Quicksand Fans

what is a good shovel that I can use to dig a quicksand pit.
looking for something that can come in pieces
like
a staff that you can attach a shovel piece to the end of it so it doubles as a walking staff.
I want something like this cause I want to make my own clay pit.

Having participated in creating a few such holes, or helping nature with them, I can honestly say this is what such a shovel looks like.



Now we also have located old photos of a vintage quicksand party crew on their way to the job. You will notice the lack of sophisticated implements. Much of the research really leads us to believe that the tenacity and perseverance of the user is the key here.

Duncan has the right idea, although the first one might not be so practical in some places. For example, here at Studio 588, once you get down about 18 inches you hit layers of sandstone that get harder and harder with each layer. At about 3 feet or so it gets so hard that even an excavator cannot make much progress. Last year I hired a contractor with an excavator to try to increase the depth of my small pond to about six feet. He made some improvements but could not get that deep even though the pond was dry. The contractor that built the house for me used a back hoe with a pencil shaped piece of steel about 12 inches in diameter to punch through the rock to get deep enough to install the in-ground tornado shelter. He said if that failed the only thing left would be blasting, although I suppose drilling would be an option also. The pits here were dug by hand using a digging shovel, pick, and 6 foot bar, plus some use of a hammer drill, but to achieve the depth the pits have we surrounded the hole with the material dug out and topped that with sand and soil.

Duncan's second idea would be my preference but I don't think its all that likely to succeed.

As for the hand shovel in sections idea it would be my advice that tools made for multiple purposes like that are not the best idea. In human terms such a tool corresponds to someone who is a jack of all trades but master of none.

Duncan Edwards wrote:Having participated in creating a few such holes, or helping nature with them, I can honestly say this is what such a shovel looks like.

This has been my experience as well. Many times over.

Tactiarmy is one of a few makers of tactical kits that uses threaded segments made of aluminum to make handles of different lengths. They have different fittings that can be fastened to either end, including a shovel head. It can serve as a walking staff, shovel, saw for small limbs and a few other things. I will say the shovel head won't be as big as you like, but even with a standard shovel, I hope you like manual labor, bcuz you are going to be at it for a long time.
Look up Tactiarmy and you will probably start seeing ads for other company's that offer similar things pop up in your social media feeds.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005

My advice? Buy several of them, and a case of beer, and invite some friends over to help.

Duncan and Dave are definitely on the right track though (pun intended). Mini excavators are surprisingly cheap to rent, can be dropped off and picked up wherever you wish to dig said pit, and even if you are inexperienced can dig a hole that would suit your needs in less than a day. They're surprisingly easy to use with a little practice.

As others have mentioned it depends a lot on what you’re digging into and how big / deep you want to go! I had a contractor come dig me some pits, lowered some water tanks and had them concreted in but that’s rather an extreme long-term solution. I also have an auger that I use for digging shallower pits with. My ground is also all clay that helps getting through it. Digging anything by hand with a shovel will definitely be a workout!

Mynock wrote: ...Duncan and Dave are definitely on the right track though (pun intended). Mini excavators are surprisingly cheap to rent, can be dropped off and picked up wherever you wish to dig said pit, and even if you are inexperienced can dig a hole that would suit your needs in less than a day. They're surprisingly easy to use with a little practice.

Yep. And actually, the orange one is a Home Depot rental, which is ready to go on a double axle trailer. Saves a lot of money on delivery and pick-up - if you don't mind taking a little longer to dig.

Just don't try to tow it with a Prius.

I was thinking a augur would work and a bit of manual labor. I just need something that shovels and also cuts roots. Here we have just topsoil and red clay.