Sand Garden Rakes

A.  There are two basic types of rake to which I have seen many references.  The difference in the construction of the "head" of the rake, the handle and braces being nearly identical in both designs.  The first type has a head made from a single piece of wood.  The bottom edge of this piece is cut in a saw-tooth pattern.  The size of these teeth would depend on the desired pattern and on the coarseness of the sand/gravel in your garden.  I think that 2" to 3" spacing would be appropriate in most cases.  The second type of rake has teeth made from short lengths of bamboo or wooden dowels set into or bound to a wooden block.  3/4" diameter wooden dowels set into a length of 2x4 (nominal) lumber should work nicely.  Again, the exact size and spacing of the dowels will vary depending on the coarseness of  the sand/gravel and the pattern you wish to create.  The overall length of the rake head will also depend upon at least two factors.  The size of the area to be raked must be taken into consideration - obviously a 36" wide rake will require only a third of the number of passes that a 12" rake would to rake the same area.  It's likely that you will get a more even pattern overall with a wider rake.  You must also consider the spacing of any objects (stones, for example) around which you must rake.  If you have two rocks that are spaced 2 feet apart, a 36"  rake just won't do the job!  Your options are either to determine the best size for your rake taking all factors into consideration or to make more than one rake - a large on for the open areas and a smaller one for the detail work.

Click on the pictures below for instructions on how to make each rake.