Onoff Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Looking to buy one just to tidy the bottom of a trench. Less than £20 on eBay for a Spear & Jackson / Draper. There's Bulldog ones on there too. BUT.....I have old "big" shovels and a 9" grinder. Surely just a case of mark two lines with a Sharpie and chop a big one down with a slitting disc. Heat the edges up with the oxy torch and bend up a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 We have three different widths of gardening spade. The narrowest one the "lady spade" does a wonderful job on the building site for just such uses. My favourite general purpose shovel is now about an inch shorter than when new due to wear, but I like it as it's so light weight. It's like triggers broom, it's on it's second handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 "old" shovels will generally be better steel, assuming it is really old, FWIW iv got the rest of the spear and jackson range and they have done me well, steer clear of the rough neck and faithful options as they have HUGE welds just where you want to put your lower hand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Found a Newcastle spade about the best for a deep narrow trench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 34 minutes ago, Construction Channel said: "old" shovels will generally be better steel, assuming it is really old, FWIW iv got the rest of the spear and jackson range and they have done me well, steer clear of the rough neck and faithful options as they have HUGE welds just where you want to put your lower hand Agreed on the older tools. Even so-called decent brands like Bulldog have become woeful over the past few years if reviews are anything to go by. I'll vouch for the Roughneck mattock though - my god it's a productive bit of kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 Cheap on here: http://www.toolandfix.com/gardening-and-outdoor/garden-hand-tools/spades-shovels-and-forks/trench-shovels.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 8 minutes ago, Onoff said: Cheap on here: http://www.toolandfix.com/gardening-and-outdoor/garden-hand-tools/spades-shovels-and-forks/trench-shovels.html that is cheap. I instinctively started making the order up to £50 to get free delivery until i realised i didn't actually need to buy anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 I use this. It's called Neverbend but I managed to bend it digging a trench. I was trying to lever a block of concrete out without realising what it was! http://www.wickes.co.uk/Spear+Jackson-Neverbend-Professional-Fencing-Grafter/p/131972 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlewhouse Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 On 18/09/2016 at 21:24, Construction Channel said: that is cheap. I instinctively started making the order up to £50 to get free delivery until i realised i didn't actually need to buy anything Yup, done that more than once! Gone on a site to buy a small item and come off with the £50+ order 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 best part was i have already got more than enough shovels of varying shapes and sizes, but i had 3 more in the basket before i realised i was just looking at a price for someone else 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Little update...I found what I think is a trenching shovel in the back of the tumbledown greenhouse here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 well I want to see a picture now. are you planning to cut it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 1 hour ago, Construction Channel said: well I want to see a picture now. are you planning to cut it? Just for you! Reckon it's alright as is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 looks like a gooden, maybe put a new edge on it and take the old cement off, (i like the grinder disks with the flappy sandpaper bits for this) bit of linseed oil on the handle......better than a new one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Got a gallon of Disclean kicking around somewhere! Yep, big fan of those discs. Haven't used linseed oil since I refinished a gun stock maybe 30 years ago. I went through a phase of trying that, teak oil and I even French polished the stock once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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