How to Strengthen a M.S. Shovel...

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Good Day,I'm looking to strengthen the folding/pick shovel below for a Friend...  It seems that it is 'bending' just a bit too much (you can see that it's quite 'light duty', about 1/16" thick..) near the middle and end (Marked in Blue).  This is quite a 'Cheap shovel' and I'm not really interested putting a 'Lot' of work into it, but would like to try and fix it so that it doesn't bend or 'give' so much. Attached ImagesMiller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:I figure that a Few 309l or ER70S-2 beads (shown in Red) should Strengthen it up quite nicely (the small dots are tacks).  I think it might lose a bit of temper even though I doubt it has much to begin with, but wonder if I should have the same type of beads on the backside as well??Any thoughts would be appreciated... Attached ImagesMiller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:I'd pop out the rivets and then roll the blade. Look at a typical digging shovel. The shape of the blade adds strength. You could roll beads in the blade or add a rear stiffener as well, but that would be more difficult. I doubt the weld beads would do anything but increase drag and the extra heat might simply make it softer..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Buy another and double them up. Then weld along the edges.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI'd pop out the rivets and then roll the blade. Look at a typical digging shovel. The shape of the blade adds strength. You could roll beads in the blade or add a rear stiffener as well, but that would be more difficult. I doubt the weld beads would do anything but increase drag and the extra heat might simply make it softer.
Reply:Yeah, I should have posted another pic showing the entire shovel...  They're not cheap $40.00 (on sale) and it wouldn't be easy to add another shovel to this one.  I was able to fix a simple Fiskars digging tool with god-awful beads (I didn't think it would work) that had snapped in half.  It looks HORRIBLE, but is stronger that it was when it was first bought... But I digress,..The digger is made out of some type of stainless alloy, while this shovel is obviously made from Mild Steel.  I'm certain that he's not willing to pay for another shovel to fix this one (much better off buying a new, better one from Predator or Lesche anyway..), but I think the suggestion regarding 'Folds' DOES make a lot of sense.  Getting it into a press would be a bit tricky, but perhaps I can fashion a type of 'Jig' to hold it in place...  I think I'll stitch the folds with a few beads after I'm done with some of the folds in the shovel as suggested...Here's a better pic of the shovel. Attached ImagesMiller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:I would bend in the ends of the shovel about 1" from each end. Cut the lip at the top in a V for each bend and then weld it back together after bending. Not a 90 degree bend but something like maybe a 45 on each side.EDIT Much like this one:Last edited by VPT; 04-09-2013 at 10:05 PM.
Reply:Open the jaws on that vice till they are about 1.5 inches narrower than the shovel blade.  Place shove on vise, lay a piece of about 2 inch pipe on the blade, parallel with the handle, whack with large hammer.  "rolling" the blade will stiffen it a lot.
Reply:jmanDon't waste any time on weld reinforcement.Tell 'your friend' to buy a better shovel.If an up-grade isn't available for his purpose considerreconfiguring the blade.In hard-rock mining, for muck raking to lay track, two of the requisite manual tools are a fin-hoe, and a swed-hoe.Both are shovel blades, mounted perpendicular to longcurved wooden handles, for grown-up work. The difference: the blades are have tapered sides, not parallel, starting from just below the top-horizontal to apoint.Swed-hoes are broader bodied, fin-hoes are sharper andtwice as long from the shoulders to the point.To improve this tool: taper the sides from just below the rivet-plain to a narrower contoured point - in accord with your digging application.And, per prior suggestions, lay the blade centered in an improvised tool & die, and crisp a rib with a BFH.Opus
Reply:Don't waste any time on weld reinforcement.Tell 'your friend' to buy a better shovel.