Great tool. As a former irrigator in Texas there are few places this tool would work due to heavy clay, rocks, roots and hard, dry, compacted soils. The job site you are on us a perfect setting. Good video, Dan - continued success. (I remember several jobs in the Texas Hill Country where I had to rent rock saws for burying lines).
William Keith solid limestone about 10 miles to the west of me here in northern lower Michigan but I work all of northern lower from close to mid state up to the tip of the mitt. I use it on about 70% of my jobs. Made the first one about 3yrs ago. Thanks for the comment, Dan
I should have read farther before I commented but, yeah, Im in South Texas and the gumbo clay defies anything except a sharp narrow blade. Roots and rocks also? Fuggedaboutit.
You have no idea how much you've saved my lower back, knees, and a lot time (not to mention cursing)! Will definitely will be checking this tool out, thank you and God bless.
I'm a new generation network engineer. Thank you for your lesson. Also may I say I appreciate your education it is much more useful than anything a university could show me
Dang! I just came across your video while trolling TH-cam for interesting stuff and I am thoroughly impressed with your honest and humble presentation. I am a chick, I don't need to dig a trench or lay a cable underground, but I like your video so much that as soon as I get a job, I'm going to come back here and buy one of your trenchers! Keep up the good work, my brother! Honesty and humility are more valuable now than ever before! I've "liked" and shared to my massive friends list (of 48, last count)! LOL! You're a good man.
Please don't buy just because! Remember that a "chick" can do any job a dude can so if you land a job putting in cables get a hold of me and I'll front you one. You're truly a sweetheart and I wish only the best life has to offer for you.
I would love to get a job digging trenches and laying cable! I'm looking for work right now and I think any honest work is good work. Too bad I'm in Colorado, or I'd come knocking on your office door, ready to work, with my new, free cable-laying trench-digger, courtesy ~YOU~! Ha, ha!!! You're a good man, Dan. But, I said that already! Live long and prosper!
I just used my 10 inch Wilton Spade to knock out 300 feet of direct burial Ethernet cable in about 2 hours just after a fresh rain. Saved me a ton of time and work.
Shipping via UPS ground is average $36. I use boron steel for the blades - cost 27$, steel pipe - 8$, welding rod plus the electricity I figure 5$, about 4$ for the paint, Rubber coat for the handle is 5$, steel cutting blades (boron is 4× harder than regular steel plate) 5$, I'd say 1$ for cardboard n tape to package it. Last but not least. About 3 hrs to build, paint, package and do the office work part. All included into the 155$ price tag. If I were to run this as a business and hire a welder.. by the time I pay that welders wages and the taxes on that person. (because the government makes the business pay taxes on an employee's wages also) A welder should make at least 15$per hour. (The guys I know make around 20 an hour) With the cutting, welding, grinding, painting and packaging it really does take more than an hour to do all of that. The cheapest welding company I can find is 60$ an hour. So at 140$ I'd be making almost nothing. Making it impossible to even get a shop.. and forget about insurance or employee benefits. That's why I make them myself! Thanks for reading, Dan
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade You're doing the right thing. You either have to continue making them yourselves and keep the price about where it is (which isn't bad in my opinion) or you need to make a detailed business proposal and try to get a business loan from a bank somewhere and use that to buy the materials in bulk and possibly streamline your production. Now that Trump is El Presidente, it might be easier to get a business loan in the near future. Go Trump!!!
Looks impressive, We have some lots of clay in Missouri, wonder if you could offer a narrower version, Not sure even with my 300# I'd be able to sink that... Can't with most shovels.. Looks nice and heavy, any chance it would stand up to a 'T' post driver? Cost wise you're golden! about the same as a 4 hour rent on a trencher.
Whit Elfner I'm looking into making various sizes. I'd want to prove that they'd work in those situations and it's a little frozen here in the tip of the mitt. We got some good sticky areas to try out when it thaws. Subscribe n you'll be notified when we get to that point.
Whit Elfner it would stand up to a driver but that would compromise the electrical insulation plus you'd never be able to push the ground open with it driven in like that. It needs to be worked in like I show in this video. Fairly tough ground here but it's just a how-to video. th-cam.com/video/d4tAzhspYXo/w-d-xo.html
I bought the tool and liked what I saw. Took it out in the back yard (sandy loam in Northern Indiana) to give it a try and couldn't get it in the ground by jumping up and down on it. So today I tried it for real and painted a line in the grass to bury 80' of UF cable. No go. I sharpened it to a knife edge. Wife and I are now using the Bobcat with pallet forks spaced 8" apart and are pushing down with the weight of the machine to where the front whaeels are off the ground. Wife is operating the Bobcat while I rock the spade back and forth. Two hours in and we're about 1/3 done. Wife says she will never help me again with anything. It obviously works in some soils as I saw it work in the video.
This is no doubt the 'must have tool' for anyone whose job involves burying wire or cable. Dan is awesome to work with and stands behind his product with great service. Saves time, saves blisters, saves money. Don't leave home without it! Thank you Dan, for this innovation that is making such a difference in the lives of cable guys everywhere!
Very resourceful implement. I like your trench closing dance to bro. Love to see people make cool things that make the job easier. Congratulations. Hope you sell a shit ton of them and get paid big time!
Always a good idea to take a photo and store it away for the future. Guaranteed someone will need to dig there in future. Nice to be able to reference exact location and not rely on memory or landscape landmarks which will fade over time quickly.
Looks like a very soft lawn. In Missouri out in the wood where I live, you only have to go 4 inches down to hit rocks. It's pick and shovels here my man.
I love this simple bare-bones solution. I just wanted to run about a 50 foot underground Cat5 cable to my back shed from my house. Watched another video where a guy runs 3/4 inch electrical pipe spends hundreds of dollars and a couple days labor doing what you just did in a few minutes. This is just what I needed. Simple is sometimes the best. The other guy says his solution will last 20-30 years, but guess what ? Ethernet will likely be obsolete in 5 years. And no reason to think your solution won't last just as long. Thanks again..
Ok im back with the feedback. This tool is excellent & very solid. It has increased my $$$. I also have surf the internet for countless hrs & was very surprised a tool of this kind didnt exist...WELL NOW IT DOES! Its worth every penny & it comes from a guy who works the field so he knows the demands of this line of work. A lot of these tools are designed buy guys who sit behind desk with zero field experience therefore are not made proper & break easily. U will be very satisfied with this product. I will be ordering a 2nd one soon...
Thanks for the awesome feedback! I'm glad you like it. Helping guys like us get our work done faster, easier and with less cleanup by a tool that isn't going to break is exactly why I created it.
Hey bro that is freaking awesome!!!! I did similar work with a spade shovel for irrigation but it took a lot more work with a shovel! You have created a wonderful tool. Good job it's guys like you that give inspiration to others to make our blue collar work worth its while! Thank you
Well............received the spade this afternoon. INITIALLY DISAPPOINTED . My intention was to use this for installing water lines in North Florida as I am a water treatment contractor. No rocks here. Lots of sand but we have a lot of dirt too. The spade came very well protected in cardboard and VERY heavy and VERY WELL made. I had a very hard time piercing the ground ( I though we supposed to have loose sandy soil) and I weigh 200+ lbs. Then I realized.... this is where I sometimes park the truck. Duh..... Very compacted ground. Then, I went to a part of my lawn where I'd bury pipe if doing a normal job. WOW! Went right in and deep! Worked back and forth a 4 or five times and was able to shove a 1 inch pvc pipe in the trench. LOVE this thing. It's gonna make our jobs much faster, easier, and neater! This is worth every penny I paid for it. The guys who say they will make one never will Mr. Wilton, don't pay any attention to the cheapskate whiners that never had an original idea in their lives who say it's overpriced, or they will make it themselves, It isn't and they won't. I love to see successful entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition! Thank you and good luck!
jolo dude! First of all I want to thank you for posting what I'm gonna call... your review. Second.. calling me Mr. is like putting plumbing in an outhouse. Third, I'm totally stoked about the spade making your job easier. That's my main goal with doing this. Earning a few extra dollars from my garage after a regular work day is a bonus.
Funny because this tools look exactly like the ice pick ice chopper I bought at my local hardware store one winter! It's heavy, cuts through thick ice, and was only $38 ..only real difference is, it's painted.
The problem is that he doesn't make it clear that it is not for electrical lines (above 50 volts), and also, many of us who live in areas where you have to use a pry bar and a sledge hammer to plant a tulip bulb, find it quite humorous. I am sure it is a great tool in many applications, and I hope he makes a million dollars before the Chinese steal his idea and sell them at Harbor Freight for a fraction of his cost.
Well SHIT, if you're WATCHING this,.. maybe you should have a little common sense. GUESS YT ain't fer the WHOLE county,... and again,.. JUST SAYIN... it's about what we as a NATION believe. Good for these men who've found what they see as an easier way. It will be US that take back/ GIVE back to the individuals that are most deserved. OUR VETS COME FIRST. Don't want to make this a political thing but if you got any sense at ALL, you'll understand. Sorry ZZRSC, didn't mean to post this as a reply to YOU personally, but everyone in general.
I love this idea. So quick and convenient. I have used this method before to install a sprinkler system. I just made the trench one inch wide just enough to push the pipes down and then cover it up. I only used the shovel for the valve boxes 😎
So grateful I found your video! We ordered your 6 inch trench tool and used it to lay an underground dog fence wire. The tool was a dream to use and the ground really does close back easily to hire your work once the wire is laid. You can barely tell we laid wire. Thanks!
for anyone interested,,, burying yellow caution tape in this trench a few inches from the surface help eliminate a chopped wire in the future from digging, or post holes, etc.
Very good video! You're right, the homeowner would be hard pressed to find that groove in the lawn, mow the lawn once and it would be impossible. The tool reminds me of an over grown and much sturdier garden bed edger. Good Job and good luck. I'm following you guys on Facebook now.
I work for a big telephone company and you don't know how many customers call in stupid repairs because the service wire wasn't buried deep enough. This tool needs to be in every contractors hands! You should also put together a tool that pushes the wire down just to ensure the wire gets deep enough. Maby a just a handle with a piece of 1/4 inch pipe cut in half at the end basically making a T. Just an idea. Great vid
elyh777 I do mostly residential replacement because of shallow buries. Many of the drops are short runs.. 40 to 100 ft and can be done quickly. Although a miss dig needs to be in place it seems to me that quite a bit of money could be saved on these short replacements. I only use these spades in areas where one wouldn't want to use a trencher/plow. Close quarters, irrigation, septic systems, private utilities ect. I'll use my locator then run the line to a safe location for running the plow and put the rest in at a minimum of 18" and up to 32" minimum in ROW. A good portion of these jobs have irrigation right up to the back side of a pedestal and I'll use the Spade from the nid to the backside of the pedestal. Feeling for the irrigation lines in the ground as I go. When I feel an irrigation line that is shallow the service line can easily be pushed underneath. . I very much appreciate your comment, Dan
Ha, ha, my brother used to have the largest garden plowing company in the city, and his workers were constantly hitting phone trunk lines and cable tv lines at less than 10" on the providers' side, not the customers'. This was before One Call was around. He had a lady that wanted a 12" deep bed for asparagus, so the worker set the Gravely rotary plow at the depth and promptly cut through a 1800 pair trunk line. It took ATT 3 days to repair it, and the reason it was running through her yard was because the right of way had some big tree roots they didn't want to deal with.
Safety is a minor setback to any project lol. After studying the design of the tool. I will be making one of my own. Without the Safety rubber handle. Instead I will be using a combination of duct tape and hockey stick tape. Thank you for the video friend 👍
Dan that's a first class tool in so many ways The impact to the yard is so little it's all most as if you were never there home owners love things like this. The cost of the tool is a good price range Yes the cheap it is the more you will sell but a sold well build tool that saves time the way this one does is well worth the price. you may check with the big box stores like Home D and Lows I thank they rent tools and this is one home -owners would rent after seeing your video of it in used Thanks for posting I will tell people I know that do this type of work of your tool. Dan thanks for posting as this tool is a must have for so many contractors like you for the cable like you did lights for out- side Invisible fencing for dogs Wire for secure or video units you may wish to hide around your home. Wire for IR Beams or detector letting you know someone is walking in your back or thanks for a job well done.
Sweet..If one has the tools and the time I strongly encourage it. Save some money and hit up the scrap yard for steel. I ran my junkyard dog for a long time and still have it! Learned some tricks for harder ground, rocks and roots. Kind of a crappy vid. It was getting dark and windy. I'm sure it'll help you when you start using your tool. Even in fairly tough ground 1/2" conduit is easily placed... as you move the spade back and forth the blade and handle act as a lever with the surface of the ground being the fulcrum and of course the blade being the the short side of the lever pushes the dirt under the cut further apart than the surface. You end up with an inch wide cut at the surface and the dirt underneath is pushed wider apart. I've put 1" irrigation line in at 8" deep. th-cam.com/video/d4tAzhspYXo/w-d-xo.html This is how it's done.
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade was wondering about running pic line with coaxial cable inside it to run out to an antenna away from the house. You just suggested it, I will go watch this video thank you! 👍 Love the tool & thank you for giving us the instructions on how to build one! 👍
In ideal soil the tool will work. Good luck trying to stick that in the soil in my area. Took a kid from Charter Communications about 2 hours to do a drop at my house at the same distance.
Great product. You might consider also selling thin, firm "sleeves" for feeding the cable into the trench (since not all cabling is firm enough to self feed) If the trench was wider, somebody could just use a 1/2 inch piece of pvc, cut to 3-4 feet. But with the thin trench, a thinner sleeve may add value to your "system." Cheers
Here in the north Georgia red clay/rock it would be impossible to get more than 2 inches deep. But I can see how this would be very useful in the right soil. I've used a lawn edger to dig for low voltage landscape lighting wire.
North GA here too - is there any specific county or NEC code for minimum depth of low voltage landscaping wire? Planning to install a system myself. How far did you bury yours?
@progression_decibel In the NEC 70, check out "Table 300.5(A) Minimum Cover Requirements". Column 5 Circuits for Control of Irrigation and Landscape Lighting Limited to Not More Than 30 Volts and Installed with Type UF or in Other Identified Cable or Raceway. The table shows low-voltage (no more than 30 volts) wiring must be buried at least 6 inches deep. BUT, there are certain conditions that must be compensated for dependent on your specific cabling circumstances.
@progression_decibel to be completely up to date on any local city/county regulations you can your local jurisdictional authority (code enforcement office) and they will be able to guide you through anything local that goes beyond the NEC minimum code.
@@MicahFunk Thank you. I watched some other videos on installing lighting and they alluded to 6 inches as a recommendation. I can def keep my code enforcement office in mind.
Not during that method in my soil either, got roots to worry about also. Years ago needed to bury power cable plus waterline, tried digging, gave up. rented a ditch witch, best $$ I ever spent
I’m currently digging post holes for a fence in the hill country of Texas. It takes about 3 hours per hole to get to 30” deep. If you go less deep it won’t last with the wind. Using galvanized posts for a 6’ privacy fence and I fill each hole with concrete
If you’re an owner then I say go rent a post hole digger. It’s cheap for the day and if you’re motivated you can get so many dug. If you’re an employee. Who’s also motivated. Haha. Then tell your boss he’s losing money paying you to hand dig and to stop being cheap and go rent that. lol.
@@Jamesg86yt It’s solid limestone here. Post hole diggers don’t work. I rented a 70lb breaker for the last two holes. It took 4 hours to dig those holes to 24” each.
Neat deal. Back in 70's was working at high school during summer and we buried a number of low voltage lines. They had some tool called a wire weasel. Had wheel to tool along ground and an adjustable blade that dropped behind the wheel to slice the trench. Could feed the wire thru it into the slice. In normal soil two guys could walk it across a yard. No idea where they got it. Have never seen another - not that I ever needed one after that to go searching.
I rode with a Paddock Pools construction supervisor in Flagstaff, Arizona. The plumbing crew used 60 pound electric demolition hammers to make trenches. I got a big kick out of it , cause here in Fla. one dedicated two foot stomp on a Razorback square point, sinks it so the hilt. In Az. you would bounce like riding a "pogo stick"...........lol....
Down here in south Mississippi we use a similar tool to plant pine trees only we call it a Dibble bar. This could be a very effective method to bury wire if not for underground root systems. Still a good video though. Keep them coming
Down here in south Mississippi we use a similar tool to plant pine trees only we call it a Dibble bar. This could be a very effective method to bury wire if not for underground root systems. Still a good video though. Keep them coming
That looks great for short runs. It was actually that very effect that caused me to invent a little adapter to my tractors box blade that allowed me to just drive along and bury the wire at the same time. I used a similar method to run water pipe all over our 7 acres. Only the junctions took any real time at all.
Good Job phone man that's just a way to make ure job easy and make money at the same time nothing wrong with that and for the jerks who think they can make it for $20 those won't last one lawn and they forget the time it takes you to cut,shape,temper the steel then tac weld it all together,good job!!
The soil in Az is made of calcium carbonate aka as Caliche. It is natures cement. Practically impenetrable. I know, I have to use a pick to even scratch the surface. Cable TV will lay the cable down and use the gravel in your landscape to cover it. How I wish for soil so penetrateble as your's. Great tool if you're not in caliche.
Looks great if you live in an area that would allow this but here in Georgia the dirt is hard rocky and full of roots. This thing would only work through yards that have been covered with top soil. Not to mention I mostly work through PVC hardly ever do any direct burial cable.
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade I'm a commercial electrician. I'm perfectly capable of doing residential work but for the most part I'm running raceways anywhere from 12 to 48 inches deep and and it's hardly ever small enough to install in a cut even if it were raited for direct burial. Commercial work can be a bit of a pain and it's never as quick and straight forward as this. Oh and I run anything from 12 awg to 5 parallel runs of 750 kcmil THWN copper. It's no fun and takes a whole crew of 5 to 6 guys a whole day to even get the wire in the raceway for a 100-300ft run when you have parallel pulls.
ghost307 it'll do the job. I used flat shovels for the first few years doing this job. Broke quite a few n found I hard to get the depth that the internet company requires. Thanks for the comment!
Its called slot feeding been doing it 30 years burying irrigation electric wire. , it is fast and he has a damn nice shovel... You can do it with a flat shove not as deep or good...
I might buy one. I'm worried about finding an unmarked-private-"handyman"-buried electric wire and get shocked. Does it have insulation of any kind or is just metal?
Great tool. definitely worth the money. just one thing doesn't code in your area say cable has to be in conduit underground unless it's steel wire armoured cable?
TheJunkyardgenius I fairly closely work with 17 counties in Northern lower Michigan. Some counties in Southern Michigan and some in northern Indiana and all have no issues with direct bury DSL / telephone or direct bury Broadband / cable. As far as I know.. at least for the areas that I work. Direct bury wire has no need for conduit and they've never had any issues with my depths which are regularly inspected.
I love innovative thinkers. I need a 50 foot trench but can justify the expense just for that. Wish I could rent one. Maybe you could get it out there to the rental companies. Great job, if you do this right, you have won the lottery. Good luck!
Wish I had one of those a year ago when I was running my landscape lighting! Nice idea. Innovation and it works. Good luck. I know where to get one if I ever do it again
There are definitely places where will not work well but it does a much better job cutting roots and breaking through harder somewhat rocky soil than a regular spade shovel.
These should be used ONLY for electrical cables that are less than 50volts. Any cable with more voltage has a minimum depth of 12 inches, and that's if it is ground fault protected. Remove that protection, the burial depth goes to a minimum 18", 24" if there is vehicle traffic.
Who cares about code ...... once its in no one knows how deep it is and conduit can be ran over by a truck and it wont bother it if its 1 inch under ... Code ....we all know its just a n other way for the powers that be to make us pay
guys I worked irrigation for years used a shovel. but man that tools awesome. instant saw how God it is and useful. I almost consider a tree handle on top. looks like it's got a good weight balance. not to heavy but enough to drive in dryer soils? I considering get one. just to have. good luck!
I Would just like to encourage folks to go to my channel and check out my other videos involving drop bury work. There's more videos of me using the spade on real job sites, techniques for using it, some equipment operation, working videos and even when a whitetail youngin walked right up next to us on a job site. Plus I'm going to be putting up some videos of what I do in the winter when I can't drop wire. It's some pretty cool and fun stuff! Thanks for reading this n hope you go check it out n subscribe! Dan
I ordered mine 9 days ago and looking forward to receiving it. Thank you for what looks like a brilliant innovation. I emailed you yesterday for tracking info to check on it. I ordered through PayPal. Do you offer tracking info for buyers? I know with the holiday mail, it may take a bit longer, but tracking info is one thing I forgot to ask about when I ordered it & Paypal doesn't offer it. Please let me know, or an idea of how long it usually takes to arrive (I'm in Florida). Thanx!
Thank you Dan, for getting back to me via email so quickly! And thank you for sending the tracking info. Can hardly wait till it gets here! This is an awesome tool for cable guys! I know one who has been a very good boy & Santa will be delivering one this year! :)
Will it clear a Troy Bilt Horse tiller? I don't think so... is 10" really deep enough? Anyway - nice idea, hope you make a bundle (but I run my own business, so I know the truth - it just ain't that easy, lol)... Good Luck Brother, Keep on Keepin on!
David Chambers you're absolutely right and I believe I mentioned that it would be used best in a more manicured area so that one doesn't have to run a trencher through a yard full of irrigation, septic systems and other closely grouped utilities. Alot of times there's only one way through when you're close to a residents home or business and it's better than digging a trench with a hand shovel is all I'm saying. It's great practice to talk over the route with the customer and come to an agreed-upon location for their service wire.
I've been using this for about a year at work on the daily to bury fiber drops, and would not trade it for any other style. Though, I do prefer the T-Handle style more. I do utilize a "wire poker" to poke the wire into the trench, instead of having to bend over so much. 👍👍
@@rossfricke2010 The one I use most days is sold by Ditch Witch. You can get it if you have a local dealer. Now I have modded that one as well. Look for a part called a "rope thimble" Imagine that on the end of a fiberglass rod which is about 3 ft long, with a t- handle.
@@rossfricke2010 you can use t handle water meter turn off key w narrow u shape end to assist putting it in the ground.. As for hand digging I prefer wolverine steel 15" shank shovel w rubber foot kick pad .. Just digging a hole w womper like in video and rolling wire ain't gonna fly if you're getting QC ed by a strict company. I roll the wire under my shovel as I'm moving along placing in the ground after the 1st pass was made... Takes practice otherwise wire gets camel backed instead of straight when buried.
James Nelson there's more videos on my channel that show it being used in other locations but yeah man.. I like the feeling of pulling up to a property where the irrigation just shut down! lol. It does help sometimes. Thanks for the comment!
That tool might work in sandy loam but it won't dent our baked gumbo clays. I'd love to give it a whirl and a review if you want to send me one. In the meantime, walk behind Ditch Witch is my go to.
Similar shapes tend to pop up in different places. That probably means both tools were well thought-out for jobs that look very different, but require about the same motion - sliding through (or under) other materials. If it's good enough to go through a human neck...
PLEASE! visit my channel th-cam.com/channels/w7h5zFe_VWnzdorUefkHBQ.html to see use of the spade on other properties with different soil conditions.Also note that..When referring to the customers as mine they're actually customers of the phone company that I work for. But of course I treat them like my own and they are NOT being charged for the service. The phone company flips the bill and even sends a crew to check for depth, quality and customer satisfaction.. as part of customers service plan. I've always been rated very high by customers and inspectors and hardly a day goes by that a customer doesn't see me using my spade and tell me that I should patent or produce them. The company I contract for even sets the price and tells me what they are going to pay me per job. As any drop bury contractor would know.. some jobs can be done in 10 minutes where while others take hours. So the customer actually Never gets screwed because they don't pay anything and I get paid really good for some and shit for others but It all equals out in the end. Thanks for Reading, Dan
+David Brown you can get along the side of most rocks pushing them away and you don't keep a sharp enough to slice through irrigation lines. Used it a few times and you'll be able to feel the difference between a root and a service line.
Hey man I don't know if you've thought of this but you could sell a secondary hand tool with this spade. Just imagine a thin pole design with a handle on one end and a roller for the cable on the other. And small anchor to hold the wire at one end. Sorry if this is a stupid idea, just my first thought after watching the video, although you did say the wire was firm enough to push to the bottom. Awesome tool and I wish you nothing but the best brother.
I love this tool bro! $100 to trench my own yard is an awesome price. I want to install my own sprinkler system, to hire a professional company just labor alone to trench the lines was $2000 .so to purchase a tool to trench my own yard to burie the lines for only a $100 to do it myself is just frikin awesome .
Great idea and a good looking tool that certainly would save a LOT of time and labor. I hope you do really well sir... Plus I learned something today. I had no idea boron was that much stronger than regular steel.
I really do appreciate the comments, good or bad! Even with the Chinese knock-offs and the Ditch Witch brand knock off and the others out there. I still have to make them every day to keep up with demand because those that have used the knock-offs decide that it is more cost-effective to spend their money on a good tool with a warranty instead of having to replace the cheap ones so often. More than a few companies in more than a few countries have told me the others are garbage and prefer to buy quality. It's the same reason that when I go to buy a pipe wrench... I'll buy $149 Ridgid brand instead of buying the same size one from Walmart for $29. There are a lot more people out there like that then one might think.
Joe Downey I've been telling folks to go to their local junkyard to find materials. Probably shouldn't say but I use some pretty thick boron for the blades.. just to ensure that it doesn't bend or crack. I'll send you $30 if you'll show me one you made. Thanks for the comment!
I buried 400’ of speaker wire back in 2001 at my old place, everyone called me crazy…. and the new owners there …..they’re still bumping to them sounds to this day. 🔊 🔊 🔊
Great tool. As a former irrigator in Texas there are few places this tool would work due to heavy clay, rocks, roots and hard, dry, compacted soils. The job site you are on us a perfect setting. Good video, Dan - continued success. (I remember several jobs in the Texas Hill Country where I had to rent rock saws for burying lines).
William Keith solid limestone about 10 miles to the west of me here in northern lower Michigan but I work all of northern lower from close to mid state up to the tip of the mitt. I use it on about 70% of my jobs. Made the first one about 3yrs ago. Thanks for the comment,
Dan
I should have read farther before I commented but, yeah, Im in South Texas and the gumbo clay defies anything except a sharp narrow blade. Roots and rocks also? Fuggedaboutit.
You have no idea how much you've saved my lower back, knees, and a lot time (not to mention cursing)! Will definitely will be checking this tool out, thank you and God bless.
I'm a new generation network engineer. Thank you for your lesson. Also may I say I appreciate your education it is much more useful than anything a university could show me
Dang! I just came across your video while trolling TH-cam for interesting stuff and I am thoroughly impressed with your honest and humble presentation. I am a chick, I don't need to dig a trench or lay a cable underground, but I like your video so much that as soon as I get a job, I'm going to come back here and buy one of your trenchers! Keep up the good work, my brother! Honesty and humility are more valuable now than ever before! I've "liked" and shared to my massive friends list (of 48, last count)! LOL! You're a good man.
Please don't buy just because! Remember that a "chick" can do any job a dude can so if you land a job putting in cables get a hold of me and I'll front you one. You're truly a sweetheart and I wish only the best life has to offer for you.
I would love to get a job digging trenches and laying cable! I'm looking for work right now and I think any honest work is good work. Too bad I'm in Colorado, or I'd come knocking on your office door, ready to work, with my new, free cable-laying trench-digger, courtesy ~YOU~! Ha, ha!!!
You're a good man, Dan. But, I said that already! Live long and prosper!
Sabonn Jones "
I just used my 10 inch Wilton Spade to knock out 300 feet of direct burial Ethernet cable in about 2 hours just after a fresh rain. Saved me a ton of time and work.
I'm getting ready to do that same thing.
Shipping via UPS ground is average $36. I use boron steel for the blades - cost 27$, steel pipe - 8$, welding rod plus the electricity I figure 5$, about 4$ for the paint, Rubber coat for the handle is 5$, steel cutting blades (boron is 4× harder than regular steel plate) 5$, I'd say 1$ for cardboard n tape to package it. Last but not least. About 3 hrs to build, paint, package and do the office work part. All included into the 155$ price tag. If I were to run this as a business and hire a welder.. by the time I pay that welders wages and the taxes on that person. (because the government makes the business pay taxes on an employee's wages also) A welder should make at least 15$per hour. (The guys I know make around 20 an hour) With the cutting, welding, grinding, painting and packaging it really does take more than an hour to do all of that. The cheapest welding company I can find is 60$ an hour. So at 140$ I'd be making almost nothing. Making it impossible to even get a shop.. and forget about insurance or employee benefits. That's why I make them myself!
Thanks for reading,
Dan
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade You're doing the right thing. You either have to continue making them yourselves and keep the price about where it is (which isn't bad in my opinion) or you need to make a detailed business proposal and try to get a business loan from a bank somewhere and use that to buy the materials in bulk and possibly streamline your production. Now that Trump is El Presidente, it might be easier to get a business loan in the near future. Go Trump!!!
Looks impressive, We have some lots of clay in Missouri, wonder if you could offer a narrower version, Not sure even with my 300# I'd be able to sink that... Can't with most shovels..
Looks nice and heavy, any chance it would stand up to a 'T' post driver?
Cost wise you're golden! about the same as a 4 hour rent on a trencher.
Whit Elfner I'm looking into making various sizes. I'd want to prove that they'd work in those situations and it's a little frozen here in the tip of the mitt. We got some good sticky areas to try out when it thaws. Subscribe n you'll be notified when we get to that point.
Whit Elfner it would stand up to a driver but that would compromise the electrical insulation plus you'd never be able to push the ground open with it driven in like that. It needs to be worked in like I show in this video. Fairly tough ground here but it's just a how-to video. th-cam.com/video/d4tAzhspYXo/w-d-xo.html
Good idea wow
I'd ask how you deal with rocky soil, but I'm guessing the same way everyone does. By cursing a lot.
lmfao
I don't think anything save for an axe works for rocky soil. On the flip side those don't tend to have such thick, luscious lawn either.
Lol
1 inch at a time. Sledgehammer plus trenching shovel.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Definitely! Hahahahahahaha I'm with ya man... east texas soil is red dirt and lots of Clichy rocks lol
I bought the tool and liked what I saw. Took it out in the back yard (sandy loam in Northern Indiana) to give it a try and couldn't get it in the ground by jumping up and down on it. So today I tried it for real and painted a line in the grass to bury 80' of UF cable. No go. I sharpened it to a knife edge. Wife and I are now using the Bobcat with pallet forks spaced 8" apart and are pushing down with the weight of the machine to where the front whaeels are off the ground. Wife is operating the Bobcat while I rock the spade back and forth. Two hours in and we're about 1/3 done. Wife says she will never help me again with anything. It obviously works in some soils as I saw it work in the video.
I used a shovel for this for years - this will definitely speed the process up. Just ordered one.
This is no doubt the 'must have tool' for anyone whose job involves burying wire or cable. Dan is awesome to work with and stands behind his product with great service. Saves time, saves blisters, saves money. Don't leave home without it! Thank you Dan, for this innovation that is making such a difference in the lives of cable guys everywhere!
What if I’m going to the airport?
What a brilliant tool, whoever said "Necessity is the mother of invention" sure was right.
Ray H. (From the U.K.)
Very resourceful implement. I like your trench closing dance to bro. Love to see people make cool things that make the job easier. Congratulations. Hope you sell a shit ton of them and get paid big time!
Always a good idea to take a photo and store it away for the future. Guaranteed someone will need to dig there in future. Nice to be able to reference exact location and not rely on memory or landscape landmarks which will fade over time quickly.
Very true! More often than not homeowners take a photo for their records.
Yes. Definitely Homeowners responsibility. I always suggest it but they rarely do it.
Looks like a very soft lawn. In Missouri out in the wood where I live, you only have to go 4 inches down to hit rocks. It's pick and shovels here my man.
I love this simple bare-bones solution. I just wanted to run about a 50 foot underground Cat5 cable to my back shed from my house.
Watched another video where a guy runs 3/4 inch electrical pipe spends hundreds of dollars and a couple days labor doing what you just did in a few minutes.
This is just what I needed. Simple is sometimes the best. The other guy says his solution will last 20-30 years, but guess what ? Ethernet will likely be obsolete in 5 years. And no reason to think your solution won't last just as long. Thanks again..
This hasn’t aged well lol
Ok im back with the feedback. This tool is excellent & very solid. It has increased my $$$. I also have surf the internet for countless hrs & was very surprised a tool of this kind didnt exist...WELL NOW IT DOES! Its worth every penny & it comes from a guy who works the field so he knows the demands of this line of work. A lot of these tools are designed buy guys who sit behind desk with zero field experience therefore are not made proper & break easily. U will be very satisfied with this product. I will be ordering a 2nd one soon...
Thanks for the awesome feedback! I'm glad you like it. Helping guys like us get our work done faster, easier and with less cleanup by a tool that isn't going to break is exactly why I created it.
Hey bro that is freaking awesome!!!! I did similar work with a spade shovel for irrigation but it took a lot more work with a shovel! You have created a wonderful tool. Good job it's guys like you that give inspiration to others to make our blue collar work worth its while! Thank you
David Anthony Thank You David!
Homeowner here working on a diy irrigation system I'll definitely be ordering the 6 inch one to run my lines.
Man that's a awesome tool, I've seen it at work before and I will be in touch with you shortly before spring.
Well............received the spade this afternoon. INITIALLY DISAPPOINTED . My intention was to use this for installing water lines in North Florida as I am a water treatment contractor.
No rocks here. Lots of sand but we have a lot of dirt too.
The spade came very well protected in cardboard and VERY heavy and VERY WELL made.
I had a very hard time piercing the ground ( I though we supposed to have loose sandy soil) and I weigh 200+ lbs.
Then I realized.... this is where I sometimes park the truck. Duh..... Very compacted ground. Then, I went to a part of my lawn where I'd bury pipe if doing a normal job.
WOW! Went right in and deep! Worked back and forth a 4 or five times and was able to shove a 1 inch pvc pipe in the trench. LOVE this thing. It's gonna make our jobs much faster, easier, and neater! This is worth every penny I paid for it. The guys who say they will make one never will
Mr. Wilton, don't pay any attention to the cheapskate whiners that never had an original idea in their lives who say it's overpriced, or they will make it themselves, It isn't and they won't. I love to see successful entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition!
Thank you and good luck!
jolo dude! First of all I want to thank you for posting what I'm gonna call... your review. Second.. calling me Mr. is like putting plumbing in an outhouse. Third, I'm totally stoked about the spade making your job easier. That's my main goal with doing this. Earning a few extra dollars from my garage after a regular work day is a bonus.
Funny because this tools look exactly like the ice pick ice chopper I bought at my local hardware store one winter! It's heavy, cuts through thick ice, and was only $38 ..only real difference is, it's painted.
Damn, why so many haters on a couple of hard working guys trying to make something of themselves? Keep it up fellas......
reversecourse thanks for the great comment!
vachief ...wrong !!! this is ultra low voltage and has no amps and it's signal wire... update your n.e.c. information
The problem is that he doesn't make it clear that it is not for electrical lines (above 50 volts), and also, many of us who live in areas where you have to use a pry bar and a sledge hammer to plant a tulip bulb, find it quite humorous. I am sure it is a great tool in many applications, and I hope he makes a million dollars before the Chinese steal his idea and sell them at Harbor Freight for a fraction of his cost.
vachief even worse, you implied he was dumb and not you...know what you're talking about or walk on by...ass.
Well SHIT, if you're WATCHING this,.. maybe you should have a little common sense. GUESS YT ain't fer the WHOLE county,... and again,.. JUST SAYIN... it's about what we as a NATION believe. Good for these men who've found what they see as an easier way. It will be US that take back/ GIVE back to the individuals that are most deserved. OUR VETS COME FIRST. Don't want to make this a political thing but if you got any sense at ALL, you'll understand. Sorry ZZRSC, didn't mean to post this as a reply to YOU personally, but everyone in general.
I love this idea. So quick and convenient. I have used this method before to install a sprinkler system. I just made the trench one inch wide just enough to push the pipes down and then cover it up. I only used the shovel for the valve boxes 😎
Very solid video. I'm a field engineer for phone company in NW and this helped me understand how our contractors direct bury fiber drops.
The most trustiest tool I’ve ever used! Thank you for designing this
Glad you like it!
Great idea!
If you’re in this line of work this tool would pay for itself with the time you’d save digging a trench. I think it’s worth the money.
So grateful I found your video! We ordered your 6 inch trench tool and used it to lay an underground dog fence wire. The tool was a dream to use and the ground really does close back easily to hire your work once the wire is laid. You can barely tell we laid wire. Thanks!
Thank you Karen, I'm glad you like it!
for anyone interested,,, burying yellow caution tape in this trench a few inches from the surface help eliminate a chopped wire in the future from digging, or post holes, etc.
Very good video! You're right, the homeowner would be hard pressed to find that groove in the lawn, mow the lawn once and it would be impossible. The tool reminds me of an over grown and much sturdier garden bed edger. Good Job and good luck. I'm following you guys on Facebook now.
Bob Wood thank you!
I work for a big telephone company and you don't know how many customers call in stupid repairs because the service wire wasn't buried deep enough. This tool needs to be in every contractors hands! You should also put together a tool that pushes the wire down just to ensure the wire gets deep enough. Maby a just a handle with a piece of 1/4 inch pipe cut in half at the end basically making a T. Just an idea. Great vid
elyh777 I do mostly residential replacement because of shallow buries. Many of the drops are short runs.. 40 to 100 ft and can be done quickly. Although a miss dig needs to be in place it seems to me that quite a bit of money could be saved on these short replacements. I only use these spades in areas where one wouldn't want to use a trencher/plow. Close quarters, irrigation, septic systems, private utilities ect. I'll use my locator then run the line to a safe location for running the plow and put the rest in at a minimum of 18" and up to 32" minimum in ROW. A good portion of these jobs have irrigation right up to the back side of a pedestal and I'll use the Spade from the nid to the backside of the pedestal. Feeling for the irrigation lines in the ground as I go. When I feel an irrigation line that is shallow the service line can easily be pushed underneath. . I very much appreciate your comment, Dan
I usually use a piece of conduit with a notch cut into the end to push the wire to the bottom if it doesn't want to stay down.
Ha, ha, my brother used to have the largest garden plowing company in the city, and his workers were constantly hitting phone trunk lines and cable tv lines at less than 10" on the providers' side, not the customers'. This was before One Call was around. He had a lady that wanted a 12" deep bed for asparagus, so the worker set the Gravely rotary plow at the depth and promptly cut through a 1800 pair trunk line. It took ATT 3 days to repair it, and the reason it was running through her yard was because the right of way had some big tree roots they didn't want to deal with.
Safety is a minor setback to any project lol. After studying the design of the tool. I will be making one of my own. Without the Safety rubber handle. Instead I will be using a combination of duct tape and hockey stick tape. Thank you for the video friend 👍
Dan that's a first class tool in so many ways
The impact to the yard is so little it's all most as if you were never there home owners love things like this.
The cost of the tool is a good price range Yes the cheap it is the more you will sell but a sold
well build tool that saves time the way this one does is well worth the price.
you may check with the big box stores like Home D and Lows I thank they rent tools
and this is one home -owners would rent after seeing your video of it in used
Thanks for posting I will tell people I know that do this type of work of your tool.
Dan thanks for posting as this tool is a must have for so many contractors like you
for the cable like you did
lights for out- side
Invisible fencing for dogs
Wire for secure or video units you may wish to hide around your home.
Wire for IR Beams or detector letting you know someone is walking in your back or
thanks for a job well done.
Ive been using a wedge 20 years. Its the same tool just not as wide and more rectangular. And it has the handle going over the top
love it! will be building one right away after all these yrs of doing it the hard way, this is appreciated bud.
Sweet..If one has the tools and the time I strongly encourage it. Save some money and hit up the scrap yard for steel. I ran my junkyard dog for a long time and still have it! Learned some tricks for harder ground, rocks and roots. Kind of a crappy vid. It was getting dark and windy. I'm sure it'll help you when you start using your tool. Even in fairly tough ground 1/2" conduit is easily placed... as you move the spade back and forth the blade and handle act as a lever with the surface of the ground being the fulcrum and of course the blade being the the short side of the lever pushes the dirt under the cut further apart than the surface. You end up with an inch wide cut at the surface and the dirt underneath is pushed wider apart. I've put 1" irrigation line in at 8" deep. th-cam.com/video/d4tAzhspYXo/w-d-xo.html This is how it's done.
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade was wondering about running pic line with coaxial cable inside it to run out to an antenna away from the house. You just suggested it, I will go watch this video thank you! 👍 Love the tool & thank you for giving us the instructions on how to build one! 👍
In ideal soil the tool will work. Good luck trying to stick that in the soil in my area. Took a kid from Charter Communications about 2 hours to do a drop at my house at the same distance.
Great product. You might consider also selling thin, firm "sleeves" for feeding the cable into the trench (since not all cabling is firm enough to self feed) If the trench was wider, somebody could just use a 1/2 inch piece of pvc, cut to 3-4 feet. But with the thin trench, a thinner sleeve may add value to your "system." Cheers
I used to make these 30 years ago. Square though, finally started having a welder make them for me, around $50.00 a piece. Good price.
Here in the north Georgia red clay/rock it would be impossible to get more than 2 inches deep. But I can see how this would be very useful in the right soil. I've used a lawn edger to dig for low voltage landscape lighting wire.
North GA here too - is there any specific county or NEC code for minimum depth of low voltage landscaping wire? Planning to install a system myself. How far did you bury yours?
@progression_decibel In the NEC 70, check out "Table 300.5(A) Minimum Cover Requirements".
Column 5
Circuits for Control of Irrigation and Landscape Lighting Limited to Not More Than 30 Volts and Installed with Type UF or in Other Identified Cable or Raceway.
The table shows low-voltage (no more than 30 volts) wiring must be buried at least 6 inches deep.
BUT, there are certain conditions that must be compensated for dependent on your specific cabling circumstances.
@progression_decibel to be completely up to date on any local city/county regulations you can your local jurisdictional authority (code enforcement office) and they will be able to guide you through anything local that goes beyond the NEC minimum code.
@@MicahFunk Thank you. I watched some other videos on installing lighting and they alluded to 6 inches as a recommendation. I can def keep my code enforcement office in mind.
Not during that method in my soil either, got roots to worry about also. Years ago needed to bury power cable plus waterline, tried digging, gave up. rented a ditch witch, best $$ I ever spent
2:46 "gonna cut that part out" *doesnt* lmao. this thing is brilliant, i just bought one on your website!
It's funny because there is a cut right AFTER that so he did come back and do the cut just didn't get it right
I’m currently digging post holes for a fence in the hill country of Texas. It takes about 3 hours per hole to get to 30” deep. If you go less deep it won’t last with the wind. Using galvanized posts for a 6’ privacy fence and I fill each hole with concrete
If you’re an owner then I say go rent a post hole digger. It’s cheap for the day and if you’re motivated you can get so many dug. If you’re an employee. Who’s also motivated. Haha. Then tell your boss he’s losing money paying you to hand dig and to stop being cheap and go rent that. lol.
@@Jamesg86yt It’s solid limestone here. Post hole diggers don’t work. I rented a 70lb breaker for the last two holes. It took 4 hours to dig those holes to 24” each.
Gotta get this on Amazon. Need one now. Prime woulda been nice.
Just bought one Dan! Thank you brother, May you be in Gods favor!
Great job man,wish all the best to you and your brother,I hope you sell enough trenches so you won't have to work as hard man,good luck!
Neat deal. Back in 70's was working at high school during summer and we buried a number of low voltage lines. They had some tool called a wire weasel. Had wheel to tool along ground and an adjustable blade that dropped behind the wheel to slice the trench. Could feed the wire thru it into the slice. In normal soil two guys could walk it across a yard. No idea where they got it. Have never seen another - not that I ever needed one after that to go searching.
nice reminder of sharing cable TV with my neighbor
Looks like a great method as long as the ground is relatively rock free.
couldn't do 1 ft in 10 days in Arizona with that tool ! Definitely great for where he was though .
Soak the ground really good where you're going to dig and it will soften it up. Maybe put a drip hose out and leave it for a few days.
I rode with a Paddock Pools construction supervisor in Flagstaff, Arizona. The plumbing crew used 60 pound electric demolition hammers to make trenches. I got a big kick out of it , cause here in Fla. one dedicated two foot stomp on a Razorback square point, sinks it so the hilt. In Az. you would bounce like riding a "pogo stick"...........lol....
Ima Tumor where do you live in Florida? Whole lotta clay up here in north Florida
jetsgo66 brevard county, east coast, central florida.
yeah you would probably need a concrete saw lol
Down here in south Mississippi we use a similar tool to plant pine trees only we call it a Dibble bar. This could be a very effective method to bury wire if not for underground root systems. Still a good video though. Keep them coming
Down here in south Mississippi we use a similar tool to plant pine trees only we call it a Dibble bar. This could be a very effective method to bury wire if not for underground root systems. Still a good video though. Keep them coming
Thanks Much!
Nice work. A perfect example of making exactly what you need. Great ingenuity. Many thanks sir. And thank you for selling these.
I agree!
That looks great for short runs. It was actually that very effect that caused me to invent a little adapter to my tractors box blade that allowed me to just drive along and bury the wire at the same time. I used a similar method to run water pipe all over our 7 acres. Only the junctions took any real time at all.
I'm curious to see how you did it, I've got over a thousand ft of wire to bury, a tractor and a box blade...
I wish my 30hp tractor had some down force on the three point. Did you add a bunch of weight to the box blade?
Good Job phone man that's just a way to make ure job easy and make money at the same time nothing wrong with that and for the jerks who think they can make it for $20 those won't last one lawn and they forget the time it takes you to cut,shape,temper the steel then tac weld it all together,good job!!
Augustine Sullivan Much appreciated!
did you invent this? incredible
The soil in Az is made of calcium carbonate aka as Caliche. It is natures cement. Practically impenetrable. I know, I have to use a pick to even scratch the surface. Cable TV will lay the cable down and use the gravel in your landscape to cover it. How I wish for soil so penetrateble as your's. Great tool if you're not in caliche.
Looks great if you live in an area that would allow this but here in Georgia the dirt is hard rocky and full of roots. This thing would only work through yards that have been covered with top soil. Not to mention I mostly work through PVC hardly ever do any direct burial cable.
Reegareth can I ask what you're dropping and your depth requirements?
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade I'm a commercial electrician. I'm perfectly capable of doing residential work but for the most part I'm running raceways anywhere from 12 to 48 inches deep and and it's hardly ever small enough to install in a cut even if it were raited for direct burial. Commercial work can be a bit of a pain and it's never as quick and straight forward as this. Oh and I run anything from 12 awg to 5 parallel runs of 750 kcmil THWN copper. It's no fun and takes a whole crew of 5 to 6 guys a whole day to even get the wire in the raceway for a 100-300ft run when you have parallel pulls.
This would be a great tool for anyone wanting to install a buried radio fence for pet containment!
I used this exact same method with a square-nosed shovel. It worked great.
ghost307 it'll do the job. I used flat shovels for the first few years doing this job. Broke quite a few n found I hard to get the depth that the internet company requires.
Thanks for the comment!
Its called slot feeding been doing it 30 years burying irrigation electric wire. , it is fast and he has a damn nice shovel... You can do it with a flat shove not as deep or good...
I been doing it this way 25yrs lol
That's a great tool - hope you sell a ton of them. Not sure how well it would on my rocky Pennsylvania mountaintop - our soil is very shallow here.
I might buy one. I'm worried about finding an unmarked-private-"handyman"-buried electric wire and get shocked. Does it have insulation of any kind or is just metal?
It won't shock you
It is 600v insulated
@@itjustneedsmorepower3695looks like straight steel to me
i dont dig trenches or do anything physical at all (i write software for a living) and even im impressed by this. top job.
pepe6666 very much appreciated!
"Probably outta cut that part out..."
made one 20 years ago , called it a whomper . used it for 10 ft satellite dish cable runs . beat the hell out of a spade !
I'm a homeowner and I already want one!
Great tool. definitely worth the money. just one thing doesn't code in your area say cable has to be in conduit underground unless it's steel wire armoured cable?
TheJunkyardgenius I fairly closely work with 17 counties in Northern lower Michigan. Some counties in Southern Michigan and some in northern Indiana and all have no issues with direct bury DSL / telephone or direct bury Broadband / cable. As far as I know.. at least for the areas that I work. Direct bury wire has no need for conduit and they've never had any issues with my depths which are regularly inspected.
That's a great idea! I've dug a few trenches and this would have been a lot easier
I love innovative thinkers. I need a 50 foot trench but can justify the expense just for that. Wish I could rent one. Maybe you could get it out there to the rental companies. Great job, if you do this right, you have won the lottery. Good luck!
Wish I had one of those a year ago when I was running my landscape lighting! Nice idea. Innovation and it works. Good luck. I know where to get one if I ever do it again
That's a nice tool for a root free soft dirt application but here in Texas that wouldn't get me very far
There are definitely places where will not work well but it does a much better job cutting roots and breaking through harder somewhat rocky soil than a regular spade shovel.
These should be used ONLY for electrical cables that are less than 50volts. Any cable with more voltage has a minimum depth of 12 inches, and that's if it is ground fault protected. Remove that protection, the burial depth goes to a minimum 18", 24" if there is vehicle traffic.
Who cares about code ...... once its in no one knows how deep it is and conduit can be ran over by a truck and it wont bother it if its 1 inch under ... Code ....we all know its just a n other way for the powers that be to make us pay
What a great, yet simple tool, to do a job very quickly and efficiently... I salute you sir.....
this is a fantastic idea for landscaping lights they're low voltage so 10 inches is more than enough of a bury. $140 is a steal
Another video I can't understand anyone would dislike. Why the thumbs down?
guys I worked irrigation for years used a shovel. but man that tools awesome. instant saw how God it is and useful. I almost consider a tree handle on top. looks like it's got a good weight balance. not to heavy but enough to drive in dryer soils? I considering get one. just to have. good luck!
T-Handle is an awesome Idea!
That is awesome. I dug a 4" deep trench in sand about 50 feet and it wasn't fun. I suspect this wouldn't work too well in sand.
I Would just like to encourage folks to go to my channel and check out my other videos involving drop bury work.
There's more videos of me using the spade on real job sites, techniques for using it, some equipment operation, working videos and even when a whitetail youngin walked right up next to us on a job site. Plus I'm going to be putting up some videos of what I do in the winter when I can't drop wire. It's some pretty cool and fun stuff! Thanks for reading this n hope you go check it out n subscribe! Dan
A man in the field is always the best consumer and inventor of whatever he needs in order to get the job done!
I ordered mine 9 days ago and looking forward to receiving it. Thank you for what looks like a brilliant innovation. I emailed you yesterday for tracking info to check on it. I ordered through PayPal. Do you offer tracking info for buyers? I know with the holiday mail, it may take a bit longer, but tracking info is one thing I forgot to ask about when I ordered it & Paypal doesn't offer it. Please let me know, or an idea of how long it usually takes to arrive (I'm in Florida). Thanx!
Thank you Dan, for getting back to me via email so quickly! And thank you for sending the tracking info. Can hardly wait till it gets here! This is an awesome tool for cable guys! I know one who has been a very good boy & Santa will be delivering one this year! :)
You're welcome Karen, Sorry it took so long...I've been stretching myself too thin lately.
Will it clear a Troy Bilt Horse tiller? I don't think so... is 10" really deep enough? Anyway - nice idea, hope you make a bundle (but I run my own business, so I know the truth - it just ain't that easy, lol)... Good Luck Brother, Keep on Keepin on!
David Chambers you're absolutely right and I believe I mentioned that it would be used best in a more manicured area so that one doesn't have to run a trencher through a yard full of irrigation, septic systems and other closely grouped utilities. Alot of times there's only one way through when you're close to a residents home or business and it's better than digging a trench with a hand shovel is all I'm saying. It's great practice to talk over the route with the customer and come to an agreed-upon location for their service wire.
Karen McMichael loo
Where were these when I ran cable? Looks like a great time saver. Good work guys
I've been using this for about a year at work on the daily to bury fiber drops, and would not trade it for any other style. Though, I do prefer the T-Handle style more.
I do utilize a "wire poker" to poke the wire into the trench, instead of having to bend over so much. 👍👍
Brent Skinner nice, what kind of wire poker? I’m curious to know your technique, thx
@@rossfricke2010
The one I use most days is sold by Ditch Witch. You can get it if you have a local dealer. Now I have modded that one as well.
Look for a part called a "rope thimble"
Imagine that on the end of a fiberglass rod which is about 3 ft long, with a t- handle.
@@rossfricke2010 you can use t handle water meter turn off key w narrow u shape end to assist putting it in the ground.. As for hand digging I prefer wolverine steel 15" shank shovel w rubber foot kick pad .. Just digging a hole w womper like in video and rolling wire ain't gonna fly if you're getting QC ed by a strict company. I roll the wire under my shovel as I'm moving along placing in the ground after the 1st pass was made... Takes practice otherwise wire gets camel backed instead of straight when buried.
I thought about making one of these. Going to try my edger first before I sink the time/money. :P
Aint gonna be that easy if its hot and dry. Nice slick move having that irrigation going! That makes it rasy to shove in and separate the moist soil!
James Nelson there's more videos on my channel that show it being used in other locations but yeah man.. I like the feeling of pulling up to a property where the irrigation just shut down! lol. It does help sometimes.
Thanks for the comment!
That's what five gallon buckets come in handy. Put one over the top of the sprayer and no more water.
That tool might work in sandy loam but it won't dent our baked gumbo clays. I'd love to give it a whirl and a review if you want to send me one. In the meantime, walk behind Ditch Witch is my go to.
needs a T handle.
Dominos Pizza called and want to know why in the hell are you shoving their pizza spatulas in the ground ?
Similar shapes tend to pop up in different places. That probably means both tools were well thought-out for jobs that look very different, but require about the same motion - sliding through (or under) other materials. If it's good enough to go through a human neck...
john doe dats funny
LMAO! Just a little shit talkin baby. Only a real workin man can talk shit classy ol son.
Great looking tool but that lawn looks so soft! Would like to see that dead of summer with no rain..
PLEASE! visit my channel th-cam.com/channels/w7h5zFe_VWnzdorUefkHBQ.html to see use of the spade on other properties with different soil conditions.Also note that..When referring to the customers as mine they're actually customers of the phone company that I work for. But of course I treat them like my own and they are NOT being charged for the service. The phone company flips the bill and even sends a crew to check for depth, quality and customer satisfaction.. as part of customers service plan. I've always been rated very high by customers and inspectors and hardly a day goes by that a customer doesn't see me using my spade and tell me that I should patent or produce them. The company I contract for even sets the price and tells me what they are going to pay me per job. As any drop bury contractor would know.. some jobs can be done in 10 minutes where while others take hours. So the customer actually Never gets screwed because they don't pay anything and I get paid really good for some and shit for others but It all equals out in the end. Thanks for Reading, Dan
A you make look so easy.......what do you do when you hit a rock, irrigation line etc.?
+David Brown you can get along the side of most rocks pushing them away and you don't keep a sharp enough to slice through irrigation lines. Used it a few times and you'll be able to feel the difference between a root and a service line.
Very clever
Thank you good sir!... The product of many years in the industry, trying many different ideas.
Hey man I don't know if you've thought of this but you could sell a secondary hand tool with this spade. Just imagine a thin pole design with a handle on one end and a roller for the cable on the other. And small anchor to hold the wire at one end. Sorry if this is a stupid idea, just my first thought after watching the video, although you did say the wire was firm enough to push to the bottom. Awesome tool and I wish you nothing but the best brother.
WreckenTexanMoto not a bad idea at all...a lot of low voltage wire isn't rigid enough to push in like that.
You wouldn't use that in my yard. Too much rock. You could go down an inch though.
I love this tool bro! $100 to trench my own yard is an awesome price. I want to install my own sprinkler system, to hire a professional company just labor alone to trench the lines was $2000 .so to purchase a tool to trench my own yard to burie the lines for only a $100 to do it myself is just frikin awesome .
You damn sure ain't doing that in Texas. We've got real dirt here.
Great idea and a good looking tool that certainly would save a LOT of time and labor. I hope you do really well sir... Plus I learned something today. I had no idea boron was that much stronger than regular steel.
Jeffery Rowland I appreciate that. Thank you!
i would of painted a line
not "would of", "would have" or "would've". But you are right about painting a line.
So much better buried than strung from a pole. Nice job.
Your dreaming. $140 !!! THE CHINESE. ALREADY GOT A KNOCKOFF FOR $49 !!!
I really do appreciate the comments, good or bad!
Even with the Chinese knock-offs and the Ditch Witch brand knock off and the others out there.
I still have to make them every day to keep up with demand because those that have used the knock-offs decide that it is more cost-effective to spend their money on a good tool with a warranty instead of having to replace the cheap ones so often.
More than a few companies in more than a few countries have told me the others are garbage and prefer to buy quality. It's the same reason that when I go to buy a pipe wrench... I'll buy $149 Ridgid brand instead of buying the same size one from Walmart for $29. There are a lot more people out there like that then one might think.
Looks like a good tool in the right location! Nice work.
what dope is he smoking? That can be made for about $20
Joe Downey I've been telling folks to go to their local junkyard to find materials. Probably shouldn't say but I use some pretty thick boron for the blades.. just to ensure that it doesn't bend or crack. I'll send you $30 if you'll show me one you made. Thanks for the comment!
Joe Downey 20 dollars? what year 1960? You cheap moron
Wilton Thinline Treching Spade Do you use this method for 20 Gauge invisible fence wire?
Colton Moen There's been a few pet fence companies that have gotten them.
Did they bury deep enough is what I'm wondering for Frost traffic ect.
I buried 400’ of speaker wire back in 2001 at my old place, everyone called me crazy…. and the new owners there …..they’re still bumping to them sounds to this day. 🔊 🔊 🔊
You need to do that in the Winter when the ground is soft and damp but not frozen.
Pretty cool. The problem down here in Texas is we have sandstone about two inches below the grass.