# What do you guys use for tips on your homemade air spade?



## ForTheArborist (Aug 21, 2010)

I'm about to run out to the plumber's stores, and find some kind of fitting. What has worked successfully for any of you guys?


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 21, 2010)

A couple of reducers to gradually constrict the flow. 

Get a bunch of sizes so you can play with it till it works how you want.

Use a ball valve as a a controler, trigger assemblies cost way too much.

I saw one with an old funnel on the end for a splatter guard.

I've been told that parts are <$50US


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## TreeClimber57 (Aug 21, 2010)

I want to make one, but have yet to see somebody actually post a list of what they used, or a video of it.. preferably in use as well. So.. until now all I have is hearsay that they actually work well. Still waiting..


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## mckeetree (Aug 21, 2010)

My two are "store bought" in order not to look like a ridiculous hillbilly with a magic piece of PVC.


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## TreeClimber57 (Aug 21, 2010)

mckeetree said:


> My two are "store bought" in order not to look like a ridiculous hillbilly with a magic piece of PVC.



Well I am leaning that way still.. but was waiting to see if anybody had successfully made one, and how non-hillbilly it looked.


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## mckeetree (Aug 21, 2010)

TreeClimber57 said:


> Well I am leaning that way still.. but was waiting to see if anybody had successfully made one, and how non-hillbilly it looked.



I have only seen one homemade air spade. It was owned by Triple T Tree Service in Tyler,Texas. When I got my camera to get a picture of it they threw it behind some shrubs and started screaming at me that I was a sorry MF. I never got the picture.... it was turning into too much of a hassle and besides I already had those hillbillies stirred up.


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## ForTheArborist (Aug 21, 2010)

mckeetree said:


> My two are "store bought" in order not to look like a ridiculous hillbilly with a magic piece of PVC.



That is the general idea if you're actually "in business," but if you have the touch, then whatever you do looks good or at least can pass for the time being to people. 

Well, the rental shop has what they call a blow pipe for their compressors. It's a 3/4" steel pipe with a cut off valve that hooks up to the 3/4" Dixon connector at the end of their hoses. 

I went ahead and picked up some fittings form the Home Depot. It's simple stuff - a 3/4" screw on that reduces down to a 5/8". Then I bought a few closed end caps to screw up to the 5/8" side of it. It's all they have to work worth  I could have waited until Monday to get into pro plumber supply shop, but I about doing that.

Now with these screw on caps I'm going to drill the holes in them, and find the right diameter of exit for blasting. If I mess one up, I have two more in the bucket. 

I'm thinking 1/4" exit hole is the safest way to go. I know I read something about an 8mm exit that the guy had the best luck with. He posted a pick on the Tree World site. That is to small I think . Maybe too small is too dangerous coming out of a cap like that instead of a few inches of gradual reduction on down to the tip. I'm not sure about that.

I'll give it a run on Monday. If I don't reply, it might have blown up


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 22, 2010)

ForTheAction said:


> instead of a few inches of gradual reduction on down to the tip.



My understanding is that this construction will reduced turbulence in the air column, vs having it come out of a hole in a flat tip.


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## ForTheArborist (Aug 22, 2010)

There really should be something out there that is exactly what I'm looking for. Anybody can imagine what the right end looks like. I spent over an hour searching online for the right piece, and I found nothing. I could probably drum it up in plumber forums.


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 22, 2010)

ForTheAction said:


> There really should be something out there that is exactly what I'm looking for. Anybody can imagine what the right end looks like. I spent over an hour searching online for the right piece, and I found nothing. I could probably drum it up in plumber forums.



You spend more time trying to save money than you do trying to do the right thing. In man hours alone, I bet you went over 2 grand! Depending on your man hour rate.
Jeff


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 22, 2010)

ForTheAction said:


> There really should be something out there that is exactly what I'm looking for.
> There is , but you won't buy it!
> Jeff


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 22, 2010)

jefflovstrom said:


> ForTheAction said:
> 
> 
> > There really should be something out there that is exactly what I'm looking for.
> ...



What would that be... and AirSpade???!!! 

I know several people who made them out of black-pipe and standard hardware store fittings. Two or three reducers will get you to where you want to be. They work around 75% of what you get from an AirSpade or AirKnife, worse in dry clay.


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 22, 2010)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> What would that be... and AirSpade???!!!
> 
> I know several people who made them out of black-pipe and standard hardware store fittings. Two or three reducers will get you to where you want to be. They work around 75% of what you get from an AirSpade or AirKnife, worse in dry clay.



And a 45 degree nozzle?
Jeff


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## sawkiller (Aug 22, 2010)

Been plumbing for a while now and an airspade has become part of the job especially in the chemical and power plants where we do alot of our work.
I always liked a pipe that was heated and beat almost flat on the last 8-10" of the end leaving maybe a 1/8" inch flat "knife" of air. If you get into real hard loomy clay sometimes a point works better but as was mentioned earlier the longer you keep the air in the same formation the less turbulence you will have and the more concentrated and directable the flow will be. Also the funnel and some duct tape is a must and your chaps will help to. Also another big thing is get a momentary valve that you have to hold open for air to come out this way if you drop it or an emergency happens where you need to drop it the air automaticly shuts of. Even a very heavy one with the proper nozzle and volume of air has the potential to take off when dropped don't ask how i know. I also know a fella that got 30 some stitches in his face from a one of the chicago coupling that a simple pin or piece of bailing wire would have prevented. Believe me that hose will whip your but use a pin in the coupling.


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## ropensaddle (Aug 22, 2010)

Ok so as I figured homemade ones work so how much compressor is needed will the on board air my bucket has work?


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## TreeClimber57 (Aug 22, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Ok so as I figured homemade ones work so how much compressor is needed will the on board air my bucket has work?



not unless a lot bigger than mine - these suckers need between 150 to 300 cfm


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 22, 2010)

Yeah, 90 psi , 190cfm
Jeff


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## ropensaddle (Aug 22, 2010)

jefflovstrom said:


> Yeah, 90 psi , 190cfm
> Jeff



Ok thanks I will make a pto powered compressor then and use a 100 gallon butane tank I have for storage :monkey:????


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## ForTheArborist (Aug 23, 2010)

Note taken. I'm going to look for the safety cut off mechanism, and I'll look into a 45 degree nozzle. For right now I just want to do this job the hard way, so I know what the true value of the work/service and added accessories are. That's how it goes - figure out every part of the work from the bottom up.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 23, 2010)

I don't like the 45* on the end, having it all straight makes it easy to work. You follow a root and the dirt peels off.

One thing to watch for is any wounding you do, say pruning a rootm will open the bark for peeling. You can strip a root very easy if not carefull. I use this on embedded girdlers that I cannot get out.

For PPE I wear a full face respirator and a storm shell jacket. It helps, but grit still gets in all the nooks and crannies.

The full face repirator works so much better then a mouth/nose unit and goggles. A lot less fogging, with no back-blast debris pelting your cheeks....


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## jefflovstrom (Aug 23, 2010)

To each his own!
Jeff


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