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