Here is mine I bought this little True Temper 7-Tine Garden Rake Real Tools for Kids for 10 bucks ,over a year ago ,Cut the handle down, It works great, but, The handle was getting burnt up, So instead of waiting for it to get wasted Or replacing it with steel, I Figured I would find something to slip into it and shield it. Found some 1/32 wall Tubing in the shop, Don't remember where the heck it came from but, with a little sanding, it was a slip fit right on. I purposely Cut the tubing so I left 8 inches of wooden handle sticking out the other end so It doesn't get hot down there. It rakes the coals forward real nice but leaves the ashes . I know there is a lot of cool home made ones out there too . What are you using for this task ?
My son's have one of those that they broke the handle on. Thinking about welding a piece of pipe on for a handle. Never thought about using a piece of wood at the end to keep it cool.
Sorry for the stock photo, still on my first cup of coffee, too early to get a photo ... but this is $4.98 at Lowes... and works SUPERB!
I had been using a shovel up until a couple of weeks ago, which now sucks. I made this out of what I had. It's 3/8" rebar and 3"x3"x1/4" angle (former lintel from my former fireplace), so it's way overbuilt and really heavy. I tried to trim up the angle as much as I could to reduce weight, but the blade on my chop saw is getting kinda small. But, work with what ya got. It works.
Have you had any trouble with the handle getting scorched? I was thinking that maybe if you wrapped a wooden handle with some High Temperature Aluminum Flue Tape, it may protect it enough to keep it from scorching
I have been using this for about a year. It seems a little pricey right now, I think I paid about $15. I believe someone from here or that other place came up with the idea. I use it to shake the ash out of the coals. It works really well and has held up so far. http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Cat-...d=1421640640&sr=8-2&keywords=wire+cat+scooper
It is a metal handle, and it's held up pretty good so far. This is the first season with it, but I imagine it should last a few.
The handle is about 15" long. If it is only a few coals then I don't really need the gloves, a couple of quick strokes and all the coals are where I need them. If I reload early and there is a large bed of coals then the elbow length gloves go on for both raking and reloading... SWMBO always puts the gloves on, as much for splinters as heat. (Delicate hands) KaptJaq
