Lawn lutes - why so expensive? Anyone made their own?

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Caporegime
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Warwickshire
Hi all. I've got my eyes on a lawn lute for levelling as they work much better than landscape rakes / ladders / crates and whatever other bodge. This is a lawn lute:

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The canals catch small stones when the soil is being worked.

However they're bizarrely expensive for what appears to be a wooden handle and a few bars of sheet steel. That sort of thing ^ is ~£130 whereas a landscape rake is ~£20.

I'm thinking of trying to make my own somehow, but I don't have a welder. I have HSS drill bits but don't know where to start.

There's nothing second hand on gumtree or eBay. Seems like a gap in the market to me, albeit fairly niche.

Has anyone attempted to make their own or got tips on the best way to work top soil into a lawn so that it's really level? A ladder on string doesn't really work as it's not flat and you can't push it.

Maybe I should just suck it up and buy one :(.
 
^ Sounds like he bought that product, not made it? Looks like a good way to attempt a DIY though if that's what you meant.

Sin_Chase said:
Quick search finds some DIY YouTube videos and lutes for sale at around 50-60 quid.
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Links please. I've seen some plastic PVC DIY vids and some where welding is required. Can't find any lutes for £50-£60.

Edit - found a 28" one on eBay:

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I might even have a spare handle in the garage somewhere. No idea how I missed that before. That's cheap enough that I probably won't muck about trying to make one myself. Thanks.
 
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russell_s82 said:
For completeness, and because someone asked me directly, here's my parts list:

SCREWFIX:
  • 1 x Easyfix Steel Large Flat Washers M5 x 1.2mm 100 Pack (871FT)£2.99
  • 1 x Easyfix Roofing Bolts M5 x 20mm 10 Pack (3442J)£1.09
  • 1 x Easyfix Roofing Bolts M5 x 30mm 10 Pack (6194J)£1.59
  • 3 x Alfer Anodised Aluminium Equal Angle 1000 x 15 x 15mm (3085P)£11.97 **NOTE: I recommend NOT using this. I recommend part 8361P instead**
  • 4 x Alfer Raw Aluminium U-Profile 1000 x 19.5 x 11.5mm (1370P)£23.96 **NOTE: You could make do with just 2 U-plates to save cost, HOWEVER if you do, test the shorter length with some scrap metal/wood/etc connecting the top and bottom 1000mm L-plates BEFORE cutting the final L-plate (to make the left/right sides) because 1) the shorter length may be less stable, i.e. prone to flipping over, and 2) once you cut the L-plate it's a lot harder to uncut, unless you are a welder**
TOOLSTATION:
  • 1 x Wooden Broom Handle 5' x 1 1/8" (30010)£1.98
EBAY:
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That's great thanks so much for this.

I didn't buy the eBay lute in the end and have been procrastinating about it for this season's lawn care.
 
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Codejam said:
I believe the cross plates are laid on top of the angle brackets with the bolts pushed up from underneath. L plates either side, U plates between them (inside the L), bolted from the bottom of the L with the bolt head on the floor.
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Cheers.

In the end I ordered a welded one from pitchcare.com for £150 :o. 2 week lead time on them apparently.
 
Mine has arrived:

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Seems pretty well built (as you'd expect for the utter bending over you get for buying it). Going to give it a run out tomorrow as I have two tonnes of topsoil to get down on the lawns.

Importantly the slats are level with the frame, i.e. it's all flat where it will contact the soil.
 
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