This may be a stretch for a hot rod topic but I think it will be helpful. Along with building my new shop, I have been landscaping my HUGE back yard. LOTS of sprinker pipe ditches to shovel out after the ditch digger goes back to the rental store. They always seem to leave too much dirt in the ditches and I need to shovel it out. Always tried to do it with a full size round nose shovel but that is a real hassle. Went to Home Depot to look into a 4" ditching shovel but they were $30! That dog don't hunt - I am not paying $30 for a tool I will likely use once in my life.
Finally dawned on me I can make my own ditching shovel. Like all of you guys, I have two or three worn out round nose shoves like in photo 1. Just waiting for the handle to snap so I can put it out of its misery. However, by torching off the two outside edges, I was able to convert it to a great 3-3/4" wide ditching shovel that should last forever since it never has to do heavy digging, just scoops out the loose stuff left behind by the trencher. Fig. three shows it in action. It is actually better than the store bought ones since it has a full length handle whereas the other have short Tee handles that break your back.
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