Re: hard to find a decent pick these days.

slimpickens Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:38 pm

I always wanted the coyote to catch that speed maniac and cook his goose! lol!

Guest Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:23 pm

shiraz wrote:This might work Blisters. with a box full of that stuff,the national news would read ira hits areas in remote north queensland

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:04 am

thanks ff and digginerup looks like bristar is the go. Smile

shandeemax after reading about this stuff best used in 12 month period.and to everybody else thankx to many picks to pick?? Smile

Curley Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:35 am

Anyone ever use a T.K. pick? (may even have been called T.K. easy dig too) I know Davsgold had one. These are no longer available as Tony who used to make them passed on. I haven't found one to match it, I'm still nursing my last one treating it very carefully.
Malleeboy makes a good pick which is in my digging arsenal too. Mike, do you still make them?
Blisters you have lots to pick from indeed.
Curley

AraratGold Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:47 am

Curley wrote:Anyone ever use a T.K. pick? (may even have been called T.K. easy dig too) I know Davsgold had one. These are no longer available as Tony who used to make them passed on. I haven't found one to match it, I'm still nursing my last one treating it very carefully.
Malleeboy makes a good pick which is in my digging arsenal too. Mike, do you still make them?
Blisters you have lots to pick from indeed.
Curley

Gidday Curley,

I still have 2 of the original TK easy dig picks. They have both done a lot of work but still going strong. Tony sure did make a good pick, rest his soul.

Cheers,
Rick

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:25 am

Hi blisters
In my experience you do NOT want a pick head to be straight as it cases jarring as it transfers the energy from striking down the handle this is why most picks have an arched or curved head design.

After MANY pick failures from all of the commonly available brands I decided to build my own.
After 6 different models my prospecting buddy and I were trying over the last 4 or so years we have settled on
the design pictured below.

the older one has been in service for about 2 years and the new one is my spare and what the older one originally looked like

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur25

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur25

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur26

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur27

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur28

hard to find a decent pick these days. - Page 2 Pictur29

We use a 950mm sledgehammer handle in ether Ironbark or Turpentine, a 4x4 leaf spring and 2 pieces of lighter duty car leaf spring welded on at about 15deg to make the head, and we weld a piece of 40mm heavy walled steel pipe @ 130mm long that has been squashed slightly to match the shape of the handle to take the handle.
We make this 130 long as it minimizes handle breakages due to rock strikes on the lower handle and the sledgehammer handle fits in peeeerrrfffeeeecccttt.
We then fix the handle in with a metal dowel and squash the ends by striking them between two hammers
which secures the handle nicely.
We make the digging end 140x140mm as this removes nearly a whole shovel full of material when digging.
WE make the pick end 240mm long so that we can sharpen it multiple times thus extending the life of the pick,
we just use a battery grinder with a wafer steel cutting disc to resharpen the pick end in the field, this takes less than 5 min to do. Cool

They are a little heavy but you don't regret carting around the extra weight when it comes to dig a hole in hard rocky ground, and you get used to it pretty quick.

freshwater Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:53 pm

aurumpro wrote:Hi blisters
In my experience you do NOT want a pick head to be straight as it cases jarring as it transfers the energy from striking down the handle this is why most picks have an arched or curved head design.

After MANY pick failures from all of the commonly available brands I decided to build my own.
After 6 different models my prospecting buddy and I were trying over the last 4 or so years we have settled on
the design pictured below.

the older one has been in service for about 2 years and the new one is my spare and what the older one originally looked like

We use a 950mm sledgehammer handle in ether Ironbark or Turpentine, a 4x4 leaf spring and 2 pieces of lighter duty car leaf spring welded on at about 15deg to make the head, and we weld a piece of 40mm heavy walled steel pipe @ 130mm long that has been squashed slightly to match the shape of the handle to take the handle.
We make this 130 long as it minimizes handle breakages due to rock strikes on the lower handle and the sledgehammer handle fits in peeeerrrfffeeeecccttt.
We then fix the handle in with a metal dowel and squash the ends by striking them between two hammers
which secures the handle nicely.
We make the digging end 140x140mm as this removes nearly a whole shovel full of material when digging.
WE make the pick end 240mm long so that we can sharpen it multiple times thus extending the life of the pick,
we just use a battery grinder with a wafer steel cutting disc to resharpen the pick end in the field, this takes less than 5 min to do.
They are a little heavy but you don't regret carting around the extra weight when it comes to dig a hole in hard rocky ground, and you get used to it pretty quick.

Thats a pretty impressive setup aurumpro, the large scoop is something that a lot of picks dont have or try to. Very handy.
Regards
John
PS Curley think Malleyboy has a lot on his plate these days, not much time to make them in mass anymore.

granite2 Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:27 pm

Too heavy for me mate. Plus I don't detect too much in Vic these days and the digging is a lot easier in WA until you hit caprock. Then you need something better than a pick as some of the caprock makes concrete look like beach sand.

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:14 pm

hey aurumpro, they look impressive picks mate,riding on the bike in mostly rugged areas i op for a shorter handell as they seem to get caught up on rocks ect when you need it least!:)the longer handell will give you heaps more digging power i know but to to find a happy medium the total length of mine is 650mill long with a slighter less angle on the pitch.went to cairns today for a look today but come home empty handed,anyway no rush it is bucketing down up here! Smile

Gold Miner Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:30 pm

blisters wrote:anyway no rush it is bucketing down up here!

All over for now Blisters!!
The river hit 7 mtrs on the monitor!!!!
When I got out it was over the bonnet!

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:40 pm

hey gold miner,yeah heard yous have been copping it up there 2.hows the north palmer going?be interesting to see how fittzys main palmer crossing holds up. Smile

got enough supplies bud?

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:59 pm

blisters wrote:hey aurumpro, they look impressive picks mate,riding on the bike in mostly rugged areas i op for a shorter handell as they seem to get caught up on rocks ect when you need it least!:)the longer handell will give you heaps more digging power i know but to to find a happy medium the total length of mine is 650mill long with a slighter less angle on the pitch.went to cairns today for a look today but come home empty handed,anyway no rush it is bucketing down up here!

I gave one to one of the Milkman's flat boys last time I was up your way, he rode everywhere on his bike like you I think he carried it on his back though to avoid the snag up problems.
He told me that he liked it better than any other pick he had used once he got used to the extra weight.

I've thought about making one with a handle that collapses, folds or breaks down into pieces to make it easier to carry on the bike but still have some serious digging power. cyclops

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:19 pm

yeah aurumpro,i carry mine on my hip belt as in my back back normally carring the 4000 plus the etrac and everthing else! reckon the boys could be floating around up there.the fall to the other side of north palmer,quartz creek,they reckon has never come over the laura road in memory! Smile

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:31 pm

blisters wrote:yeah aurumpro,i carry mine on my hip belt as in my back back normally carring the 4000 plus the etrac and everthing else! reckon the boys could be floating around up there.the fall to the other side of north palmer,quartz creek,they reckon has never come over the laura road in memory!

Yeah, the boys might be adding a coupe of feet extra to the flood gauge in the lounge room Exclamation

Can't wait to get back up there with all that water rearranging my best gulleys Cool

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:34 pm

yeah mate i could see them all sitting up on the pool table watching the water rise around them:) the pick you left looks abit familar,that wouldnt have been mick by any chance?aka wonga? Smile

Gold Miner Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:47 pm

blisters wrote:hey gold miner,yeah heard yous have been copping it up there 2.hows the north palmer going?be interesting to see how fittzys main palmer crossing holds up. got enough supplies bud?

Got some photos somewhwere!!
Nth Palmer was starting to get rapids, but the crossing at Paulines wa ok.
We were only just saying days before that we had never seen the waterhole so low.!!
The crossing at the main dog leg is still judged by the pink rock, but I would be cautous of the bottom.
All that fill the Fitzies put in should be gone by now, adding maybe 200 mm to the depth.
We tied up the fans coming out, and water was just over the bonnet.
Frank rang the other day, he was ok, but I'd say everythnig has gone up to the top camp by now!
With no more rain, I'd say 3 or 4 weeks before we can cross again!!!

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:54 pm

sounds like all good up that way then,keep safe have you still a tinnie at the crossing?or was that dans?

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:00 pm

blisters wrote:yeah mate i could see them all sitting up on the pool table watching the water rise around them:) the pick you left looks abit familar,that wouldnt have been mick by any chance?aka wonga?

I gave it to Gazza but after he left the camp maybe Wonga Mick ended up with it?
If so, its in good hands Mick's a champion! Cool

granite2 Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:04 pm

Got a son and his family stuck at Cardwell on the NQ coast. They were on their way back from their holiday block at Cow Bay to their home in the Whitsundays they could be stuck there a few days.

Airlie Beach has been hit by a big storm from the NE with many boats smashed up on the rocks and the Hamilton plains road flooded each high tide. The Whitsundays might be cut off for a couple of days as they usually are each wet season.

Cheers, Jim

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:07 pm

for sure aurumpro, Smile

only met gazza briefly,been swing abit with mick. Smile

catch u up soon:)

Guest Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:10 pm

yeah jim some wind up this way 140km per hour they were saying this morning! yep abit wild and wooly up this way at the moment! Smile

Gold Miner Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:56 pm

blisters wrote:sounds like all good up that way then,keep safe have you still a tinnie at the crossing?or was that dans?

Nah mate, no tinnie there apart from VB gold!!!
Ask Dan and he will fill you in!!!
Ash and Frank have tinnies there atm.

Aurumpro, Me andWonga got onto some wicked Gold when we were moving our excavator!!!! Shoot, thats another story!!

Guest Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:11 am

Gold Miner wrote:

Aurumpro, Me andWonga got onto some wicked Gold when we were moving our excavator!!!! Shoot, thats another story!!

Mate good to hear, Wonga is a champion, and a grand master of the camp oven roast!!!!!!!
(hope it was nuggets and not the VB gold Laughing

)

Gold Miner Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:41 am

aurumpro wrote:
Gold Miner wrote:

Aurumpro, Me andWonga got onto some wicked Gold when we were moving our excavator!!!! Shoot, thats another story!!

Mate good to hear, Wonga is a champion, and a grand master of the camp oven roast!!!!!!!
(hope it was nuggets and not the VB gold )

Umm yeah..!!!!!

blisters, sorry to divert this thread, !
Yeah umm Gazza is a wicked cook, and Wonga, is a bloody good mate up there..
We'll all catch up one day, will be good...
Would have to be at Franks tho, you gotta have lasers for a pissup!!!!!

Guest Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:01 am

Look forward to it.
Frank and the boys/Judy have a good set up in camp.......Loved it!

(Mmmm I guess I'll have to bring plenty of party supplys pirat

)

Guest Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:56 am

no worries goldminer,seens its your birthday the threads all yours bud:)

the-A-man Fri Jan 25, 2013 9:19 am

Hi Blisters,
Why don't you get one made to exactly how you want it? (custom)

the-A-man

Guest Fri Jan 25, 2013 9:31 am

hi a man,yeah mate i think thats the direction i will head now after having a look around yesterday. Smile

chippy Sun May 05, 2013 7:54 pm

Cheers aurumpro your input is great advice thanks again

Guest Sun May 05, 2013 9:13 pm

To suit my needs , I have an old rabbit trap pick & that does fine for me. I don`t dig trench sized holes ,so the one foot handle length is convenient enough to carry on a belt without getting in the way & the shape & thickness of the metal in the pick is designed to dig hard ground to set rabbit traps in. Now it is used for finding prospecting targets.I am very OLD SCHOOL in my ways.

hard to find a decent pick these days.