This DIY Guide will help you to learn how to sharpen a sling blade easily.

A sling blade is a very useful tool, especially when you have problems with weeds in your garden. However, with use and rust, the blade loses its edge.

For optimal performance, your sling blade must be sharp at all times. Many people often discard their old and dull sling blades, not knowing that with few tools it’s possible to leave them as new.

If there’s a rusty sling blade in some corner of your garage, it’s time to get it out of there. Today you’ll know how to sharpen a sling blade in easy to understand steps.

What is Sling Blade?

A sling blade is a tool used to cut weeds that are too tall. Weeds in gardens absorb nutrients and sunlight that your plants should be absorbing. They also give the place a bad look.

Using a sling blade is very simple. As if it were a pendulum, drop the tool from side to side. Raise your arm as much as you can to apply more energy. The blade cuts every time it hits the weeds at high speed.

Usually, the body of a sling blade includes a shaft, two metal brackets attached to the shaft and a blade. The blade is basically a steel rectangle with waved edges. The waves work like teeth and prevent pieces of weeds from getting stuck.

Step by Step Guide of How to Sharpen A Sling Blade

Sharpening a sling blade is very easy. However, you need the right tools to do it. It’s advisable to use safety equipment such as glasses and gloves to prevent accidents.

Once the minimum safety conditions are guaranteed, you can start working. First of all, make sure you have the following tools on hand:

Now you just have to follow these simple steps:

With A Triangle File

Gently slide the edges of the file over the slots of the waved pattern. It’s advisable to slide in only one direction to have a uniform sharpness. Make the same movement as many times as necessary until the imperfections disappear.

When you finish sharpening all the waves, it’s time to move on to the next step. Slip a fine grit stone over both waved edges, just as you would with a knife.

With A Rotary Tool

With a rotary tool, the process is much simpler. Using a grinding stone tip, correct all imperfections in each wave. Make sure the tip is small enough to enter the slots.

When finished, use a cylindrical grinding stone tip to sharpen the edges. With circular movements, slide the tip over each wave.

Finally, remove the blade from the vise. Then, secure the blade to the brackets using the screws and nuts you removed at the beginning.

Now your sling blade is ready for duty. Remember that with each use, the blade tends to lose edge. Avoid rubbing with the ground and impacts with rocks and other hard surfaces. This could ruin the edges.

Keep your sling blade in a safe and moisture free place. These types of tools rust very easily.

Conclusion

You no longer need to buy a sling blade every time the blade loses its edge. If you have all the tools at hand, you can extend the lifespan of your sling blade several more years. If you use a hardwood shaft, be careful of the strong impacts that could break it.

Learning to preserve your tools is the best way to save money in the future. Your sling blade can last forever if you follow these valuable tips.

Learn how to use a trenching shovel for which work?

Because most people believe that all shovels serve to dig holes in the ground. However, according to the design of the blade, each shovel has a specific use.

Digging trenches is a very common activity. Trenches are useful for installing underground pipes. If you have a garden, you’ll surely need to dig trenches every time you want to install or modify your irrigation system.

It’s true that with a regular digging shovel, you can do the job without problem. However, if you don’t have enough skills and experience, it may take longer than normal.

If you want perfect trenches in less time, the indicated tool is a trenching shovel. But not just any trenching shovel, but the best. If you never used one, don’t worry.

Today you’ll learn everything you need to know to use a trenching shovel like a master. You’ll also know some basic features that will help you differentiate a trenching shovel from the rest.

What is Trenching Shovel?

A trenching shovel is a tool used to dig trenches. In contrast to regulate digging shovels, trenching shovels have a narrower head. Most of them use straight handles, but you can also find some models with D-handles.

The most common blade types in trenching shovels are:

Depending on the use, the shovel head can be straight or inclined. In straight heads, the blade tip follows the same direction of the shaft. It’s ideal for cutting and edging s oil. Instead, inclined heads serve to remove soil.

You can find in the market many shovel heads with different inclination angles. The most common are 28, 35 and 90 degrees.

Some trenching shovels used box shaped heads to prevent soil from escaping when removing. Its design allows collecting a greater soil volume in a single movement compared to other models.

Uses of Trenching Shovel?

As you can see, there are different models of trenching shovels. Here’s a list of the different uses you can give to each type.

Cutting and Edging

You can use a trenching shovel with straight blade to cut the ground. This will help you trace the trench path on the surface. Round blades and V-shaped blades are the most suitable in these cases.

You just have to place the tip in the right place and rest your foot on the step. The applied force will help to obtain a better penetration in the ground.

Once the blade is completely buried in the ground, turn the shaft slightly. This will allow you to release the floor and get perfectly clean vertical cuts.

When you finish the job, these types of blades are also useful as edging tools, to correct details on the trench walls.

Removing Loose Soil

After cutting or break the ground, you’ll need a trenching shovel with an inclined head to remove the loose soil. Square and V-shaped blades are perfect for these cases.

To remove the ground, you can use the tip pointing backwards or forwards. The operator is free to choose how to do it according to the conditions of the area and their own comfort.

Box shaped heads are the most efficient because they allow to remove a greater volume of soil in less time. Regular flat blades let escape part of the soil, forcing you to remove several times in the same place.

Conclusion

With everything you just learned about trenching shovels you’re ready to choose the most appropriate for you. Remember that according to the use you’re going to give it, you must correctly choose the blade type and the inclination of the head.

Choose a comfortable tool with an ergonomic handle. Wear protective gloves during work to prevent blister. By following these tips, you’ll become a master on digging trenches.

It always happens with shovels with hardwood shafts. After a long period of use, the hardwood weakens and the day you least expect it, it breaks. And most of the time that happens inside the steel collar. That is the reason we are going to write about how to replace a shovel handle rivet article. Hope it will work for you.

If you have enough money, you can just forget about the broken shovel and buy a new one. However, if that blade is valuable to you, the best option is to fix the entire shovel. But to do it, you’ll need the right tools.

Replacing the shaft and the handle rivet is easier than it seems. And today you’ll learn how to do it in easy to understand steps.

What is Shovel?

A shovel is a tool commonly used for digging soil. It’s made up of three main elements:

The head or spoon is the steel part that buries in the ground. Depending on the shape of your blade, you can perform various functions, such as cutting and removing soil.

The shaft is a bar that connects the head with the handle. The most common manufacturing materials are steel, hardwood and fiberglass. Depending on the type of use, each material offers its pros and cons.

The handle is the part where you grab the tool. The most common handle types are:

Step by Step Guide of How to Replace A Shovel Handle Rivet

To do this work you’ll need to have the following materials and tools on hand:

DIY Guide

Once you have everything you need, just follow these steps.

Conclusion

By following these simple steps, you can fix any shovel you can imagine. If the shovel head is still in good condition, it’s a good idea to repair the tool. Obviously, you’ll need to have all required tools and materials. Remember to use safety equipment at all times to avoid accidents.

A plant needs loose soil to easily access water and nutrients. In addition, in loose soil the roots can grow more freely. That’s why it’s always important to prepare the soil properly before burying a seed.

However, when a soil previously saturated with water goes through a long drought, it tends to harden too much. If, in addition, the ground receives to the constant action of different loads, it’s compacted and becomes even harder.

Under these conditions it’s impossible for a plant to survive. And when the soil lacks of organic matter and other nutrients, it’s even more difficult for something green to grow there.

Fortunately that’s not a problem without a solution. Following some useful advices, it’s possible to return the loose and fertility to the more difficult soil. Today you’ll learn how to break up hard ground like a pro.

What is Hard Ground?

A hard ground is the result of compaction of soil particles. The absence of empty spaces between particles provides greater resistance to the ground.

Compaction occurs when a wet soil receives different loads. Then, when it dries, it becomes even harder.

Step by Step Guide of How to Break Up Hard Ground

If you’re thinking of planting something new in your garden, a hard ground is a big obstacle. Plants need soils with enough empty spaces to develop and grow. If you bury a seed in too compact soil, you’re unlikely to succeed.

However, there’s nothing to worry about. With the right tools and techniques, you can soften the hardest ground in a short time. Here’s the step by step guide:

Moisten the Ground

As stated at the beginning, the soil reaches its maximum hardness when it’s completely dry. Therefore, returning lost moisture will help release its particles.

To do this, connect a hose to the nearest water faucet and water the hard ground until it becomes darker.

Wait Some Minutes

Let excess water drain through the particles and empty spaces fill with air. If you work on a completely saturated soil, you’re likely to end up doing a great mess.

Break Up the Ground

There’s a wide variety of different tools that you can use to remove the outer layers of hardened soil. The most commons are:

A peak shovel is useful for deep penetration. It has a point tip and a flat tip. The point tip serves to break the ground, concentrating all the force on the same point. Instead, the flat tip serves to remove loose soil. It’s also useful to dig trenches.

It works like a hammer. You must hold the hardwood shaft tightly. Then lift the tool and push with one or both arms. The impact of the peak breaks the hard ground.

Usually, people use garden rakes to remove dried leaves from their gardens. However, steel garden rakes also serve to break up the surface of the hard ground. It works like a broom.

Sharp points of the rake break the ground as they move over it. A garden trident serves the same purpose. However, it’s a much smaller tool and you use it to break up soil around small crops.

A tiller is a broom-like tool, but instead of a brush, it uses rings with peaks that revolve around the same axis. The action of the peaks removes the hard ground.

Add Organic Matter

When you’re done breaking up the ground, add humus to the ground to attract earthworms, fungi and bacteria. They’ll help nourish the soil and break up deeper hard particles.

Conclusion

As you can see, breaking up hard ground isn’t as difficult as you thought. Make sure you have the right tools to make the job much easier.

Remember that you must moisten the soil, not saturate it. Adding more water than required, will turn the ground into a lot of mud. Follow these tips carefully so that everything goes well.