Concerns over Scoop Design
Copyright by Alan Hassell all rights reserved
Before returning to Australia in 1992, I wrote an article about England's Virgin Gold-fields and why I believed there was more GOLD in England than Australia. Returning three and half years later, it's rewarding to know that recovering gold from beaches has become very popular and has a large following. Many individuals have also realised that the true wealth lies on England's beaches, just as I predicted. Although just as much lies buried inland on private property. I wrote the basics, in the first full article to cover most aspects of what I call shallow water metal detecting, in which anyone could start recovering gold from water.
My writings have inspired many to follow in my footsteps and reap the benefits of success. I received letters of how people had been attempting to find gold for 3 years without success until they read my article and started to find goodies almost immediately as a result. During a recent visit to the 1995 Newbury Rally, I met many individuals and heard many stories about success and failure.
I also heard many tales about scoops their design and construction, some almost laughable, like the guy who turned up on a beach with a coke can nailed to a broomstick. Apart from your detector, your most important tool you will use will obviously be your scoop, for without one it is impossible to recover your targets. When I visited Newbury in 1991, I took along some scoops I had made up during my stay over here. When I left, I gave one to John Castle, Geoff Mackrill, and another to Bill Harris for free. Although they were made with stainless steel, Mr. Harris told me he could use a welder and had a good drill.
It was my attempt to help him get into the water even though he had to finish off the scoop, by putting a handle on it and drill holes so water could drain out. Recovering targets below water requires special techniques and scoops if you are to be successful without injuring yourself in the process. Ask any doctor, they will tell you, that most back injuries occur when the back is in a bent position. Look in any doctor's or hospital waiting room they are filled with poster's explaining how you can avoid back injuries. We are told there is certain way to lift things without injuring oneself.
This is done by keeping the feet together and the back held in an upright position, bend the knees, grab hold of the object and straighten the legs. Emphasis is stressed on keeping the back straight at all times to avoid injury. A slipped disc, is uncomfortable, painful, restricts movement, takes ages to heal and could lead to fatal results in water. I assure you from personal experience it can happen. Design of a well-made scoop, is essential if one is to avoid back injury. The design, of the scoop used my myself and most Australians over a fifteen year period came about because early detectorists met with back problems.
Try a simple experiment yourself, get hold of a broomstick, pretend it's the handle of a scoop, with the scoop on the bottom at a 90 degree angle, place it at an angle similar to that of a scoop in water and you will notice how far you need to lean forward bending your back in the process. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it's placing your back in a dangerous position prone to injury. I have heard of people having to duck themselves underwater to get their scoop out.
There are some scoops in the market place, where the scoop is fitted to the handle at such an angle that it makes one wonder how they get the target out of the water in the first place. So much for the lesson, the problem is being able to recognise a situation before an accident or injury occurs. When digging in the garden, we are all told to keep our backs straight, the same applies when digging in water. So how do you make a scoop, that will allow the user to keep their back straight? Simple, try another experiment, make an extended handle.
In other words nail an 18 to 20 inch piece of wood at a 90 degree angle onto your broomstick and another at the end pointing downwards. You now have what is known as an extended handle which is not only far more comfortable to use but also reduces the risk of back injury. Scoops should be made to measure, and is done by measuring the distance between a bent arm and the ground.
The measurement taken from the elbow joint and adding an extra two inches to the main shaft. The average length is between 50 and 52 inches depending on the height of the individual although taller people would need a longer shaft. Stainless steel is recommended owing to it's strength, durability and resistance to salt water corrosion. In use you locate a target, place your left foot next to the coil, you could do this blindfold, remove the coil and place the tip of the scoop in front of your toes.
Then apply pressure to the back of the scoop with your left foot moving the scoop slightly as it penetrates into the sand. Once the scoop is submerged, gently pull back on the extended handle, notice most of the time your back was in an upright position. Now, move the scoop side to side to break any suction in the sand and lift the scoop out of the hole. Place the scoop onto your left foot, bend your knee upwards and the scoop with it's contents should rise to the surface with little or no effort. Scoops should be used in conjunction with floating sieves, a wire mesh screen attached to either polystyrene or a motor cycle innertube also benefit the shallow water detectorist.
Using one allows the searcher to dump the contents of the scoop in the sieve and continue searching rather than waiting for sand to drain out of your scoop, which is time consuming. Lost time, is lost targets, you only have a limited amount of time in the water make every second count and you too will reap the same rewards that professionals are noted for. I have enclosed the basic design of the extended handled Aussie scoop for anyone wishing to make one for themselves, improving their recovery rate in the process.
However I should point out it is a registered design in Australia and protected by law. It is reproduced here with the intention that it is a D.I.Y. project and not a design for commercial enterprise. Owing to legalities regarding back injuries and possible litigation's from injuries inflicted on oneself through the use of scoops, manufacturer's in Australia steer well clear of them unless you sign an indemnity form.
This article was written with the intention of informing those participating in Shallow Water metal detecting of a hazard and possible injuries they could sustain. Prevention is better than the cure, and less painful. If you have any questions you would like answered about Shallow Water Detecting, please feel free to cantact me by e-mail.
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