[Russell G]

Hello folks, I'm brand new here. This is my first posting with a photograph. If there's no photo, I apologize. This is a shovel I made out of aluminum and wood. I carved the two ends out of aluminum with a flexible shaft machine using ball cutters to get close and finished the shaping with files and sandpaper. I used a toothpick turned down to size for the shaft and handle. Here goes:

I hope you're seein a shovel!

 

[Russell G]

Thank you for the compliments and interest guys! Thanks for the welcome Les. It was a ton of work, K, but I'm goofy enough that it doesn't seem like work. I suppose I could've scraped, sanded, and painted 2 or 3 window frames in the time it took me to make the shovel, but THAT'S work. Makin the shovel is my therapy. I made it for a friend to give to a friend of his. Any time spent in the shop is livin high.

 

[Russell G]

Sorry K, I didn't answer your question. The block in the second photo is the shovel itself. On my first try, I carved a wood die and tried to press some aluminum from a soda can into it. The metal tore every try even when I annealed the aluminum. I tried with some .010" brass and the same result. Finally I decided to carve it. The tricky part was hand drillin the socket for the wooden shaft in the upper end of the scoop. You don't have to be off center much to turn all that work to junk. I had to finish all the carving, filing, and sanding before I cut it off the block. It's too small to hold and too thin to clamp. So it's cross your fingers and drill.

 

[Russell G]

The weathering looks real good on your tools. I like the bamboo handles too. I'm gonna give that a try. And thanks to all of you welcoming me and sayin nice things about my stuff!

 

[Russell G]

Thanks Sourdoh, I'll show ya some other stuff in the introductions category. I'm new here and I oughta introduce myself.

 

[Russell G]

thanks Eric, Jerry, and Steve! Interesting to see somebody else make one a different way. I appreciate the kind words fellas. Thank you for the editorial help Steve, as you can see, I've been needin it.