How to make a snow shovel with your own hands

Recommendation points

• Training
• Required material
• Required tool
• Manufacturing of parts
• Wooden base for a shovel
• Cutting metal parts for a scoop
• Cutting making and processing
• Assembly
• Fastening the scoop parts
• Installing the handle

A convenient and high-quality shovel for snow removal can be made from a piece of tin, a wooden shank and cutting a board with your own hands. In the article, we will tell you in detail how to make this inventory, necessary in the household, from simple parts, and at the same time get a fairly light and durable structure.

Training

For the manufacture of a scoop blade, it is advisable to use galvanized sheet or stainless steel with a minimum thickness of 0.7 mm – maximum 1 mm, for overhead strips any soft iron with a thickness of 1.5-2 mm is suitable.

If you have a handle from a broken rake or broomstick, you can use it to make a new shovel, the recommended diameter of this part is 35 to 40 mm.

Required material

1. A piece of tin 0.7-1x400x400 mm.
2. Flexible iron strip 1.5-2x15x450 mm – 1 pc., 15×400 mm – 1 pc.
3. Screws 3-3.5×20-25 mm – 20-30 pcs.
4. M6-8×50-60 mm bolt with two wide washers and nut.
5. M6x80 mm flat head bolt with nut.
6. Board trimming 20-30x70x400 mm.
7. Shank 35–40 mm in diameter and 1000–1500 mm long.

Required tool

1. Drill, screwdriver.
2. Drill-pen for wood with a diameter of 35-40 mm.
3. Drills for metal with a diameter of 2.5-4 mm and 6-8 mm.
4. Bulgarian or scissors for metal.
5. Hacksaw, planer, emery cloth.
6. Spanners.

Manufacturing of parts

You need to start with the base for the shovel, since it is this part that sets the parameters for the subsequent dimensions of the product..

The length of the arc on the lower part of the rib will determine the width of the web and the length of the metal fastening strips.

Wooden base for a shovel

From trimming the board we make a straight at the top and a semicircular at the bottom part for the base.

On the upper edge, from the sides, we select the indentations for the metal tape, which will bend around the body after attaching the sheet metal.

Exactly in the middle we drill a through hole along the diameter of the handle and at an inclination of 10-15%.

Cutting metal parts for a scoop

We cut out a scoop blade 400×400 mm and from one edge we drill holes with a diameter of 4 mm and a step of 3 cm according to the marking.

In order not to cut yourself during the installation process, the sharp edges of the canvas around the perimeter are processed with emery cloth.

Cut off a 15×450 mm strip from a thicker 1.5-2 mm iron, bend around the scoop body from below and bend the edges to the width of the selected base slots.

In the obtained part, we drill holes with a diameter of 4 mm so that they coincide with the previously made holes in the scoop blade.

Cut out the upper metal strip 400×15 mm and drill holes with a diameter of 4 mm in it.

Cutting making and processing

If an old cutting was not found, then it can be made from a bar of 40×40 mm, on it from all four sides a chamfer is removed with a plane until a hexagon is obtained, and then the edges are removed with an emery cloth.

For a stronger attachment to the blade, the end of the handle is cut on one side at an angle of 15 degrees, and at a distance of 50 mm from the same edge, a hole is drilled for the fastening bolt.

Assembly

First of all, you need to try on the sheet metal to the base of the scoop..

Depending on the cut-out arc in the base board, the width of the canvas may turn out to be slightly more or less than the required size, in which case you will have to either cut the canvas or decrease the length of the arc of the wooden base (make it flatter).

Fastening the scoop parts

A canvas is applied to the base, in the rib through the holes in the tin with a 3 mm drill and to a depth of 15 mm we make a reaming for the screws, if not done, then the base will crack when the screws are tightened and will lose strength.

Along the finished holes, we fasten with screws both the canvas and the lower strip at the same time.

We fasten the upper strip to the upper part of the rib.

Installing the handle

Insert the handle into the previously drilled hole at the base of the scoop, make a hole in the sheet in front of its touch with the canvas and fasten it through with a bolt and nut.

For greater reliability, we drill the edge of the base together with the handle inserted into it and also tighten it with a through bolt and nut.

The service life of a shovel with a metal blade is much longer than its plywood counterparts.

When burrs and potholes are formed on the cutting edge of the blade as a result of its friction against hard surfaces, it can be cut to the width of the wear with a grinder.

If desired, the shovel blade can be made from 3 mm plywood. In this case, it will need to be treated with compounds that protect wood from getting wet.