New Metal Detecting Scoop Gets New Handle

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Published: April 9, 2011

Metal Detecting Scoop And Handle Are Joined Together

I wrote about the trials and tribulations of getting a beach scoop shipped from the USA to Thailand to assist me in my metal detecting here. Yesterday, in preparation for a two-week hunt in Hua Hin, I finally got a new wooden handle for the scoop.

My wife was nice enough to run to a hardware store and pick up a wooden handle/shaft that is normally used in Thailand with a shovel or a hoe – not for metal detecting.  I explained that I wanted a handle approximately 4 feet long, rounded on one end and square on the other.  She picked up a standard hunk of wood and things started to look good.

I also explained that I needed a couple of holes drilled in the wood and would need a couple of nuts and bolts so that I could carry it on the Thai Air flight and quickly assemble it once I got to the guest house in Hua Hin.  I want to be able to hit the beach and start metal detecting within 30 minutes of arrival.

My wife called her step-dad and he came over a short time later.  Was really nice of him to do this as he had already scheduled a 9-day trip to Chiang Mai for Songkran (Thai New Year) and would be catching a bus at 8:00 PM.  I am sure he had better things to do than help me out, but that is what family is all about in Thailand.

We immediately had a couple of problems.  Thailand is on metric system and America is not. But, you knew that.  Anyhow, the square end of the wood shaft was just a smidge too big.  No worries – mai pen rai – says step dad.

He goes in the kitchen and grabs a meat cleaver and starts shaving the wood one fine layer at a time until it fits snug.  He gets out his drill and does up the two holes and all is good.  Not.

The bolts are also a tiny bit too big so he will need to ream out the holes in the scoop with his drill.  But, he has never seen stainless steel so tough.  After about 20 minutes, and one broken drill bit, the bolts slide in.

I had hoped for wing- nuts so I could hand tighten, but my wife said that there were none that fit at the hardware store she went to.  Will have to look later.  In the meantime, I will just carry a pair of pliers with me on the trip to Hua Hin.

I am anxious to get on the beach and in the water and give this new metal detecting scoop its first test.  Hopefully it finds gold and silver.

Here are a few more pictures of the scoop.  I may try and find a thin piece of foam to attach towards the bottom so that I can sling it on my shoulder with less pain.  Maybe also some sort of tether so I don’t lose it in the water.  Not sure if it will float or not.

Counting the days now until 18 April when I head out for some metal detecting on Hua Hin Beach.

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Tagged with: beach, bolts, handle, hua hin, metal detecting, sand, scoop, water, wood