[Closed] McLeod tool?

No supplier in UK...imba UK tried to get a deal a few years ago but don't think it lasted.

balls

Out of interest, what's it for?

Try taking a pattern for one to a local blacksmith.

raking, digging, flattening, trail maintenance in one tool.........or so I think.

Ours are made by one of our trailbuilders who's also a dab hand at welding, think they're basically long-handled spades with the end cut off and reattached, and teeth cut into one side. But it does have to be[i] strong.[/i]

Never seen a long handled space.

Connor McLeod of the clan McLeod?

In with the edit at 14 mins and 50 seconds 😉

Friend of mine was looked at getting some sent over from the US and came out at $50 for shipping the heads only for two.

Asphalt rakes not too bad a substitute for the raking / shaping / tamping bit. Wonder if someone with welding skillz could add a sharp-ish edge plate to a heavy duty rake to make a FrankenMcLeod, rather than starting with a spade like Northwave mentioned?

ask mr agreeable - the [url=

trails group[/url] have a few.

marty - Member

Wonder if someone with welding skillz could add a sharp-ish edge plate to a heavy duty rake to make a FrankenMcLeod,

I've wondered if maybe a tamper could be modified more easily... Grind a sharp edge onto a couple of faces and rake teeth into another. They tend to be pretty heavy and might not be durable for the side-blows though.

(I like a heavier macleod, I'm absolutely feeble so it's good to let the tool do the work)

The ones we have predate my involvement with trail maintenance. I'm still not sure where they came from but apparently they were hella dear and this was 10-15 years ago.

I know quite a few trail builders who don't really rate McLeods at all - it's a sort of jack of all trades master of none thing. Certainly digging with one for any length of time is abut as practical as trying to use your eye socket as a spanner.

I did make some drawings of ours for the guys over at Forest of Dean who wanted to fabricate their own, and I'm happy to forward these to anyone who's interested (disclaimer: my precision engineering blueprint was mostly created in MS Paint).

I know quite a few trail builders who don't really rate McLeods at all - it's a sort of jack of all trades master of none thing. Certainly digging with one for any length of time is abut as practical as trying to use your eye socket as a spanner.

I know the guy who made/makes them for the D&G trailbuilders 😉
Same style ad Northwind has mention. Buy good quality spade. Cut of shank, weld to centre of spade. Take angle grinder with cutting disc and cut rake end. Job done 😆
Got my own one made from boiler grade steel when my son worked for an industrial boiler maker 😀 gave it away ❗
I also made a "tamper" from a piece of U shaped channel, was quite heavy ❓

We have one at Stainburn (SingletrAction), it was imported. Gisburn Trailbuilders custom made one or two (the FC guy Martin had them made I think).
Personally, they are not worth importing at the high cost. As said above, other tools do raking and digging better. In addition to appropriate rakes/Mattocks/Hoes/spades/shovels etc, I'd probably buy a couple of Roughneck Earth Rammers for bashing down new laid aggregate/earth, £40 each or something like that.

"Roughneck Earth Rammer" is an awesome name for a tool. 🙂

V1 trailfairy homemade McLeods at Glentress broke at the weld IIRC. V2 versions looked more robust.

For local trails at the moment, a power de-minger would be quite handy.

I'm in the US, and I own 2 Mcleouds for trail work. They were originally developed as a forest/wild fire fighting tool in the western US.

The IMBA trail books and US trail training crews push the tool pretty hard as the best tool for trail work. When they work, they are extremely versatile and very effective. In my experience, they often work very well for the final grading of trail tread, dragging the tool along with the blade nearly perpendicular to the ground to cut off any high spots.

But it all depends on the soil conditions. Rocks (even small ones) and roots stop them cold. Also, if there is a lot of brush next to the trail, you really can't use them to drag loose soil off of the trail and spread it out downslope. While they're alright for some light tamping, they're not heavy enough to really compact a lot of dirt; get a purpose made tamper instead. I have lots of roots, rocks, and brush, so mine don't get used a whole lot.

Even in the US, I still paid a lot for shipping when I bought mine due to the length of the tools. If you want to try to get them w/o handles, I'd suggest trying [url= http://www.lambertonrake.com/ ]Lamberton[/url] a small mom and pop business that makes their own. They are who I bought mine from and might be more willing than a big corporation to ship them w/o handles or whatever.

Northwind - modifying a tamper would not work IMO. The tamper head is much too heavy, and the tamper handle is way too short. And it is probably made of cast iron, and may break off if you cut teeth into it and such.

For use as a tamper, I'd strongly recommend the small (8"x8") tamper instead of the larger (10"x10") version. I have the big one, and using it is one heck of a workout to say the least! We just used it this evening building our first bermed turn.

The fiberglass handle is probably a good idea; I've replaced my wood handle once or twice already, a real PITA.

I've been trying for the last several years to figure out how to turn "The Tamper" into the latest workout craze to be promoted on infomercials for the Christmas season to make me millions of dollars...

[i]I'd suggest trying Lamberton[/i]
Yup, that was the folks that my friend tried. Very helpful.