mikeybonez28
Junior Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2016
- Messages
- 91
As some of you saw from my last post in this section I'm making a Lesche-esque digger, well 2 of them actually so I figured I'd post it up properly here.
Both are made from 18ga cold rolled low carbon steel, nothing special just your regular Home Depot or Lowes hardware aisle sheet steel and the handle is EMT conduit, I think it's galvanized but it's a prototype, not a final product. I want to use 1" DOM tubing for the handle but I didn't have any on hand.
Since I'm going to be posting 2 diggers here I'll give details on both. The first one is 4" by 9" or 10", I can't remember & it's at work right now, I'll correct it tomorrow. The tip is nothing special, just put a rough edge on it but the serrations are a little more in depth. They're easy to do if you have a few simple tools though. I spaced them 1/2" apart at a 45 degree angle & cut with a chainsaw file. For the bend I just chucked it between 2 pieces of 1" steel & gave it a few whacks with a dead blow mallet. The hilt is just welded on with a gusset (I think that's what it's called) for added strength so it's less likely to bend given the fact that it's low carbon & can't benefit from heat treatment.
For the second one I rounded the tip so it doesn't look like Rambo's garden knife, it's still reasonably sharp for the task at hand. Dimensions are 3" by 9" with the serrations only 1/4" apart so they're touching instead of spaced out like in #1. With #2 I put it in a vice and formed it around a handy dandy tie rod tool I had. The hilt is also welded on & both will have the same EMT handle with hopefully a bicycle grip for a little comfort
Let me know what you guys think & if anyone has some recommendations or criticism, feel free, these are rough products afterall
Pics for #2 should be up tomorrow since both diggers are at work & today is my day off
Both are made from 18ga cold rolled low carbon steel, nothing special just your regular Home Depot or Lowes hardware aisle sheet steel and the handle is EMT conduit, I think it's galvanized but it's a prototype, not a final product. I want to use 1" DOM tubing for the handle but I didn't have any on hand.
Since I'm going to be posting 2 diggers here I'll give details on both. The first one is 4" by 9" or 10", I can't remember & it's at work right now, I'll correct it tomorrow. The tip is nothing special, just put a rough edge on it but the serrations are a little more in depth. They're easy to do if you have a few simple tools though. I spaced them 1/2" apart at a 45 degree angle & cut with a chainsaw file. For the bend I just chucked it between 2 pieces of 1" steel & gave it a few whacks with a dead blow mallet. The hilt is just welded on with a gusset (I think that's what it's called) for added strength so it's less likely to bend given the fact that it's low carbon & can't benefit from heat treatment.
For the second one I rounded the tip so it doesn't look like Rambo's garden knife, it's still reasonably sharp for the task at hand. Dimensions are 3" by 9" with the serrations only 1/4" apart so they're touching instead of spaced out like in #1. With #2 I put it in a vice and formed it around a handy dandy tie rod tool I had. The hilt is also welded on & both will have the same EMT handle with hopefully a bicycle grip for a little comfort
Let me know what you guys think & if anyone has some recommendations or criticism, feel free, these are rough products afterall
Pics for #2 should be up tomorrow since both diggers are at work & today is my day off