Show your home made diggers

[hoser]

When I first got my DFX I was using a cheap $2 garden trowel. It got the job done but it had no backbone and I trashed several out before I decided to make my own. Good thing I had a big maintenance shop full of tools to help me out. Yeah it was government work. I had some pieces of 1/8" stainless I could use. I kinda sorta decided to make one similar to the Lesche. Spent quite a bit of time fabing the blade as that stainless was hard. When done I thought I would make it totally my design and inlaid a wheaty in the wooden handle. I figured I had this 1943 copper cent just laying around so why not use it. This digger really worked great, and I used it for a few years till I got the Lesche. I decided to make one for my wife and she said she wanted cutting teeth on both sides. I always liked how the garden trowels removed a lot of dirt so why not, I made one that won't break. After all that I saw some of the digging shovels on the web and well why not, I built my own out of that same tough stainless with a stainless handle. It's 30" long, 4" at the widest point. The wife's is the one on the left, my first is in the middle, then my dirt mover. So lets see what ya'll have done. I love this kind of thing. The Lesche is there for size comparison.

 

[hoser]

Well, guess I'm the only one that has made my own diggers.

 

[Cherry Picker]

I made this recovery tool out of a Raptor and an old swimming pool net poll I found. Very light and it looks like a walking stick from a distance.

 

[hoser]

Ohhhh That's cool Detector. I have seen that exact digger on some youtube videos and it really looks like it works well. You took it to another level. Outstanding! How does that work on harder ground?

 

[Cherry Picker]

Ohhhh That's cool Detector. I have seen that exact digger on some youtube videos and it really looks like it works well. You took it to another level. Outstanding! How does that work on harder ground?

It does need something to give your foot more push on the top, but it does real well in hard ground, just could be better with a foot peg in the back.

 

[hoser]

just could be better with a foot peg in the back.

Should be easy to install one on your digger, even a bolt on unit. Nicely done.

 

[Rattlehead]

Nice looking diggers.

I’ve made a few of them.

 

[hoser]

Rattlehead those are awesome! What kind of jig did you use for the hand diggers Very well done.

 

[Rattlehead]

Thanks. I cut the blades on a CNC plasma at my workplace. Then I just modified the lower bending die of an old iron worker. Basically just welded in then ground down a spot in the middle to form the part that makes the dimple in the bend.

Working at a steel plant, I’m lucky enough to have access to some pretty nice machinery.

 

[hoser]

Working at a steel plant, I’m lucky enough to have access to some pretty nice machinery.

HAHAHAHA I hear ya. 31 years in maintenance at where I worked I had access to some pretty cool tooling myself. Boy I kind of miss that part of it.