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The Tool Discussion Thread

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PhilipW

Monkey
Mar 13, 2007
311
0
Leominster, MA
I have this like 15 dollar spade shovel with a metal handle that i just got a few months back.

And last year i got a fiberglass handle flat shovel and its working really good so far...good for packing down lips and whatnot.

For those tough digging times i have a pickaxe kind of thing...similar to a maddox but not quite. Flat blade on one side for shaving off small bits and loosening dirt and an axe type blade on the other side for root killing.

Those are my main 3 weapons of destruction.

If you've got em, a landscapers rake and a pushbroom are super sweet for finishing jumps off.
 
F

freeridefool

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
647
0
medford, or
Fiberglass sucks to dig with. I hate the flex and I always break them. I prefer the tried and true wood handle, cause I have man hands. My little bro likes the fiberglass cause he's a sissy.

I couldnt live without my chainsaw. One really sharp chain for cutting stuff and a bad chain for roots and anything close to the dirt. Our jumps are in the forests so I deal with roots quite often.

The best tool in the world is a hand full of mexicans to do my digging for me.
 
S4Sean

S4Sean

Chimp
Apr 30, 2008
50
0
tractor access is the hardest part of digging our trails.
We have done everything with a pointed shovel, a flat wide shovel, a chainsaw and a rake or two.
Luckily our DJ's are next to a highway but down a super steep embankment. We just pull up, toss out the tools and bikes. Then go park at my buddy's house and walk in.
 
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scag

Monkey
Nov 19, 2004
104
0
Its been my experience that wood holds up best for spades and fiberglass for flat heads. I guess a fiberglass handle absorbs alot of the harsh hits from smear packing, but the rigidness of wood works best for chopping into dirt with the spade.
 
Zach Dank

Zach Dank

Turbo Monkey
Jun 28, 2005
1,296
0
Gnarcal
Sorry, i got a little out of hand there, but there is a Pick tatted on Clints arm. That counts as a tool post.
 
don

don

Turbo Monkey
Nov 8, 2001
1,319
0
Rumson, NJ
kidwoo said:
Yes mcleods are very useful for trenching singletrack.


BUT THIS IS THE DIRTJUMP FORUM DAMMIT!!


BIKE TATS, NIGHT BATS AND UGLY BABIES ONLY!!!!
Click to expand...
I did a couple mornings of maintenance at some local XC trails this spring. Those guys were hyping the Mcleods big time saying how shovels are ancient technology and don't work nearly as well. I was thinking to myself while using this "ancient technology", that I've built a lot more stuff that rides a lot more fun and a heck of a lot better looking than what those guys do w/ the Mccloed. You think a Mcleod could produce the "Magik Shene"
 
Zach Dank

Zach Dank

Turbo Monkey
Jun 28, 2005
1,296
0
Gnarcal
don said:
I did a couple mornings of maintenance at some local XC trails this spring. Those guys were hyping the Mcleods big time saying how shovels are ancient technology and don't work nearly as well. I was thinking to myself while using this "ancient technology", that I've built a lot more stuff that rides a lot more fun and a heck of a lot better looking than what those guys do w/ the Mccloed. You think a Mcleod could produce the "Magik Shene"
Click to expand...
If you can bust out a Magik Sheen with a Mcleod, then you are truely the God of trail building. No mortal man could achieve such a feat.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
don said:
I did a couple mornings of maintenance at some local XC trails this spring. Those guys were hyping the Mcleods big time saying how shovels are ancient technology and don't work nearly as well. I was thinking to myself while using this "ancient technology", that I've built a lot more stuff that rides a lot more fun and a heck of a lot better looking than what those guys do w/ the Mccloed. You think a Mcleod could produce the "Magik Shene"
Click to expand...
That's pretty funny.

I do use a mcleod frequently in the summer. But it doesn't replace a shovel by any means. It's probably the best sidehill cutting tool I know of but you're not packing smooth lips with it......no way no how.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
RIGID shovels. :biggrin:

And a nice rake and a nice broom and a gas pump... unfortunately we have none of these right now.... :nopity:

And allen wrenches.


Me and WCH spent almost a week building a 1 foot tall table top. :crazy: So worth it for the bubba scrubs, though.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
Used it to pump agua from the creek. But, it got jacked. We bought a new one and it broke. So now we're back to the watering cans.
 
S

SDG

Chimp
May 24, 2007
76
0
I was wondering if u use a flame trower like this for baking the top layer. We have used it for wet spots in the dirt lines and it worked great.

 
brungeman

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
I didn't want to derail the other thread and since this one is an engineered train wreck... here goes...

about the smear pack... a question...


I noticed on our own jumps, when you do smear pack it you kind of lock in moisture deep down in the mound. I have noticed some cracking of the top smear probably trying to release the interior moisture and those cracks sometimes can be pretty major! How do you combat that or is it even a problem for you?
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
brungeman said:
I didn't want to derail the other thread and since this one is an engineered train wreck... here goes...

about the smear pack... a question...


I noticed on our own jumps, when you do smear pack it you kind of lock in moisture deep down in the mound. I have noticed some cracking of the top smear probably trying to release the interior moisture and those cracks sometimes can be pretty major! How do you combat that or is it even a problem for you?
Click to expand...

Anything setup wet will change volume/shape when it dries. Those cracks are the dirt shrinking back in the absence of water.

All the answers will be in the coffee table book zach and I are putting out next year.
 
William42

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,924
671
kidwoo said:
Anything setup wet will change volume/shape when it dries. Those cracks are the dirt shrinking back in the absence of water.

All the answers will be in the coffee table book zach and I are putting out next year.
Click to expand...
So any update on this book? I'll buy it, but it better have pictures, I don't read anything without pictures.

And what kind of shovels are you fools buying? We broke a 14 dollar shovel in 10 minutes packing down a berm today, do you guys throw down for 40 dollar shovels and replace the shafts as you need to, or lots of 10-15 dollar shovels and just replace the shaft immediately, or whatever you happen to have money for?
 
nyhc00

nyhc00

Monkey
Jul 19, 2010
496
0
CT
10 dollar fiberglass shovels from Home Depot. Keep the receipt for when you break one, they replace them no questions asked every time.
 
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