Nail Catcher

[thiggy]

Is there any general consensus as to the most effective metal detector for locating junk in logs to be sawn?  Oops, I can't afford that one!  Is there an more affordable detector that is relatively effective?

[IL Bull]

I use a saw blade

[DonE911]

The saw blade is the most effective by far.....

I have a little radio shack model... it was about $200 or so and it works fine ( when I don't forget to use it ) ...  it doesn't catch absolutely everything... but earns it's keep.

Some folks here use much better machines and a few use even cheaper models.  I'm satisfied with what I have and don't plan on upgrading unless a screaming good deal comes along.   I'll use the rest of the money on some other tools.

[IL Bull]

I know the nails are easier to pull out if you find them BEFORE the head gets cut off.

[Tom]

White's Prizm series starts at 199.00

Garrett's Ace series starts at 179.00

Both of those are top-of-the-line companies.

There are some other companies that offer detectors in that price range that will work as well.

You can start shopping at that price and go all the way to the top if you want.  Most of the more expensive models are charging you for fancy discrimination hardware.  That's OK if you really get into detecting.  To find a nail or other metal in a log, you don't want to use any discrimination.  Set the detector for all targets and as sensitive as it will go.  If it goes off, you better be digging into that log. 

What you will soon find is that Metal detecting and portable sawmilling go hand in hand.  When you are in the woods on that old historical farm, detecting for artifacts at dinner or quitting time is as much fun and as relaxing as going fishing.

It's getting wrapped up in the treasure hunting sport that will make you shop for a fancy detector.

[Radar67]

I know the nails are easier to pull out if you find them BEFORE the head gets cut off.

A pair of channel locks work well when the head is absent. Grab the nail and rock the pliers back on the round part of the jaw. Gives you good leverage with little damage to the surface.

[Furby]

Or pull the nail with a hammer by pulling the hammer sideways instead of along the head.

[WeeksvilleWoodWorx]

While a saw blade will work for most iron...... to find the good pieces you need a NEW saw blade

[Kirk_Allen]

Get a hold of Harold, (FLDeadheader).  He is pretty much the resident expert on them as he or his son sell them.  I picked up a Garret (I think) from Harold and it works GREAT!

[Modat22]

I saw something about a guy modifying one of those magnetic diveway traffic monitors to use with his mill. I can't find the link but in a nutshell the guy made a larger copper coil around a plywood form and hooked it up to the standard electronics. Total cost for the thing was around 80 bucks or so.

The larger coil was made from 50 feet of cat 6 network cable and each pair of wires where soldered at the ends to to form a loop to equal something like 300 ft or copper coil.

Sorry I don't have any other information, if someone finds the link please post it.

Sam

[woodmills1]

I have a used whites and it works well, the company was really great when I first bought it.  Free info and instruction book, even though I hadn't spent any money with them.  I use diagonal cutting pliers to remove headless nails, first using a chisel and hammer to provide some access.  It takes strong hands to squeeze hard enough but I get 95% that way.

[JP]

Take a look at www.kellycodetectors.com best prices all models--I use a bounty hunter  at about $200 and have a Whites DFX $900+ . the bounty hunter finds nails as well as the DFX -- both only reach 6-8'' JP