From Waste To Wonder - Scoops

 There is something incredibly satisfying, even after 20 plus years of being a carpenter, of taking a pile of wood and turning it into something. 

Of course when you make things every day you end up with a lot of offcuts. I don't like waste, it hurts my pocket and it hurts the environment. There's a lot of energy gone into making all these materials that I make my income from. 

So I have a habit of saving up all the regular sized offcuts and putting them to one side. This works well with my potting trays that produce a strip of ply waste and sometimes the 9x1 redwood boards are split and unusable for them. 

How I Make My Compost And Grain Scoops

 Sometimes people are surprised that I don't make everything individually. But to make any money (and honestly I'm not making much) everything has to be made in batches. I tend to normally stick to batches of 8, 10 or 12 for things like my trays or baskets, but smaller items, like my scoops get made in in bigger quantities. 

Last week I made 34 more wooden scoops, and then needed to make some more of my folded galvanised still ones. 

This meant a trip over to my Dad's farm and the use of the metal working equipment there. 

Compost & Grain Scoops Made By ME!

 I was reading the other day that YouTube is the second most used search engine. So I decided that as well as my usual videos looking at making things and doing stuff on the homestead, I should also have some videos showing my different ranges of products. 

My scoops are a product I'm really proud of. I love building something that I know will last. IT's also nice that I use dad's workshop as well as my own to make them, the joining of skill is really nice. 

I put a short video together (in my mum's very pretty garden shed) showing off the three main sizes I make, but I also have a large scoop (which is one I like but might be too big for many) and a dustpan available currently. 

Let me know what you think. What would you build out of folded metal and wood?

Making Different Scoops - I'm obsessed!!!

 When I get into a subject, I really get into a subject. that's why I'm such a woodworking obsessive and the same with self-sufficiency. 

I mentioned in a few posts how scoops have become a bit of an obsession. I love making them and messing about with the design to see what does and doesn't work for me. 

Above is some of the different types of scoops I've made this year. I've made more designs than this and more different sizes, but this is a good selection of them. 

Metal & Wood Compost Or Feed Scoops

 My wife often accuse me of getting a little too focused on a subject. Lately it's been scoops. 

I've made a lot of scoops lately, with over ten different types (and some with multiple designs). Some have been for my own enjoyment to learn about making them, and some have bene about making a new product.