Everything I know about snow shovelling I learned in the wood shop

Bevel up

 Ok this one is probably just weird so feel free to bail now.  I've long heard the expression that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. We had a dump of snow over the last few days and today I was out shovelling the remains of it. It was about -7C according to the thermometer but it felt much warmer in the sun. So much so that once I got the top layer of snow off the thin layer closest to the sidewalk began to melt.

On my first pass I was left with harder snow that had been packed down by people walking on it. Rather than going at it again with the snow shovel in the regular orientation, I turned it over and scraped at the crusty stuff that way. It did a much better job of removing most of what was left. It's exactly the same with a chisel. Bevel down you take a finer scooping cut; bevel up you can take a heavier straighter cut. Both positions have their uses. Of course turning the snow shovel over does wear it out faster, but it's a snow shovel!  When it wears out I cut the handle off and keep it if it's made of hardwood and I get a new snow shovel. If it has a metal handle I toss the whole thing. The plastic snow shovels aren't meant to last.

Bevel down

Another similarity: when I skew the shovel I change the angle of attack just as I do when I'm using a chisel or a plane. Maybe when you're a woodworker everything looks like a piece of wood and a cutting tool.