Can this garden fork be saved?

[Dawn419]

I posted about killing my garden fork (yesterday) over in my journal and decided to post about it here, too, in hopes of being able to save it. Been using this for nearly 15 years and am hoping "she" can be rescued/rebuilt/remedied.

Doc brought me home a new one last night but it has a wooden handle and I don't see that lasting out here (or me, for that matter).

 

[the funny farm6]

ouch. i have put new handles in them, but with the metal bent where it is i dont know.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

If you can find a piece of steel pipe just a bit smaller than the place where it's bent... You might remove the handle, drive a 6" piece of the heavy pipe into it where it's bent after heating it up and straightening it out a bit then replace the handle.

Of course you can just straighten it out and weld a piece of steel to both sides of where it's bent to brace and re-enforce it. It would look ugly, but would work.





Don't ask the "too cheap to buy new" farm boy how he knows that....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

MFB's idea is similar to what I was gonna say.... my idea was take another section of pipe and weld a 'sleeve' around the injured piece - after you straighten it as best you can... I dunno though ... might make it too heavy

 

[Wannabefree]

I agree with those two ^^^^^ It's what I'd do, because I'm cheap too. We had one with a rebar handle

 

[Joel_BC]

A possible problem with using pipe might be that pipe is cylindrical, while the shank of the metal portion of that fork is tapered.

It's possible that heating the sheet-metal shank portion then driving a piece of pipe of the right size into it (temporarily) might enable straightening it out. Once reshaped to the old conformation, then maybe something could be welded or brazed around the outside of the weak area - like maybe a piece of shaped sheet steel - to reinforce it. I don't think that would make it very much heavier than it is.

Have doc look at it.

 

[baymule]

I just want to know how you bent the darn thing!!

 

[~gd]

JMO but it might be better to cut the kink out and replace section with Pipe or both internal abd external reenforcing {not rebar it is made to bend easy)~gd

 

[Dawn419]

I just want to know how you bent the darn thing!!

Well...I was in the mood for armor-plated possum aka possum on the half shell aka armadillo for dinner one evening and I used the fork as a harpoon as I chased it through our woods. Many of the hardwood trees just threw it right back at me and all was well. Until....the armor-plated possum aka possum on the half shell aka armadillo found one of its burrows under a huge rock. Instead of dousing myself in olive oil to be able to worm my way into it's burrow, I decided to use the 4 pronged harpoon as a garden fork and remove that boulder it had a burrow under. Needless to say... the armor-plated possum aka possum on the half shell aka armadillo won and still hasn't made it to the dinner table...





















In all seriousness after that "the full moon is coming" ramble, it already had that weak spot when it was gifted to me years ago. I should be proud that she has survived me for 15 years! I will use the fine China fork for now ( ), with a cheery smile and when I kill it, I will smile that "smile"...you know the one!


I truly appreciate everyone's replies and one day the "old gal" will be rebuilt into a Franken-fork. Don't care what it looks like, as long as I can still use it. I like it because the handle is fiberglass so it's really light-weight.

Doc seems dubious about any metal work repairs at this time. Not knocking him, but I think he's giving up on her too soon. I'm determined (stubborn) that way, though. He'll be off for a week on Friday and I'll wait until he goes back to work and cut down some hickory saplings, fire-harden them and then break out the duct tape and zip ties and really make the old gal a Franken-fork!

If he sees my determination in giving the old girl a new life, maybe he'll agree to drop her off at the metal/machine shop just up the road from us. I could request this, right off the bat, but I'd rather have some fun, first!


It's all the full moons fault!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Bravooooo! What a performance, lol! I knew I liked you...