Had some time and some scrap aluminum. Need to get ready for Florida!

[Steve]

One of my hobbies is metal detecting. Specifically beach and underwater metal detecting.

My winters are spent for the most part in Florida and on the beaches. I needed a new scoop to dig out the gold rings and jewelry that is lost on the beaches almost every day. I was not happy with what is being sold so I decided to build my own aluminum scoop.

Seeing how I have an Everlast Powertig 250EX and a Powerplasma 50, I have everything I need to make a scoop of my own design. Using 1 inch schedule 40 aluminum pipe for the handles, 1/8 inch aluminum plate for the main body and 3/32 aluminum plate for the plate where the handles attach to the main body.

I cut everything with the Powerplasma 50 and it cuts aluminum like butter. So fast it is unbelievable. I cut everything, then stacked the plates and drilled. And drilled. And drilled.
This thing has 210 holes for good sand runoff in the water. Stacking the plates cut my drilling in half but it still was a lot of holes to drill. Glad I have a drill press. Wish I had a CNC! A friend has a fab shop with a laser cutter. I may have him make a few holes for me.

Stuck everything together with the Powertig 250 EX. That and the Weldtec 20F torch makes for a lot of fun welding for sure!

The front lip on the bucket is stainless steel. Cut it with the Powerplasma 50 also. Again....it cut it like butter. It is stainless to prevent bending of the aluminum bucket. Riveted together with the scoop and here's what I ended up with.

I have had a few people interested in me building one for them. I may end up building a few. My profit on one is around $110 for just a few hours of work. Building some of these is good practice getting myself back into the tig grove and using the Powertig 250EX. I might as well make some money while practicing!

[zoama]

Are you entering this as one of your projects for the contest ?

[Steve]

Are you entering this as one of your projects for the contest ?

To be honest. I don't know much about the contest. I was not aware that a project is needed. I did not even know there was a contest until a few days ago. What do I have to do to enter it? Can I enter more? I have a few projects that are in my mind right now.

I probably should read up as to what the contest is all about. Been too busy lately.

[zoama]

It's all in the first post > http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...5-Prize-250EXT

[DaveO]

As a diver I'm curious to know about the underwater part. Are you going to depth, or are you searching in the surf zone?

[everlastsupport]

Very clean work. I hate drilling holes though. I have tried the beaches in Florida, but never seem to find anything. Good luck on the hunt. Where in Florida do you visit?

[Steve]

As a diver I'm curious to know about the underwater part. Are you going to depth, or are you searching in the surf zone?

My detector can go down to 250 feet. It is a Minelab Excalibur II 1000. I detect on dry sand, wet sand and in the water up to my neck. Metal detecting paid for my Everlast Powertig 250 EX as I found several gold rings this last winter in Florida. I sold them off and had enough to pay cash for my tig welder!

[Steve]

Very clean work. I hate drilling holes though. I have tried the beaches in Florida, but never seem to find anything. Good luck on the hunt. Where in Florida do you visit?

I hunt all over Florida and also on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The best beach to hunt is South Beach in Miami. You have to be careful on South Beach as there are lots of topless women. If you are married, then it can be a problem.

I always find something of value there. I also hit the beaches around Sarasota / Tampa. Been to the Treasure coast and Daytona Beach. Metal detecting is fun, but metal welding is just a little more fun at least for me!

[DaveO]

I sold them off and had enough to pay cash for my tig welder!

If you were diving I was thinking the traditional shovel design might be a bouyancy challenge, since you would be pushing yourself away from the dig site, and that a design that pulled you toward the dig might be more stable. Sounds like the design is working just fine for you!

[Jason]

That looks very nice. I hate drilling that many holes even using a drill press lol. I never knew you could find that much stuff that is worth value but I never even thought about hitting the beaches for it, That's a good idea.