I am planning a backpacking trip and did not have a poop shovel. This is one of the cheapest pieces of gear that backpackers carry, but of course, where would the fun be in that.

It had been a while since I welded any aluminum, and this was the first times setting up for welding where I live now. I started by cutting a shovel head from some scrap sheet metal from my friend’s old 2.007 robot.

For the handle I would have loved to have some thin wall round tubing, but sometimes you have to improvise instead. I cut a little more sheet metal and proceeded to form a “tube” by hammering it around a plywood “mandrel.”

I thought it might be easier to get the handle to match the shape of the shovel head if it were squashed.

So, the first bead of welds definitely weren’t anything to brag about. I think there was too much of a draft coming through the garage that was blowing away the shielding gas. With another project I was able to get better results by closing the side door. Oh well, good thing the consequences for weld failure here are pretty insignificant.

The end product weighs in at 58.5 g (2.06 oz). That’s on par with those orange plastic ones. Hopefully this one works just as well and lasts just as long.