[Brad B. Hillebrand]

Thought I would post some pictures on the end result of opening up a scoop. Overall, it wasn’t too difficult but you need to spend some time on it otherwise you can really mess up. The whole process takes about 3 hours. I posted pics of the tools you need.

I did the work from the back and first took a permanent marker and drew around the opening. I used a cutoff wheel to run along the top and bottom. For the ends, I used a step bit (not pictured) to drill out the correct circumference. I used a vice with a towel to hold the scoop.

Surprisingly, I though the die grinder would be “the” tool in the process but it wasn’t, as it turned out the pot metal just melted and made the tool worthless. After you get the rough areas cut out the files did the job. I used the circular file for the ends, the triangle file for removing larger pieces of metal and the flat file for finish work. You should only use the circular file at the ends as any of the others can ruin the turns.

It wasn’t too fun but it was fairly easy. Next I’ll get it dipped and use emery to smooth out any nicks…

Brad