Deca Spades
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What if you really want a lightweight new trowel, but your shiny red Deuce of Spaces won’t show up for months? Then you’re stuck between a rock and an outhouse, aren’t you?
Unless you decide to MYOG your own, while waiting for your new UL toy. This one’s called “Deck of Spades” (because there’s 10 holes in it…ten is deca … get it?) It weighs 0.8 ounces and is 6.5” in length. Yeah, it’s heaver than your Deuce will be, by 0.2 ounces, and is narrower. Bummer. On the other hand, it’s thicker, the handle will be comfier, you can own one for $1,*** and you can have it in your hand in 1 hour or less, because that’s how long it takes to make.
You can cut the aluminum with a coping saw. Drill 3/8” holes every .6 inches. Sharpen the tip with a file, sand the edges, and go dig yourself a fine cathole in the back yard. Frighten the wits out of your wife, who's afraid you'll use it for its intended purpose.
But you really wanted the cool colors? Buy a Sharpie of your favorite color and faux-anodize it.
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***More precisely: you'll have to buy 3 feet of 1” x 1/16" angle aluminum for $5, and that will make you 5 Deca Spades, so, $1 on average. I like the aluminum sold by Lowe's better than that sold at Home Depot. I purchased both and tested for stiffness. Then I noticed the Lowe's aluminum was advertised as USA made, and the HD aluminum was Hecho. Note that neither of these types of aluminum are the quality that the Deuce of Spades is made of. If you wanted a better quality trowel, 6061 and 6063 is readily available at most metal warehouses, not sure about 7075. I'm not sure the higher grade aluminum is absolutely necessary, though, when the aluminum is a full 1/16" thick. Doesn't feel bendy at all, and digs like a sooper dooper pooper scooper trooper.
After digging numerous holes with V1, I felt V2 was needed:
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It has a host of small refinements, and is getting tricker to make as the weight is slightly reduced. We're down to 0.7 oz now, and a more comfortable and useable shape overall. It's starting to look like a gladiator's sword! Turns out the extruded aluminum from Lowe's is reasonably good stuff: it's 6063-T5. What V1 really needed was a small purchase for the thumb or finger at the transition from handle to blade; it was too slippery. V2 locks in with authority, perhaps too much authority, and those bumps may get softened a bit more.
Answering a couple of questions here that I got in the gear forum. How to make a Deca without a mill?
You could get close to the product I posted with a jigsaw, hand drill, and file, and decent clamping. Mark out the project with a sharpie, using the pattern below, but leave the aluminum stock long so you can clamp adequately. Make sure to prick punch the center of the holes, which will help your accuracy lots. The handle holes are3/8" and they are .55 inch apart. The handle width is .80 for each side. The blade is full width of 1" stock.
If you have a drill press you might be able to duplicate the Deca very closely or even exactly. Using a drill press to mill a slot is frowned upon because a press is not designed to handle side loading. But the aluminum is soft, and with shallow passes, perhaps you could get by with it? Don't know–depends how kind you are to your equipment. I would not subject my press to side loading.
Better suited for the task than a drill press would be a wood router, which is designed for side loading, and could easily plow the debossed section. Best if the router were mounted in a table with a fence, and turned to its slowest setting. Routering aluminum is a little scary but with good eye protection, guides, and solid clamping or trapping, it can be done. Shallow cuts, obviously. You don't want a high-RPM power machine grabbing a big hunk of aluminum and flinging it. Can we all repeat: Eye Protection! Solid Clamping! And Band-aids, just in case!
Next to last step is to cut to size, which is 6.5 inches. Last step is to shape with file and sandpaper. Rub some blackboard chalk into your file before starting, so your file doesn't gum up.
For the debossed section, if you must have it, use a .5" mill bit with a flat bottom in your press, or a suitable router bit. BUT let it be known that the deboss reduced very very little weight. It turned out to be mostly a visual element. Not much functional improvement so why bother?
Several of the procedures discussed above contain an element of risk, so don't do it unless you have some experience. Particularly working aluminum on wood machinery can be hair raising. Be sure to clamp solidly and use eye and lung protection.
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Note: I round/soften the pommel more than this drawing shows.
So I gave it a go with my jig saw, files, dremel, drill press, some sand paper, and eye protection of course. I made mine a little longer at just over 8" for full hand purchase but now realize it is better if the hilt fits in the palm of my hand so the next version will be 3/4" shorter with few more holes in the handle. Weight is about 1oz. Thanks for the inspiration Delmar! I really like this piece : )
A 9.5" SMC snow stake is a little over $1.50, weighs 29 grams (at least mine do), and looks like it would do the exact same thing.
…though it is cool to have handmade custom stuff.
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