A face shovel is an excavator whose bucket digs outward and upward, away from the machine. It is the mirror image of the backhoe, which digs toward the machine and downward. A face shovel is also called a front shovel.
How it works
The bucket sits at the end of the boom and scoops forward and up, so the machine can loosen and pick up soil or rock above its own track level. Because the force works from front to back, a face shovel suits heavy, cohesive material.
Applications
- Extraction — digging away high faces in sand, gravel and stone quarries
- Loading — loading trucks or dumpers from a bank that sits higher than the machine
- Heavy earthworks — where a backhoe lacks upward breakout force
For ordinary excavation below ground level (trenches, foundation pits) the backhoe is almost always used; the face shovel is a specialised type for work above track level. On many modern excavators the bucket is interchangeable, so the same machine can work as a backhoe or a face shovel.
Related terms
- Backhoe
- Excavator
- Dragline
- Earthworks
- Foundation pit
- Slope
Want to learn more about construction terms? Visit our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.