$80 for a sand scoop.. PFFT! made one for under $10!

[re-tek]

in response to the insane prices of what amounts to a fancy shovel, i made my own dry sand scoop. i scrounged stuff from the shop but you can build this for under $10. its basically scrap lumber, some hardware, a small shelf bracket, and an IKEA stainless kitchen utensil drying cup.

for the handle all i had where thin strips of pressure treated wood so i glued two strips together for strength. same idea as plywood. take two strips of weak wood and glue them together and they become considerably stronger.

the cup is a stainless kitchen utensil dryer i got at IKEA for about $3 or so. its about 6" wide with a rolled lip. the holes are a little smallish at about 1cm so its good for dry sand only.

the cup is fastened to the wood handle using regular 1/4" hardware, nothing fancy except for wingnuts so i can easily retighten in the field if they work themselves loose for any reason. the bracket at the top of the cup is just a small shelf bracket that sells for about 50c at the hardware store. 1/4" hardware fits the holes in the cup with no drilling.

i only needed to make two holes in the cup because of the way i wanted to place it on the handle. i just used an awl and a small hammer to poke through the metal cup. i supported the metal cup on the end of a peice of wood from the inside so it wouldnt bend while i made my holes. once the holes where opened, i used a reamer to make them the right size to fit the bolts. you can get away with using different size screwdrivers to work the hole bigger if you dont have a drill or a reamer. word of caution, drilling is not reccommended as the thin metal will "grab" the bit once it goes through and yank the cup right out of your hand. use a dril only for the handle holes.

the whole thing took about an hour or so to put together and that included scrounging time around the shop looking for a suitable handle and hardware. if you use aluminum hardware and an aluminum handle you can save alot of weight but i didnt have any of that around.

$10 worth of stuff and no more bending over when hunting dry sand! $80 for a commercially made sand scoop... PFFT! now if i can find a way to make an underwater model!

thanks to treasurehunter for finding the link for the strainer cup on IKEA's website. here it is for those that dont have an IKEA nearby.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30011832

update..
the holes in the cup work fine in dry sand but if theres any moisture to clump it up they wont clear unless you shake the scoop. i'll be enlarging the holes on my cup a little bit using a reamer.

 

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[Skifisher]

Very cool, and resourcefull. Thanks for posting.

 

[X-Terra70_TreasureHunter]

Hi Re-Tek can you please post a link for the stainless steel strainer

Yea Haw i finally located the link to that stainless steel Cutlery Caddy
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30011832
Price: $3.99

Sincerely
TreasureHunter

 

[Farmercal]

Nice build but I am afraid you are going to have a time using that scoop in dry sand. I have tried scoops like that in dry sand and it takes forever for the sand to sift through the holes. Now it you could fashion something with wire mesh the dry sand will sift right through. On the other hand that scoop will work great in the water.

 

[re-tek]

i'll see how it works this weekend. i'm headed to the beaches! if the holes prove to be too small i'll make some of them larger on the drill press.

 

[syko]

Cool...but with that handle I don't think it will hold up on the wet,( I know you didn't design it for wet)
There has to be a MacGyver way of building a scoop for the wet sand,$180 for a scoop might be built to last
and you get your moneys worth,but it's expensive if you're just starting out.

 

[JOE(USA)]

re-tek ,

Nice job on that scoop. I do suggest you add a short piece of steel bar between the two ends of the angle bracket. Bend the ends at a 45 drill a hole in each end and put it under the two wing nuts. You need to make a triangle for strength. Good luck with it,I've made a number of them over the years. Joe

 

[EDDE]

zip tie a small round speaker magnet to the bottom to catch nails and/or bobbi pins(iron)

 

[Farmercal]

re-tek be careful not to make the holes too large, as you don't want your finds to fall through the holes while you are sifting for treasure.

 

[Sandman]

Correct, don't make the holes to large. You want it to be able to stop dimes. Even in the dry sand you are going to need more holes and a reinforcing bracket like Joe said.

It used to be a pain to need two scoop designs, one for wet sand-Sunspot, and one for dry-screen sifter type.

 

[re-tek]

the reinforcing bracket sounds like a good idea. i'll see how the holes work this weekend when i hit the beaches. i can enlarge them but its not easy drilling thin stainless because it wants to wrap itself in the bit. i may have to use a reamer and do it by hand.

 

[Mike Spicer]

For drill holes or drilling bigger holes in sheet metal a unibit (step drill works best). Won't bind up.
Harbor freight has a set of 3 on sale for $9.00 normaly $20. one of these bits at local hardware store will cost about $30.
They are from china but are good bits, I use them all the time.
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=unibit

Mike