Is my shovel getting too old?

[jaotguy]

shovel ... a slow cumbersome implement use to inflict maximum pain on the operator .... exponential effort to do the same amount of work as time progresses ...

backhoe ... same effort hour after hour , reduces stress and fatigue of operator ... ( at least mine does )

 

[Gary Fowler]

I rarely use a shovel any more even if it is just to plant a new rose bush for the wife. Too many rocks to dig around here for a shovel to be of much use. I may use a shovel a bit to backfill the potting soil around the plant but not for digging. Which reminds me that I have two or more bushes to plant this afternoon after the sun goes down.

 

[TomSeller]

It's only supposed to be for leaning on and making it seem like you're doing something while you watch somebody else do the actual work.

That is sure what the State and County road crews seem to believe down here in the US. They seem to think they need 3 or 4 people leaning on shovels watching an excavator work. A few have perfected the ability to stand on two feet without leaning on a shovel, so there is some sort of Darwinism taking place. However, those same workers seem to then lean on the hood of a pickup in front of blueprints for hours on end while on government cell phones. Our government at its finest.

Please tell me our friends to the North don't have these issues.

 

[bcp]

Official recognition:



Bruce

 

[chopped]

My shovel is fine, but the shoveler has problems.



Bruce

LOL LOL LOL

 

[jaotguy]

Please tell me our friends to the North don't have these issues.

up here , they don't lean on shovels ... they'd freeze solid ... that's what the heated trucks are for

what's large, warm and sleeps 6 comfortably ? .. a City of Ottawa truck ...

 

[breadtrk]

5 years ago I would have never even considered using the backhoe for a small job like this, but the roots proved overpowering for my shovel......... and my back.
View attachment 428967
View attachment 428968

Yes, your shovel is too old. They make new ones now that fit a teenagers hand perfectly, especially a teenager that wants grandpa, uncle jack or whatever too pay the cell phone bill.

 

[FredH]

A few years back , I was telling My Dad about My N.H. B.H. and what I do with it . I stated that if I grab a shovel , I could have the project done in 15 - 20 minutes but instead , I sat on the Tractor for 30 minutes figuring out how to get it in position , 15 more minutes getting in position , then 5 minutes doing the
job !!
He Looked at Me like I was a Idiot but My reply was simple , " My Back Don't Hurt !! " .:thumbsup:

In regards to Your gray water ordeal . Been there , Done That !! Feel your Pain !!! :ashamed:

Actually Still doing it . My Dad and Moms place is over 70 years old and for the last couple of years , Every weekend when I come home off the road , I spend a day over there fixing . Sewer , Electrical , plumbing , painting , construction , remodeling , A master of None , But I get by . Most recent project was to rip out a original cast iron tub and replace with a walk-in handicap tub with hydro jet therapy .

3 walls , nothing square with each of the others , plumbing was a hodge podge of SH** . Started at around 2 on a thursday afternoon . Took a break around 01:00 and crashed on My Mom's couch for 4 hours instead of driving 25+ miles home then back in morning . Up at 5 and had tub installed and useable by Noon .
Finishing up that project pretty soon . Tile around tub is complete , still have some other things to deal with in the bathroom though .

Picture above is from when I was still installing tile .

Fred H.

 

[pat32rf]

My hoe has been used for planting roses and digging potatoes....

 

[Fawken]

Tile around tub is complete , still have some other things to deal with in the bathroom though .
View attachment 429350
Picture above is from when I was still installing tile .

Fred H.

Wow! That's beautiful tile work right there. I'd say you're a master at that. :licking:
Oh, and the girlfriend asked me to dig out around the French drain discharge in the front pasture while I had the hoe on the Ford. I obliged, and accidentally- partially dug up some old trash I buried out there 30 years back before we got garbage pick up. Went back inside and she was hollering again before I could even pick up the remote. "Get back out here and clean out this trash before the horses step on it!" The day is never done.