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Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook

Tools (continued)

Tools for Digging and Tamping

Shovels. Shovels are available in various blade shapes and handle lengths. A No. 2 shovel is standard. A smaller No. 1 shovel can be used. Fire shovels are good for scraping soil well off the trail.

When shifting or scooping materials, bend your knees and lift with your legs, not your back. Use your thigh as a fulcrum to push the shovel against. This makes the handle an efficient lever and saves your energy and your back. A shovel used with a pick or bar is most effective; picks or bars make prying with the shovel unnecessary.

Digging and Tamping Bars. A digging and tamping bar is about the same length as a rockbar, but much lighter. It is designed with a chisel tip for loosening dirt or rocks and a flattened end for tamping. These bars are not prying tools.

Tools for Brushing

Lopping Shears and Pruning Shears. Lopping and pruning shears are similar in design and use, although lopping shears have longer handles to improve reach and may have gear drives to increase leverage for thicker stems. Cutting edges vary, but generally one blade binds and cuts a stem against an anvil or beveled hook. We recommend the hook and blade shear for overhead cuts because the curved blades transfer the weight of the shears to the limb. The compound style cuts saplings better than hand saws or axes.

Bank Blades and Brush Hooks. Bank blades and brush hooks are designed specifically for cutting through thickets of heavy brush or saplings. Use them for clearing work that is too heavy for a scythe and not suited for an ax.

Swedish Brush (Sandvik) Axes. These clearing tools work well in brushy thickets or when clearing in rocky or confined areas.

Weed Cutters (Grass Whips). Weed cutters are used for cutting light growth like grasses and annual plants that grow along trails. They are lightweight and durable and usually swung like a golf club.

Power Weed Cutters. Several manufacturers make “weed whackers,” motorized weed cutters that use plastic line to cut weeds. Some have blades that substitute for the line. These can be a good option for mowing grass and weeds on trails. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for safe use and operation. Eye protection is especially important.

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