hey all you beach hunters.. help on a scooper please

Ok heres the deal,  I have had a ton of beach scoopers, I have ruined every single aluminum one I have had, I have one huge monster scooper that is over 4lbs, and I cannot even lift it.. I need a good sturdy shallow water beach scooper that I can use my foot to push on...Doesn't anyone have a stainless steel one that isnt a monster one..  any help is appreciated.

Hi, I read on some posts here where it was recommended to put a wooden dowel into the tube to strenghten it. I hope that helps.

ttyl, skt

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index....c,283712.msg2030447.html#msg2030447

Oro Toro 6 inch Beach Scoop SS tip  by Bill Babbs,  very light, but in a custom made smaller size like a 5 inch, the SS tip holds up better then the regular aluminum tip, I'm sure he could do a custom job for you on that, great guy.  Titianium  would be your best but  big bucks, know one guy, unfornate he is far away..........Joe

Can u weld. If u can make a pattern and put one together yourself. Then you can reinforce it yourself.....Matt

Booty, here is a lil one I use sometimes.  I sent you the link where to get it.

Ok heres the deal,  I have had a ton of beach scoopers, I have ruined every single aluminum one I have had, I have one huge monster scooper that is over 4lbs, and I cannot even lift it.. I need a good sturdy shallow water beach scooper that I can use my foot to push on...Doesn't anyone have a stainless steel one that isnt a monster one..  any help is appreciated.

If weight is such an issue Rae........then you should forget about a stainless steel scoop.....you just aren't going to find anything near what you are looking for that is under 4 pounds......the only alternative I see at this time is an Aluminum scoop.....it may not be ideally (to your preference) what you are looking for, but you just may have to compromise here......that seems to be the bottom line there.....Brian

Well if you look at my avitar, my Monster scoop exceeds almost everyones limits   and if the waves are really rough this monster will weather vane in the surf and end even my day of surf hunting early . I designed this myself after discovering that the majority of the scoops that I looked at didn't measure up to my style of digging. I broke most of the ones that i purchased. They didn't go deep enough, they were too small in diameter, poor design. Oh yes the weight is somewhere around 12 + pounds and the shaft is 6 feet long. But it digs fast and deep. It's a workout just getting from the truck to the water. But after that it's alot easier to drag behind me. Once I find an object and bury the scoop I estimate the weight at the scoop end to exceed 35 pounds. Yep I am probably a little crooked when I  out of the water after 6 + hours of detecting. Oh yes I have bent this handle but I fixed that by pile driving a broom handle into the shaft. Sorry but I don't think my scoop will work for you.

looks like brian and sandman are right, its not worth it to me to use a stainless steel one and end up hurting or in the hospital..so will just keep on using what I can the aluminum ones.. gotta do what ya gotta do..  I'd rather be able to hunt then not.

I believe in the future you will see a few titanium scoops being sold on a limited offer?
If not by me, by someone I've put a spark under? The ultimate scoop will be made from titanium!
Choosing a scoop by weight alone can be a mistake. In order for an aluminum scoop to be as strong as stainless, it would need to be over twice the material thickness... and would end up weighing more than a stainless scoop of the same strength. And the same aluminum scoop would need to be over four times material thickness to match a scoop of the same design made from titanium!
Aluminum doesn't have the fatigue resistance that stainless has, and many times that is the reason for failure in the way of cracks and welds breaking.
The "Patty B" was the first scoop made for a woman using titanium. And after two weeks of use on two different beaches, the only complaint was...
"It digs to many aluminum tabs!".

try a wrist-mounted one like this.  If you use this for any length of time, you'll never want to bend over again with a standard type afterwards

I made this myself from old md'er parts, and a stainless steel scoop:

Tom,

Nice looking scoop and real nice beach behind you. Your scoop doesn't look like it would work for me when I am chest deep in the surf, but it looks like it is a great wet sand scoop

hi Rae, give VA beach max[ gravediggermax] a shout. he had some scoops with wooden handles that looked lite but strong. i think they were made by sns or sunscoop? hope that helps.  Jeff

I believe in the future you will see a few titanium scoops being sold on a limited offer?
If not by me, by someone I've put a spark under? The ultimate scoop will be made from titanium!
Choosing a scoop by weight alone can be a mistake. In order for an aluminum scoop to be as strong as stainless, it would need to be over twice the material thickness... and would end up weighing more than a stainless scoop of the same strength. And the same aluminum scoop would need to be over four times material thickness to match a scoop of the same design made from titanium!
Aluminum doesn't have the fatigue resistance that stainless has, and many times that is the reason for failure in the way of cracks and welds breaking.
The "Patty B" was the first scoop made for a woman using titanium. And after two weeks of use on two different beaches, the only complaint was...
"It digs to many aluminum tabs!".

Dang, I would love to see the patty B.. sure wish someone would make em for women.. or those that weight issues due to health reasons.. hint hint..

Bootybay,


Bootybay...

My wife Pat is 5 ft tall and next April she will be 60 years old. She uses a
Tesoro Vaquero in the soft sand and her Sov GT in the wet sand. After using her GT for a day, she complains about her shoulder hurting which is the results of an old "pull" she got at work a few years ago. I knew she wouldn't be able to enjoy a heavy scoop and after seeing "Ti", the scoop I built for myself, she wanted her own!
I don't have a metal fabrication shop with all the CNC equipment, this would make working titanium a "cake walk"! All I have is an old Craftsman drillpress, a Miller "buzz-box" welder, and regular hand tools.
The "Patty B" started out with a base plate of .050" Grade 5(6al-4v) titanium sheet. After the pattern was cut and the holes drilled, it was bent in my "High-Tech" press brake, a 5 1/2" vise and homemade dies...





The base plate was then welded to the handle. The handle is made from titanium tubing grade 9(3al-2.5v), 1"x.051"x36" long.



The top part of the scoop was made from the same material as the bottom section and welded in place around the handle and the bottom plate. Where the top and bottom meet was lapped 1/2" and welded inside and out to give stiffness down each side of the scoop head.
The handle was cut and welded to give about a 15 degree pitch to the rear.



The scoop was sand blasted and a neoprene grip was added.



The "Patty B" is 36" tall, the scoop head is about 10" long and 6 1/2" wide and high. It weighs 2 pounds and 3 ounces.



Best to ya!
-Wayne

wayne, that is awesome, thanks for showing me how ya made it... maybe I will luck out and find someone.. I do know a welder but hes not very dependable as I have been waiting for months as it is from him. so again thank you.