Feedback needed

[GregggyB]

Hello, I am A-level student and I have made a garden tool where the heads are interchangeable. Between a trowel,small fork and a small cultivator. I also made 2 tool shafts, one long, and one short, along with a wall mounted tool rack for the project. See pictures! I aimed this product at the elderly as gardening is a more common hobby for this age range. I also aimed to reduce the amount of bending and effort needed for the use of these tools by introducing the long handle for these smaller tool heads, this may benefit the elderly if the user has mobility issues like bending down ect. I would like to know what people think of it and any improvements you may suggest will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

 

[DrCase]

I don't use any of the above
lol I use a brick trowel for every thing

 

[Becky]

I'm only 28 but I do have a bad back so I hope I'm in a good position to advise you!

I like your design, it seems like a good way to make the job easier without having multiple long handled tools. I would question the standard shape of the trowel though - the shape used is fine when you are using it as a hand tool, but on the end of a far longer lever you would need to move the end of the handle a long way to accomplish the same result. You could perhaps consider something a little more curved perhaps? Maybe try digging a small hole in soil with a hand trowel then try the same thing with the long handled trowel and see what you think.

Something else that might be handy is a belt to keep all the attachments handy. If I was using them, I'd probably bring them all into the garden and pop them on the ground, so I would need to bend down and pick them up when I changed them. If you came up with a belt (or even just noted it down in your project as a theoretical addition) you would want to make sure that there were pockets to prevent soil going over the wearer's clothes.

I like the storage rack too - good work!

If this is an ongoing project, then there is a gap in the market for a good de-weeder for those of us who can't bend. There are a couple out there, but reviews tend to be pretty bad. Just a thought!

This topic has made me realise how much I miss Design & Technology at school... for my GCSE project I made a wooden box for sheet music complete with dovetail corners and an inlaid lid!