Best Digging & Grading Tools

The short list

Landscape rake — buy

A wide flat head with short rigid tines. This is the tool that spreads and levels gravel, and nothing else does the job nearly as well. A garden leaf rake will not move stone; a shovel is far too slow. Look for a 36-inch aluminum head.

Round-point shovel — buy

For digging and for loading the barrow. A square-point shovel is better for scooping loose stone off a hard surface, so many people end up owning both.

Plate compactor — rent

The most important tool in gravel work, and the one almost every failed DIY driveway did without. It is what turns loose stone into a load-bearing layer. Around $70 to $110 per day.

Remember it only densifies a few inches at a time — compact in lifts of no more than 4 inches, as covered in the driveway build guide.

Hand tamper — buy

A steel plate on a handle. For pothole repairs, edges, corners, and anywhere a plate compactor cannot reach. Cheap, and it gets used far more than you expect.

Wheelbarrow — buy

Covered in detail in best wheelbarrows for gravel. Six cubic feet, steel tray, flat-free tire.

For larger jobs

• Mini excavator or skid steer — rent for a half day for excavation. This is the difference between a weekend and a fortnight.
• Drag harrow or box blade — behind an ATV or tractor, for grading long driveways twice a year.
• Post hole digger or auger — if you are setting edging posts or a fence alongside.

What to skip

• Tampers with plastic bases — they break on angular stone.
• Narrow bow rakes — too flexible to move gravel and too slow.
• Buying a compactor unless this is your trade.

Safety gear is not optional

Angular stone chips, dust from crusher run, and the vibration of a compactor all warrant protection. See safety gear for gravel work.