Lightweight Aluminum

Lightweight Aluminum MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 34-5-18 About 10 years ago Greg Bennett took a camping trip with his teenage sons into Arizona's Superstition Mountains to dig for gold by the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. They wanted a shovel that wouldn't break so they bolted an aluminum handle on a steel shovelhead. "During that trip I realized aluminum makes a great handle," Bennett says. So, he invested in a press and dies to stamp out his own aluminum tools. He gave them to family and friends to test. Three years ago, he and his sons started selling shovels, hoes, and posthole diggers. "Every tool is guaranteed for life," Bennett says. "They're virtually unbreakable. You'll be able to pass them down to your children and grandchildren." Landscapers are some of his biggest customers. Though they aren't meant for use as a pry bar, Bennett says landscapers have told him they use the shovels to pry out stumps. As they develop products, Bennett listens to ideas from his customers and his wife. Her suggestions led to a unique hoe design with two sharp edges and one side with a jagged edge to pull out weeds. They recently started anodizing the tools to harden them up to 70 on the Rockwell scale to hold their edge. It also eliminates any electrical conductivity. Prices are similar to quality fiberglass handle tools available at big box stores: Hoe (1 1/2 lbs.) $28; shovel (3 lbs.) $48; and post-hole digger (8 lbs.) $75, plus $10 shipping anywhere in the contiguous U.S. Folks who never break handles may not need his tools, Bennett notes, but he knows there are plenty of people who appreciate quality tools that won't break. "I want to sell everybody just one," he laughs. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bennhurley, Inc., 2436 Wallace Ave., Spartanburg, S.C. 29302 (ph 877 259-4376; www.bennhurleyshovels.com).

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