Shop-Made Leveling Rake
Strapping a scrap 1x2 across a bow rake's tines to get a straight screed edge for top-dressing and mulch.
A Pivot Clamp Turns Two Rakes Into Leaf-Grabbing Tongs
A sleeve slid over two rake handles gives them a scissor pivot — squeeze to grab a leaf pile without bending over, slide the sleeve down the handles for more clamping tension.
pick up leaves without bending over, leaf scoop tool, raking with a bad back, get leaf piles into bags
The Problem
Raking leaves into piles is the easy half of the job. Picking the piles up is the half that bends you over, over and over — and for anyone with a bad back, that part is the whole reason the leaves don't get done. The two-rakes-as-tongs move works standing up, but freehand the rakes slide against each other with nothing to pivot on.
The Technique
The Rake M8 is a sleeve that gives the two-rake move a hinge — invented by a man who couldn't bend over after back surgery:
- Slide the sleeve over both rake handles. It becomes a fixed pivot point, turning the pair into long-handled tongs.
- Rake your pile with the two rakes held together, then spread the handles and squeeze to clamp the pile between the rake heads.
- Lift and carry to the bag or tarp — upright the whole time.
- Want a stronger grip? Slide the sleeve further down the handles; the shorter jaw side clamps with more tension.
- To go back to plain raking, rotate one rake in the sleeve so the heads nest side by side.
Pro tip: Any two rakes work as leaf tongs in a pinch — the sleeve's contribution is the pivot, which is what lets you squeeze with your hands instead of your lower back. If mobility isn't the issue, the freehand version costs nothing; if it is, twenty dollars is cheap for keeping a fall chore on the possible list.
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