Deja vu
I actually built a couple of those the exact same way, and that is what I use. With the exception of going to Ace Hardware.
I also noticed, if you have a lot of harder ground to contend with, that on the ones that I've made I also put some JB JWIK (4 minute JB Weld) around the area that the rod inserts into the handle for added stability and to keep it from eventually coming loose.
They also work great to simply probe and pop out those pesky pulltabs. For the popper, I went to Harbour Freight and bought a long screwdriver, or you can also use some of the screwdriver-like pry bars or scrapers. Any of them work fine and you may hardly ever have to dig again, in most cases.
Just my two cents. Good job!