Needed: correct shovel to fit body

1950 - 1968, M38, M38A1, M170, Wanted jeeps or parts... list your needs.
Post Reply
wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2570
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by wc56daveyboy » Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:22 pm

For my M38

Need the correct shovel shaped to fit the body contour.
it’s for my M38 but I understand the GPW/MB WW2 jeep fits the same?

Thank you!


User avatar
dpcd67
G-General
G-General
Posts: 11803
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 3:41 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by dpcd67 » Sun Dec 20, 2020 5:20 pm

Yes, they are the same, and since they are harder to find, I take standard GI issue shovels, and cut the shank 2/3rds of the way through, and bend them to make the correct angle. TIG it back cup and it will fit perfectly. It's not like I will be actually using it, although the weld is as strong as the original metal.
U. S. Army 28 years.
Armor Branch

wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2570
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by wc56daveyboy » Sun Dec 20, 2020 6:58 pm

I take standard GI issue shovels, and cut the shank 2/3rds of the way through, and bend them to make the correct angle. TIG it back cup and it will fit perfectly.
Thanks for that idea!

Fantastic idea actually... thank you

GPW1263
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:18 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by GPW1263 » Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:54 pm

Some time ago I found a NEW shovel with the correct arc in the neck being sold by Ace Hardware. They may still carry such a shovel but unfortunately we don't see many Ace Hardware stores around here anymore.

It was very, VERY close insofar as appearance goes but early USGI shovels have a rather large (more broad) head on them so don't overlook that detail.

I am no shovel expert but there was a point in time when the military seems to have given up on specialized shovel designs sometime around the vietnam era and gone with what is more like what we consider to be a normal sized shovel head thereafter.

If you are looking for the early shovel, I might suggest you try some of the regular suppliers and Brent Mullins Jeep Parts comes to mind (btw, I am not affiliated in any way with him or any other supplier for that matter).

Cheers,
GPW1263

wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2570
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by wc56daveyboy » Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:35 pm

Some time ago I found a NEW shovel with the correct arc in the neck being sold by Ace Hardware
And it fit the jeep body contour?

GPW1263
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:18 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by GPW1263 » Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:41 pm

Yes. The eccentric arc of the neck is far greater than that of "normal" civilian shovels which are far more gentle arcs. It is this extra bend in the neck and the accented angular mount of the head to the neck that brings the shovel head into the narrowing of the forward body while simultaneously allowing the handle portion of the shovel to ride closely to the side further back where the indents are found below the cut-out in the body. So, my recommendation is you might want to take the time to look at what some of the 'lesser' hardware stores (read that...NOT Home Depot or Lowes, etc.) and see what they have to offer. Those would be your best chance to luck into something.

Cheers,
GPW1263

M OMalley
G-First Sergeant
G-First Sergeant
Posts: 147
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:31 pm
Location:

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by M OMalley » Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:05 am

There's a guy on EBay selling what he claims are correct US surplus shovels for the MB and M38... They look pretty good, you should check them out..

Jeff_Lee
G-Corporal
G-Corporal
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 8:34 pm
Location: South East Florida

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by Jeff_Lee » Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:05 am

Do NOT buy the OMIX-ADA new shovel - it flat out doesn't fit the M38. Not enough curve in the neck..... ask me how I know. It is now doing garden duty.

I found a good compromise on Flea Bay a while back, but it has gone up in price and is quite dear now! Search "Shovel Military 37" correct bend" they are old and storage worn, which gives them a nice patina. They are not an exact Pioneer Shovel, but look and fit well, and play the part. You could even move dirt with it!
Jeff
1947 Willys CJ2A Las Flores, Argentina
1951 Willys M38 SE Florida USA
1954 M-100 Trailer USMC Dunbar Kapple s/n M-750759 DoD 1-54
One is barely adequate....

wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2570
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by wc56daveyboy » Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:16 am

Thanks all for your responses.

I too considered the OMIX brand but was skeptical as to the fit.
Glad you posted this for others to read as well

As for the EBay seller with the shovels you describe,I’m assuming your referring to
The seller QTM in Georgia?
If so, I did order one from them as well

All I want is a shovel to fit correctly. I believe the QTM shovels will do the trick

Thank you all. I’ll report back MY experience with fit so others who might be looking as well

GPW1263
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Sergeant Major of the Gee
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:18 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Needed: correct shovel to fit body

Post by GPW1263 » Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:38 am

I will add this - Don't pass up a good shovel that's a little messed up. In point of fact, those can be an excellent value and, if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and take on yet another small project (I know. I know...you already have enough projects!) ...and use what really only amounts to basic skills you can turn a junker of a shovel into something pleasantly presentable.

This is not to suggest that you would want to take your similarly restored tools into the field and dig holes (does anyone who had put the time and effort into a pioneer tool actually DO that?) but if you just need something to complete a set and get your rig display-ready, bottom-of-the-barrel tools can be just the ticket and half-asked repairs can be all that you really need to accomplish that.

Here's a link to a small job I did on a proper, late-model, USGI shovel that I neglected (guilty as charged) and it was one I wanted to hang it on my Gama Goat. To say that it needed some immediate resuscitation is an understatement. In my defense, I happened to be elsewhere in the world at the time this poor tool was slowly rotting away.

https://g838.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=12204&start=360

I know someone will say that replacing the handle altogether is a better way to go (I totally agree and that may eventually happen) but I felt like taking a stab at this in a slightly different way just to play with the wood hardener to see what it could do.

Once finished, you would have no idea that the shovel's handle had formerly been a total wreck. So, if a junker comes your way and you can pick it up on the cheap...do it.

Image

Cheers,
GPLW1263


Post Reply

Return to “M38, M38a1 Wanted”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests