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Shovel with leverage!

 
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I was reading a thread on heating driveways with a RMH, when I hit a post someone put that linked to a snow shovel
Rocket Mass Driveway post
I looked at the link, and OH MY! I want one!
Snow Wolf shovel


Not so much for snow, but things like compost moving, dirt rearranging,  gravel pushing, I bet I could fill a wheelbarrow if I thought about it. Shovels for those of us who aren't strong enough to lift things! I tend to shovel low and smooth, as little lifting as possible, this would make it so I could do the lift. And the wheel makes it pivot easily, I have a roofing shovel I use to get some leverage on things, but it's not real effective for most things I need to move around.

And if I could have the scoop part of the shovel on a pivot so it can dump, have I just reinvented a low budget small hand powered bulldozer? Is this a thing I can buy? Is it something that was common in the past? I'd LOVE to learn more about tech like this!

Kind of reminds me of a weighted water mover like the Egyptians used,

the idea of leverage that doesn't hurt.

Brainstorm me here, I need to learn about this!!
 
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That would work, but I would add a hydraulic jack so that you could get a higher lift height. But instead of a dozer blade I would also make it a scoop, but with a trip bucket, like that of a front shovel, where the bottom drops out.

In this way, as you ram the shovel into the bank using the wheels, you fill the bucket, pull backwards and roll it along the ground. Then when you get close to where you need too, you start pumping the handle and the bucket and load go upwards more...like over a wheelbarrow. Then you trip the lever and it dumps into the wheelbarrow.

I would also use two wheels for stability, but narrow ones so rolling resistance was low.

 
Travis Johnson
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I would make it out of plywood too so that it would be available to the masses as an inexpensive kit. I would provide the steel parts that were absolutely necessary, but all this would keep costs/shipping down. In other words, people would get cutting plans for the plywood, and the steel parts and bolts, but it would be a small package. They would provide the plywood locally (from Home Depot or their building materials supplier)

The kits would be "advertised" on Permies for sale, and thus Paul Wheaton would get some money per hand loader to support Permies.

For people who wanted a more weather resistant hand loader, it could be made out of steel.

(I always wanted to start my own fabrication company, building small equipment for the small guy. RG LeTournea was a creative person, but he always went big, I am the opposite, I love to do big projects with small equipment. Today, people have less money, and I think getting the most out of the smaller stuff they do have, like small Kubota tractors, or hand machines like this, is the way of the future. Perhaps in another liftime...)
 
Pearl Sutton
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So two wheeled, big wheels, scoop bucket with a mouth, thing. Not sure about the jack part. I'm visualizing... hm.. let me google..
interesting:

That pic came from here: wheeled shovelNot sure how you'd dump it.

Hm. need to think on it. Need to get cornbread in the oven to go with the chili in the pot, cold day, yum. :)
 
pollinator
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My dad has the snow wolf in the original post. It's pretty good!

It doesn't feel quite as sturdy as I think it should be, but he's had it a good while with no problems. I would guess 10ish years.

They do not get a lot of snow very often, but have a steep driveway perhaps 500ft long. 8 inches times two 2-foot tracks, times 500ft, is a lot of snow.

Working from the top down on a decent slope, you can use this shovel like a plow, aligning to end each run angling off the pavement. MUCH better than doing it with a regular shovel.
 
That's my roommate. He's kinda weird, but he always pays his half of the rent. And he gave me this tiny ad:
12 DVDs bundle
https://permies.com/wiki/269050/DVDs-bundle
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