does this exist?

[Weezbad]

Originally Posted by Huskerfan72

I honestly don't think weight will be an issue. I do 90 curls a night with a 45 lb. dumbbell. With only one arm working, I push to keep it as strong as possible. I agree also with the blade needing to be a thicker steel. I might send your pics to George Lesche and see what he thinks. He might want to buy your design!

no problem send at will.I copied my lesche when i made it..:-) Turning what i have into a functioning design to fit your needs is nothing more than getting a pipe/bar and putting a stop and sliding weight on it.

[Huskerfan72]

I decided to go really low tech, so please take it easy on me. I started with a Predator Raven Model 25 (in hindsight, I should have looked around for a cheaper shovel, but that was the style I wanted for my finished product.) I had my son cut the T handle off, then I put a large washer on to give a bigger base for the "driver." I bought a length of galvanized steel pipe and had my son cut it down a few inches. Finally I stuck a PVC T joint on the end and duct taped it on. I also added some Vetrap to the pipe as a hand grip. It was late last night when I got home and put it all together, so I haven't field tested it yet. I'll attach a few pictures below. The first is with the pipe down, the second is with the pipe up and ready to strike, and the third is how I'm going to haul it. I can already see a few tweaks I need to make. I'm going to wrap that washer in Vetrap so I'm not hitting metal on metal, and I don't think that will affect the drive force. When I tape the handle back on, I'm going to use a little less tape so I can get the pipe to go all the way up. I'm still considering a way to lock the pipe in place until I'm ready to use it. Overall I think I'm happy with it so far. I will say, this dude is heavy. You would not want to carry it around all day. As you can see from the last picture, transport is no problem for me. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

[Weezbad]

use it, refine it, have fun detecting... that's all that matters. fits the concept.

[Huskerfan72]

60 degrees today and tomorrow, I might be able to give it a good workout this weekend.

[kybluegrass]

I saw them using a really small slide hammer with a chisel tip on Gold Fever one time when they were nugget shooting in glacial caves. If you could modify one of them with a small trowel or a lesche on the end it would be perfect. It only took one hand to operate because it was small. I'm not sure if it was a production item or if it was homemade but it was slick. Good luck.

[Dielonthug]

First of all, props to you man. Second, I hope we both find something to use in our metal detecting quests. I am also in wheelchair and have been searching for ideas on how to dig! This is really my biggest obstacle...I have my metal detector mounted to the chair that I use for detecting outside with, but I always need help digging plugs...ugh. There are some really great ideas in this thread that I might show my dad and try for myself...

[Bodyman]

how much weight do you want to haul around

[sweendog]

You are an inspiration I'm sure to us all.
The ideas seem great, I was thinking maybe a few baseball bat donuts you could pick up and slam...maybe

Its kinda hard to visualize trying to do it all from the left side and not be too cumbersome for you. Do you have a powered chair?

[Dark Chameleon]

Wow. you got some good designs there, id though of the sliding beating handle to hammer it down, you get something similar for beating out bashes in bodywork, they weld the spot onto the body then use the pulling hands to pull it out bit by bit, you could have an attatchement for the lesche that could do that.

Sorry about your disability, mine is back but it didnt get that severe, but i understand the lack of strength behind the digger, the other way would be to have a spike on a predator razor you push into the soil further off then use reverse pulling to push the blade into the ground, leveraged digging

[sonnydigs]

You made an awesome choice in the Raven #25..
It's the shovel I use.. With the strength you have in your good arm you may find it fairly easy after you get it started into the ground wiggling it forwards and backwards it will work itself into the ground pretty easily.. I did find sharpening it helped a great deal.. Look forward to seeing how it all comes out..
Sonnydigs

[John in NC]

A slide hammer digger! Thats a great idea.

[bigdad75]

I have a bad back and legs so my son made me a digger out of ¼ plate and I was able to just drag it behind me about 8 lbs,but to dig I was just able to lift it and push it into the ground with just a little effort,have a welder set you up with something,as time went on and I got a little stronger I was able to get a better digger.if you didn't live so far i would ship it to you but i think it would cost to much.

[clifftronics]

i saw one on ebay awhile back, i just googled it but couldnt tell if they are still made or not. try googling (HOLEHOG PLUG CUTTER) my hats off to you, you are truely an insperation to this hobby, i wish you the best of luck and hope that this or something like it works for you...GL+HH.....cliff.

[Finnerman]

How about a cordless drill with a 2" paddle bit? Just a thought. Either way, you rock dude.

[Clotho910]

Hi! I was told you are the expert at MDing from a wheelchair. I am in that situation now in my life & have been for 2 years. Any help in choosing a MD that will work would be appreciated.

I have always thought about digging since I was a kid & we found an old coin with a baseball player on it. I was so excited! We found a few more that summer in the backyard. Not sure exactly what they were but I loved them. They were since lost in a move. Anyway, not working now so I have the time plus it will get me out of bed.

I was thinking MXT with a Ghost or Buzz headset (something like that...) Not sure if I need a hip/chest mountable. I'm 47 yr female and don't want anything too heavy.

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks! HH