Making a Scoop!

[GreyMetal]

So I just recently got serious about metal detecting. I only just bought my detector (and it's in the mail ) and a big part of getting serious about MDing is doing research into equipment and stuff. One thing that I want to get into is beach detecting and I saw many of the long handled beach scoops were upwards of $130! Maybe some time in the future I'll be more comfortable shelling out that kind of cash for a scoop but while I wait for my gear to come, I decided I could probably make something functionally similar for pretty cheap.

The goal of this post is to inspire other MDers on a budget or give some of you out there an MD related project if you can't go out for whatever reason. So without further ado!

Materials:
- 10ft 4"PVC ($10)
- 5ft 3/4"PVC ($4)
- 4" PVC end cap ($2)
- 4 screws & 4 nuts (found at home easily <$5 at hardware store)
- Power drill
- Circular file
- Saw

The last two items on the list I had at home but I bought the drill and bit set for $40 and it is a great investment in my opinion. Or you could borrow a friends!

So the final product looks like this:


Not the prettiest thing in the world but I think it will be fictional. First I cut a section of the 4" PVC at an angle which will be the scooping end. Then I drilled a few holes into opposite sides of the 4" PVC where the handle will go through. I didntt line the holes p directly so my scoop would have a bit of a downward angle to it when the handle was perpendicular to the ground:


After the holes were drilled and widened with the file I marked off how deep the handle has to be so the the 3/4" PVC handle just barely sticks out of the bottom hole. The reason the handle goes all the way through is to stabilize it from wobbling around. After marking this pint, I drilled a hole where a scrap of 3/4" PVC will be used as a stopper so the handle doesn't come out of the scoop head.the handle was put back into the scoop head and the scrap PVC was attached via screw and nut. The same was done just above the scoop so the handle does not slide down into the scoop head. It is IMPORTANT to not attach the end cap to the back of the scoop until the end so that it's easy to do work inside ofthe scoop head:


The final part stabilizes the handle from turning. This is done by adding a piece of PVC at around the base of the handle to the actual scoop head. After properly marking where the stabilizing piece should go I cut away sections off the end so the screws did not have to go through the entire stabilizing piece. The stabilizer was attached with a screw and nut at either end:


Above we can see the head of the scoop without and with the 4" end cap. I could further drill holes to sift the sand (which I will probably do before using) and add a second rotational stabilizing piece to make the scoop look "even". You can file to smooth out any rough edges and paint with appropriate paint to your liking.

As always with any construction project exercise proper safety and proper planning! The latter can prevent head aches and the former all other kinds of aches

Any questions welcome. Happy Hunting!
-GM

 

[sexton]

Sorry but I don't think its going to work. Should have saved your time and money and watched craigslist for a decent used scoop.

P.S.
Welcome to the board

 

[GreyMetal]

Hey sexton, I think it should work fine in dry sand at least. i cold see it being a bit finicky in wet sand but it feels surprisingly strong. Why don't you think it will work?

 

[FelixtheCat]

Sorry but I don't think its going to work. Should have saved your time and money and watched craigslist for a decent used scoop.

I agree. The stresses that we put these things under are just too much. Some of the better ones I've seen out of PVC use elbows.

Why don't you think it will work?

Experience.

GM - If you don't want to spend much you could get one of the Ukraine made ones off Ebay for around $80 with a handle. I've tried one of them and they're solid. Not top of the line like the nice expensive ones out there but it'll serve you well for a few years.

 

[GreyMetal]

Thanks for the feedback Felix. I agree I was a bit worried about the stress which is also partly why the handle goes through the entire scoop head. I'm eager to try it out to see how it holds up! When I get the chance to finally use it. I'll definitely report back and link to this thread. It was a fun project while I was waiting for my detector anyways .

 

[Ricki7]

Hey you had fun , but even for light duty screws wiggle and don't hold long in plastic , good luck hope you get some finds with it
HH

 

[sexton]

no need to comment on your design I think two poster have covered it.
I will do this for you I have my original scoop it yours for the cost of shipping.

Sexton

 

[Mud-puppy]

Man! I tell you Greymetal. I LOVE it! Well, not the scoop per se, which wont work worth a damn, but your creativity and Moxie! A+!

Little story, when I was new at this Sport, same thing crossed my mind..."I aint paying $150 for a shovel with holes in it, I'll make one myself, I mean, how hard can this be?" All the old Guys warned me...but I wouldnt listen!

After a few prototypes, using things like collanders and fry tub baskets, and all sorts of other coccamamie contraptions...For my final attempt, in a stroke of genius, I ordered two large aluminum ice scoops from a restaurant supply place...I think they were @15 each...I had some flat aluminum stock laying around here, so I sort of keyholed and dovetailed this thing together, its mainly held together through tension of the interlocking parts....using a jig saw and a drill and a hacksaw blade, some of that 'Lumaweld' rod and a propane torch...and a shovel handle...total cost probably $40 with the drill bits and rod and saw blades...about 1 1/2hrs time...I even through the 'Whale tail' design in there just for giggles!

I've been using this thing for the past 5yrs or so...maybe more...even out with it today...banging through the ice, treating it shamefully...but really man...it would have been FAR easier and more productive just coughing up for a good one right from go...I still have that other scoop, so maybe I'll build a backup and try to make it look halfway decent this time?...Like I said, fast and dirty prototyping here...Good for you for building a scoop!! Now that you got it out of your system, Do yourself a favor and buy a good one!
Mud

 

[Cfmct]

I agree with the others... stay in the dry fluffy sand... its either going to flex too much of just plain snap in the wet... I would give it a little longer life if you filled the handle though sorry...

 

[DaviDs]

...and I saw many of the long handled beach scoops were upwards of $130! ....
-GM

GM, all design woes aside, thanks for taking the time share-and-care! I think all of us have been there and "done that", but that is the fun part of this hobby. After 5-years of hunting, I did a quick recap in this article... http://detecting365.com/5-year-review-sand-scoops/ and think you'll probably share a similar story of your adventures over the next couple years too!

FWIW, my lil PVC scoop is still working BUT I didn't add the forces and stress associated with a long handle. Then again, if you buy a strong enough schedule, it might just hold up.

Good luck and just in case, you might want to bring along a spare shovel as a backup.

 

[GreyMetal]

Hi Mud-puppy. Thanks for sharing your story and words of encouragement! What you've got there looks like a great design. It was a blast to make and I'm excited to gibe it a go anyways. I wont be hitting the beach for another month or so. I'll mostly be using a trowel and pin pointer in the near future. That was the other reason that I decided to make a scoop. I'm not going to be beach hunting too often, at least for the foreseeable future.

 

[GreyMetal]

Thanks for the response DnD. Thanks for the advice, I will definitely bring a back up first time I take this thing out. I suppose the moral of this thread is live and learn . Is that a picture of scoops you've made?

 

[Shavnore]

Looks legit

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Mud-puppy]

Hi Mud-puppy. Thanks for sharing your story and words of encouragement! What you've got there looks like a great design. It was a blast to make and I'm excited to gibe it a go anyways. I wont be hitting the beach for another month or so. I'll mostly be using a trowel and pin pointer in the near future. That was the other reason that I decided to make a scoop. I'm not going to be beach hunting too often, at least for the foreseeable future.

Oh yeah, its always fun to build something! Like I said, everybody should at least try to build one a few times...If you are just hunting dry sand, you dont really even NEED one anyway...Sure a dry sand scoop is faster, but not necessary...You can use your foot to kick the sand and spread and sweep, rake your fingers through it to find the target...for wet sand a regular old shovel works too, just dig and spread it out and sweep...for water, you do need a scoop though...you dont need a pinpointer on the sand either..try to cover a lot of ground fast is the key..I Hunt a lot of dry sand totlots and leave my scoop in the car mostly...for beaches though, I take along a scoop, its just faster....Good on Ya and Good Luck! Report back!
Mud

 

[DaviDs]

Oh yeah, its always fun to build something! Like I said, everybody should at least try to build one a few times...If you are just hunting dry sand, you dont really even NEED one anyway...Sure a dry sand scoop is faster, but not necessary...You can use your foot to kick the sand and spread and sweep, rake your fingers through it to find the target...for wet sand a regular old shovel works too, just dig and spread it out and sweep...for water, you do need a scoop though...you dont need a pinpointer on the sand either..try to cover a lot of ground fast is the key..I Hunt a lot of dry sand totlots and leave my scoop in the car mostly...for beaches though, I take along a scoop, its just faster....Good on Ya and Good Luck! Report back!
Mud

I agree 99% with Mud... and here is the 1% where I disagree.....

Occassionally you come across a coin spill. Before I had a scoop, I once spent 10 minutes trying to sift my way to find all the coins. Scoop, or even a tennis racket (which I also used) would make it easier.


The pinpointer.....this is usually tucked away safe in my pocket and never turned on.....until I come to a beach that has been replenished. When you get that tiny can-slaw that slips through the holes of your scoop over and over, well, the pin pointer can save you.

Bottom line is you want to have the right tool for the job, and the job (retrieving a target) shouldn't take more than 10-15 seconds. Watch some videos on youtube. You'll see a guy dig a few plugs, spread them with his foot and retrieve the target in less than 15 seconds. That is probably a good goal to aim for and you'll meet or beat that after a little practice.

 

[39cents]

You can definitely make one from PVC but you need to do it a little better than that. I ran into a fellow hunter on the beach the other day with a beautiful PVC scoop which contained zero metal. It was assembled entirely of PVC and PVC glue, and some wood.

 

[Aquaman]

We were all there once GM
Enjoy the tinkering.

 

[GreyMetal]

...you dont need a pinpointer on the sand either..try to cover a lot of ground fast is the key..

Thanks Mud. I figured I wouldn't need one in the sand but the advice is always appreciated . I will be sure to report back. I'm just sitting here waiting for my detector to come in the mail already!!!

 

[Mud-puppy]

Yeah DND! Great advice! I hunt big beaches in the Summer for fresh drops, before Sun-up..mega coin spills and all sorts of crapola...so I really need a fast scoop for this kind of work...just pinging and popping! A guy cant be sifting around with their fingers in the dark with all these miles of open sand to hunt!

I suppose I could go without, but why? Why make life harder than it has to be?
Scoops actually pay off if a guy is hunting sand or water....thats one tool a guy intent on beach/water hunting really needs is a good fast honest scoop!...
Mud

 

[Beachscanner]

So I just recently got serious about metal detecting. I only just bought my detector (and it's in the mail ) and a big part of getting serious about MDing is doing research into equipment and stuff. One thing that I want to get into is beach detecting and I saw many of the long handled beach scoops were upwards of $130! Maybe some time in the future I'll be more comfortable shelling out that kind of cash for a scoop but while I wait for my gear to come, I decided I could probably make something functionally similar for pretty cheap.

The goal of this post is to inspire other MDers on a budget or give some of you out there an MD related project if you can't go out for whatever reason. So without further ado!

Materials:
- 10ft 4"PVC ($10)
- 5ft 3/4"PVC ($4)
- 4" PVC end cap ($2)
- 4 screws & 4 nuts (found at home easily <$5 at hardware store)
- Power drill
- Circular file
- Saw

The last two items on the list I had at home but I bought the drill and bit set for $40 and it is a great investment in my opinion. Or you could borrow a friends!

So the final product looks like this:
View attachment 347847

Not the prettiest thing in the world but I think it will be fictional. First I cut a section of the 4" PVC at an angle which will be the scooping end. Then I drilled a few holes into opposite sides of the 4" PVC where the handle will go through. I didntt line the holes p directly so my scoop would have a bit of a downward angle to it when the handle was perpendicular to the ground:
View attachment 347848View attachment 347841

After the holes were drilled and widened with the file I marked off how deep the handle has to be so the the 3/4" PVC handle just barely sticks out of the bottom hole. The reason the handle goes all the way through is to stabilize it from wobbling around. After marking this pint, I drilled a hole where a scrap of 3/4" PVC will be used as a stopper so the handle doesn't come out of the scoop head.the handle was put back into the scoop head and the scrap PVC was attached via screw and nut. The same was done just above the scoop so the handle does not slide down into the scoop head. It is IMPORTANT to not attach the end cap to the back of the scoop until the end so that it's easy to do work inside ofthe scoop head:
View attachment 347842

The final part stabilizes the handle from turning. This is done by adding a piece of PVC at around the base of the handle to the actual scoop head. After properly marking where the stabilizing piece should go I cut away sections off the end so the screws did not have to go through the entire stabilizing piece. The stabilizer was attached with a screw and nut at either end:
View attachment 347843View attachment 347844

Above we can see the head of the scoop without and with the 4" end cap. I could further drill holes to sift the sand (which I will probably do before using) and add a second rotational stabilizing piece to make the scoop look "even". You can file to smooth out any rough edges and paint with appropriate paint to your liking.

As always with any construction project exercise proper safety and proper planning! The latter can prevent head aches and the former all other kinds of aches

Any questions welcome. Happy Hunting!
-GM

I would have to say the vast majority of new MDers started out building their own scoops from plumbing supplies, myself included.