strain on the shovel than i should

 

[tube_guy]

Get a digging bar to do your prying with. Shovels aren't really made to do heavy prying.

 

[signcrafter]

I have a collection of shovels of all shapes and sizes and our soil is clay and lots of roots. I've used them to dig up stumps and root balls and trenches and all sorts of things. I've broke one or two in the last ten years by prying to much on them. But I've put these shovels threw hell and back and they last for the most part. What brand of shovels are you buying that break so easy? I bought a cheaper shovel about ten years ago and snapped it like a twig the first time I used it, learned fast that paying a little more for a quality shovel is worth it. buy the best shovel you can find and try and find one with a lifetime warranty. If you are exceeding what a shovel should be doing get the right tool so you don't keep breaking the shovels.

 

[4xdog]

I guess one could break something like THIS, but it would sure take work!

 

[RECox286]

Get a stump grinder ! Shovels are not pry bars. (TNT works pretty good)

Uncle Bob

 

[jsackin]

Bully Tools makes a heavy duty USA shovel.

http://www.bullytools.com/

Jori
HJE

 

[uncletater]

Fiskars makes some good heavy shovels.
All metal and long. Good for tall people.

 

[gsmornot]

Not sure it will help with your issue but I sharpen my shovels to put a blade surface on the end. It helps with digging so it might help in cutting the roots instead of just trying to pry them out.

 

[SMKS]

Get a digging bar to do your prying with. Shovels aren't really made to do heavy prying.

+1

Looks like HD, Lowe's and other stores carry digging bars.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_277876-42268-TB-175-LW+33382_0__

 

[4xdog]

Not sure it will help with your issue but I sharpen my shovels to put a blade surface on the end. It helps with digging so it might help in cutting the roots instead of just trying to pry them out.

When I was in junior high and high school I used to do yard and handyman work for the old brother and sister living down the street. He was probably in his eighties back in the early 70s -- so figure a guy who learned hard labor as a kid on the farm back in the 1910s-1920s or so. Back when a hand tool was often all one had. I provided the muscle, he provided the supervision.

He taught me the same thing. He learned it from a farm hand who always brought two shovels to work, and spent part of his lunchtime sharpening each one so he always had a sharp shovel ready to go.

Yup, a sharp tool makes a big difference.

 

[BLJ]

3/4" ridgid conduit welded to the blade. i put the condiut down into the blade (socket?) beat the socket closed and welded it in. kinda hard on the hands but no more breaking handles.

 

[CNGsaves]

3/4" ridgid conduit welded to the blade. i put the condiut down into the blade (socket?) beat the socket closed and welded it in. kinda hard on the hands but no more breaking handles.

^ ^ ^ This but worse !! Grandpa had one that was thick wall pipe and man that baby was HEAVY . . . . you weren't going to break that handle!! Plus, it was first portable Work-Out-Gym as your arms, biceps, triceps and shoulders were in damn good shape quick when using that thing.

As a kid had a garden hoe that dad had replaced wooden handle with steel. Us kids fought over who had to use that damn thing to weed the 1 acre plot of green beens which were "summer crop" for dad to make extra money. At least we got "paid" something . . . 10 cents an hour . . big whoopee!

For modern tools, a quality fiberglass handle shovel is best tool for the job. If you're breaking these, you've got wrong tool for the job.

 

[Maexle]

i know what you mean, i have shove trouble too:

1970 FLH SHOVELhead Harley....hehehe

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Jd makes a shovel called a 310 that's perfect for that purpose!

 

[ilovevocs]

Menards has a lifetime warranty on their shovels, doesn't stop them from breaking but takes the pain of it.

 

[retrobuilder]

Check out Council Tool in North Carolina- USA made and great values in mattoxs, axes and picks and pry bars. Use the shovels for digging and dirt transfer.

 

[woody 73]

Back in the day they used to make a Nursery shovel that used a steel strap that went all the way up the handle for Nursery workers to use. If you broke that shovel you were stronger then Superman, but those suckers are heavy to use and if you are working in all wet clay soils they become even heavier.

 

[wise]

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/products/equipment/excavators/650d_lc/650d_lc.page

These work well, I just finished working on one.

 

[theoldwizard1]

They do make steel handle shovels. You can't break them, but you can bend them.

Just like my neighbor who bent my San Angelo bar !

Get a craftsman shovel. My son and I went through about a dozen of them one summer !

 

[Mohawk Dave]

When I was in junior high and high school I used to do yard and handyman work for the old brother and sister living down the street. He was probably in his eighties back in the early 70s -- so figure a guy who learned hard labor as a kid on the farm back in the 1910s-1920s or so. Back when a hand tool was often all one had. I provided the muscle, he provided the supervision.

He taught me the same thing. He learned it from a farm hand who always brought two shovels to work, and spent part of his lunchtime sharpening each one so he always had a sharp shovel ready to go.

Yup, a sharp tool makes a big difference.

Never gave it much thought...but it obviously makes sense. Guess it's time to grab the flap disc and get to work.

BTW: would you want to grind the face or back on a shovel. I presume the face. ???

 

[KPSquared]

I have a couple spades I bought at my local Co-Op that are all steel. They are tough as hell but they are heavy. I don't remember the brand but so far I haven't hurt one.

 

[darkk]

Every shovel i buy i break the handle it doesn't matter whether fiberglass or wood is there a heavier duty shovel out there maybe steel handle or have you ever made your own handle and what did you use thanks for any info g.j

Some people could break a crow bar in a sandbox...

 

[Stick-man]

I have some by Nupla, and they hold up great. I'm sure you'll agree, quality tools will hold up to a certain amount of use beyond its design. Go past that point and pretty much everything will break.

 

[spotco2]

You're doing it wrong if you're breaking every shovel you own.

They are made for digging and not prying. There are tools for that.

I've had some of my shovels for over 20 years and have never broken a handle on one.

 

[CNGsaves]

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/products/equipment/excavators/650d_lc/650d_lc.page

These work well, I just finished working on one.

That little yellow thing is not a shovel . . . . .

. . . now the Big Red One . . . now THAT's a Shovel !!!

It's called Big Brutus, an electric powered coal shovel that surface mined coal for years near Pittsburg, KS (actual location is West Mineral, KS) and now Brutus sits where it was de-commissioned since it was so big. It's a tourist attraction now. See info at:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2104

 

[Dberglind]

Agree with the others, shovels are not designed for prying. It's kind of like using your ratchet as a hammer. It might get the job done, but the right tool(s) will usually do the job better and faster. Get yourself a digging bar and a pickaxe.