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With the onset of winter, hand-held snow removal tools become in demand. This category includes all kinds of shovels, scrapers and other devices. You can buy them at any hardware store or assemble your own exclusive design. To help craftsmen, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with: how to do snow scraper, and a brief overview of existing hand tools.
What parameters should you use to choose a scraper?
The design of a manual scraper for snow removal can be different. Conditionally like this tool can be divided into manual and mechanical models. The first option is regular snow shovels or scrapers with handles that you have to push with your hands in front of you. Mechanical scrapers also need to be pushed by hand, but they have wheels or skis. This makes the tool easier to move. In addition to adding a running gear, mechanical models are often equipped with a small blade instead of a scoop, allowing the snow to be moved to the side.
There are three important requirements for any scraper design:
- light weight;
- structural strength;
- comfortable handle.
It should be taken into account that any purchased snow removal hand tool is not always superior in its characteristics to its homemade counterparts. In some cases, it is even inferior in quality.
The easiest way to quickly assemble a shovel. If an aluminum sheet is available, a rectangular fragment with sides no more than 50 cm is cut out of it. The back side of the scoop is curved to a height of 10 cm, and the sides are in the shape of triangles, decreasing in height towards the front of the scoop. The cutting is taken from an old shovel. It is passed through a hole pre-drilled in the center of the back side of the scoop. The end of the handle, cut at an angle, is fixed with a self-tapping screw and a metal plate in the center of the scoop.
A wooden plywood shovel is made using a similar principle. Only the sides are cut out of the board. The working edge of the scoop is sheathed with a steel strip. It will protect the plywood from abrasion on the ground. The handle is attached to the rear side from above, reinforced with a metal strip overlay.
An example of a diagram for making a wooden shovel can be seen in the photo. This project has a small improvement. The lower part of the rear side is semicircular. This allows you to create a convenient curved shape for the scoop.
Scraper manufacturing options
A shovel is a good thing, but it’s hard to throw snow with such a tool. Let's look at the options for improved factory-made and home-made scrapers.
Blade scraper on wheels
To make a mechanical blade scraper, you will need a wheelset with a metal frame. There are many options for where to get it. Any baby stroller or trolley for transporting bags will do.
First you need to make a blade, that is, the scraper itself.It is difficult to bend a steel sheet 2 mm thick, so it would be good to find a pipe with a diameter of 270 mm. First, cut a piece 10–15 cm longer than the width of the frame. The blade must cover a strip of such size that the wheels after it roll across the cleared area.
A segment slightly smaller than a semicircle is cut along a piece of pipe. To prevent the blade from scratching the tiles or asphalt, a conveyor belt is bolted to the bottom.
When making the frame, the cart is remade so that four stops are formed for the blade: 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. A wheel pair and a U-shaped handle are attached to the lower stops on the rear side. The upper stops simultaneously form racks. They are bolted at one end to the handle, and at the other to the hinges on the back of the blade. On the front side, the second ends of the lower stops are also fixed to the hinges of the blade.
The result will be a scraper, as shown in the diagram. All connections must be bolted only. Then, with any tilt of the handle, during operation, the blade will constantly lower itself to the ground.
Scraper improved with brush
You can find such an interesting tool in a store or make it yourself. A scraper with a brush allows you to cleanly remove snow from paving slabs. In the store version, it can be a plastic shovel with a removable brush. The homemade design is a scraper of any configuration. Simply attach a brush with stiff bristles to the back of the blade or scoop. While working, it will sweep up the remaining snow, which can then be easily removed with a shovel.
Factory made plastic scraper
According to the principle of operation, a plastic scraper resembles a blade, only it does not have wheels.The basis of the tool is a rectangular plane with stiffening ribs. A handle is fixed in the center of the scraper at the top. During work, a person simply pushes the snow away from himself with a plastic element or scoops it towards himself.
Steel ski scraper
The simplest design of a steel scraper is shown in the photo. It consists of a rectangular aluminum sheet to which a U-shaped handle is attached. The disadvantage of the model is the high labor costs.
You can improve the tool by putting it on skis. To do this, runners from a steel angle 1 m long are attached to the U-shaped handle at the bottom. The ends need to be bent upward to make something like skis. The scraper blade is attached to the handle so that the lower end of the aluminum sheet rests on the skids.
The video shows how to quickly make a scraper:
Snow scraper
In the presented drawing of the scraper, you can see that it is a regular scraper with a U-shaped handle. A bucket is similar to a shovel, only with high sides. Snow removal is performed by pushing the scraper in front of you. The inclined handle design reduces stress on the arms and back. Here, most of the damage goes to the human feet. The more snow in the bucket, the harder it is to step to push it.
Make it yourself snow scraper maybe from the same plywood. But a wooden instrument saturated with moisture is very heavy. In addition, plywood wears out quickly when rubbing against asphalt. Here you can find two options: nail a galvanized sheet to the bottom of the plywood or immediately bend the bucket out of an aluminum sheet.
Conclusion
Of all the options for scrapers, homemade models are considered the most convenient, since the owner initially makes it taking into account his requirements.
