Homemade shovel: choice of materials, manufacturing features

A shovel is an indispensable tool for working in the garden. I want it to be of high quality, serve for a long time and not cause trouble when using. You will have to spend a lot of money on a good shovel, so the best option is to make it yourself. This is not as difficult as it seems, if you carefully understand the assembly.

Choosing a handle for a homemade shovel

Most often there are cuttings from birch or pine. You can find these in every hardware store. Outwardly, both species are similar, but in fact they are very different:

1. Pine holders cost less and are also light in weight. Of the shortcomings, low strength is usually distinguished. Most of the cuttings in our country are made from pine, so there are a lot of them in stores, they are available to everyone. But it is better not to save money and purchase a more durable part.
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2. Birch cuttings have higher strength, due to which they are used longer. Their minus is a lot of weight. Although in fact - this is not always a disadvantage. It all depends on the working conditions. Indeed, when digging a bed, a heavy shovel is a bad choice, but when digging rocky soil or cutting roots, this will only be a plus.

Better cutting materials are oak and ash, but they are harder to find and the cost is very high. Ash holders are recommended, as they combine two important qualities at once: lightness and strength. Oak is durable, but can not boast of low weight.

Now many holders are made of metal alloys. Shovels equipped with them will last a long time. Metal cuttings are strong and weigh little, but their price is far from small.

The best shovel for ordinary work in the garden will be the one with a birch stalk. It is inexpensive, and with careful use will not break for a long time.

Choosing a blade for a shovel

There are more than twenty varieties of shovels. All of them are made of different metal alloys and have different properties.

Most often, people purchase shovels made of rail steel. Such canvases are durable and are not damaged under the influence of heavy loads. They sharpen without problems, and also do not give in to rust.

Titanium blades are also quite common due to their strength. Their disadvantages are fragility and lack of flexibility. It is impossible to hit or heavily load such a shovel. But it is ideal for digging beds.

Increasingly, gardeners are buying country tools made of stainless steel. Such material is really not amenable to corrosion, and it is light in weight. Its disadvantage is its low strength, which is why the shovel will bend when digging hard ground.

Tools with rail steel blades are suitable for almost any job. But for digging loose earth, a stainless steel shovel would be the best option.

Do-it-yourself preparation for assembly

After selecting the handle and canvas, you can think about the assembly. Before it starts, it is worth preparing each element:

1. The stalk is thoroughly dried, because in the store it was probably stored wet. For drying, several weeks of being outdoors in a covered place is enough.
2. After drying, the holder will need to be sharpened. You can use a sharp ax for this, but be careful not to remove too much. Then the handle is processed with a grinder using a special grinding nozzle. At the end, it is adjusted with sandpaper. The main thing is to achieve a tight entry of the holder into the hole in the web.
3. Before putting the canvas on the handle, you will need to paint. Many skip this step, which is not worth doing. The painted cutting will not absorb moisture after getting wet, which means it will not gain weight. Painting will also extend the shelf life. You can carry out this procedure with an ordinary stain. You can buy it in every hardware store at a low price. The stain is applied to the surface of the handle in a couple of layers, and then left to stand for half a day. Then you can additionally coat it with varnish.

Features of assembling a shovel for a garden

When assembling this tool, it is worth considering some nuances:

• the handle must fit snugly into the opening of the canvas, otherwise the shovel may break or bend under load;
• before the final connection of the two elements, it is better to moisten the tip of the holder with hot resin - so the fit will be stronger;
• after inserting the handle into the canvas, the tool turns over and lightly hits the end side of the holder on a solid surface;
• in many canvases there are small holes into which screws are twisted for a more reliable connection of parts.

If the structure turned out to be shaky, it is easy to seal it with roofing material or a simple bandage soaked in liquid bitumen or resin.

Finally, you can add a handle at the end of the tool. Such a detail is optional, but will be a useful addition, greatly facilitating further work. You can buy a pen in almost every hardware store. And it is attached with simple screws.