metal detector

[duke401]

would a metal dec. pick up metal in wood, if so how deep could it detect nail an stuff
duke

[Tom]

yes it will.   I have a Garrett Master hunter and it will detect8-10 inches.  A lot has to do with the size and orientation of the piece of metal you are trying to detect.

White has a series of detectors in the 150 to 300 dollar range that will detect 6-8 inches or more.  They are a pretty good deal.

Most Brand name detectors are pretty good. The expense goes up with the computer type stuff and descrimination logic.

You don't need anything too fancy for logs.  You will get hooked if you get one though and find yourself looking for coins, lost tools and stuff around old house sites.  They are a lot of fun.  

One of our members, Fla. Deadheader, is a dealer and can help you with particulars, I'm sure.

[duke401]

i sure would like to talk to deadheader if he is out there.
duke

[biziedizie]

  Hey when you guys talk about metal detectors are you talking about special hand held units or the ones that you can buy at Radio Shack???
 The reason I ask is because I picked a detector up the other day for me and my kid and I was amazed that it scanned about 1' into the ground Could this same unit work for lofs??? Finding lots of junk around here and I can't wait till we find the phone booth from years back  OOOPS did I just say that


   Steve

[Jeff]

BIZIE! Live Lean

[biziedizie]

   Jeff I am livin lean I had a gift certificate from Radio Shack so the detector didn't cost me nutting


   Steve

[Tom]

Maybe this'll keep you busy for a while.

Well, I was off by a hundred dollars but I have an excuse.  My brain is getting old.
http://www.whiteselectronics.com/classic2.html

here are some Garretts
http://www.garrett.com/hobby/hob-pro-tre.asp#100

Other Companies are:
Tesoro http://www.tesoro.com/
Fisher  http://www.fisherlab.com/
Troy     http://www.troycustomdetectors.com/
Compass http://www.compass-metaldetectors.com/
Bounty hunter
Minelab

Kellyco the online store
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/indexmain.htm

[AtLast]

I personally have the Garrett and the RENS. Both work VERY good..in fact the RENS works TO good. If Im in a municipal yard I cant use it because it goes through the log and picks up the re rod  but is accurate and easy to use. The Garrett is also a VERY good unit . I have the hand held and the GTI 2500. It tells the size and depth of tramp metal and has a varity of settings to help actually pin point the location of the metal. The hand held is great for quick scans. If it detects I go to the 2500 or the RENS depending on where I am. They have saved me many many many a blade

[Bigdogpc]

I use Fisher and Tesoro detectors.  I use the Fisher for coin shooting and the Tesoro when I go gold panning.  The Tesoro in all metal mode rings out loud and true on nails, wire, and God only knows what else in my first "yard tree" log.  NOTHING was visible.  Unfortunately I had already ate two blades on the log before I got the detector out and checked it.

[duke401]

i must say you guys talk about yard trees as a big pain in the a$$, the first one cut has been.
duke

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Duke, see the post under Pert near a swinger. I just added a blurb on detectors there for ya.

[Jason_WI]

Harbor Freight has a metal detector for around 40 bux. I don't know how well it works but for 40 bux and only going to use it to scan logs it might be good enough.


Jason

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Don'T wanna step on no-ones toes. If the Detector is factory fresh and costs under $200.00, ya DON'T want it. All the ones we have (7) are $700.00 and up to $3500.00. You won't get good response from cheap equipment and detectors are equipment. We have been into this for 18 years, so, I feel OK telling you guys the info that I have posted.
  Minimum would be a Fisher 1225 model. A Garrett Treasure Ace 350 is good. A  MInelab of any model is very good. There are others that are equally good. We don't sell 'em. I only comment on what we sell, unless we have had experience with other brands.
 
  The thing about MOST detectors, is that the signal is generated in a cone shape from the loop. The farther from the loop, the smaller dia. of the cone. At about 8-10 inches, range of most lower priced machines, you can VERY easily miss a target as small as a dime. Now, how big is that nail head Anything outside that cone shape will be tough to "see". The more money, the better you can "see" a target.
  Look online for machines and if something looks attractive to you, post me and I will be happy to comment. If it works, it's good. If it doesn't it's broke??? No in between, USUALLY.

[Jason_WI]

You have to draw the line on how much to spend on a detector vs the cost of a damaged 20 dollar band blade.

I can see if you were running a large circular operation you would want the best cause of down dime and price of a damaged circle saw.

A fancy detector has more options and features that are not needed for scanning logs. Do you really need to tell if it is a nickle or quarter, or a beer tab buried in a log. Heck an LED on a metal detector would all that would be needed to tell where the metal is.

Just offered a low cost solution for the weekend sawer that maybe scans a few suspect logs a year.

Jason

[Fla._Deadheader]

   Jason, I knew what you were saying.
  Problem is, a cheap detector won't go more than 6" deep, and it will be hard to hear the sound. If a log is only 12-14" dia. that would be fine. Logs with stuff grown in deep will be hard to clean with a cheaper machine.
 I fully agree, you don't need bells and whistles. That's why I listed the least machine that would get the job done.

[woodhaven]

FD,
You sound well educated on these gadgets and I know nothing. Sooner or later I will pay for this. Feel free to post as much information as you will for my education. I prefer to saw logs 2' to 3' in dia. So what would I need. Remember now I ain't a rich man.

[Fla._Deadheader]

   As you probably know, first, use yer eyes. Look for blue stain on the ends of the log.
  People have a bad habit of decorating things. A walk in the woods or old field will turn up horse or mule or oxen shoes. They are hung on tree limbs. Old farm tools and parts turn up in logs.
 Those type things will show up with a cheaper detector. Remember, SOLID MASS is what shows up best. Iron and steel can be located pretty easy. Barb wire, staples and such are harder to locate because of MASS. There ain't much.
  Nails are the hardest, along with them lil white phone insulaters that were nailed to trees through the woods to someoone's log house. NO MASS. This is where the $150.00 detector and up will shine.
  I believe the Rens unit runs well over $1000.00
 That is a lot.
 As I mentioned earlier, look for used machines. The models I listed will work well for MOST situations. The small finish type nails, up to 12d, will be hard to locate. If you can "View" the log at a glancing angle, instead of "viewing" it straight down, the loop will "view" the side of the nail and "see" it better.
  There are other tricks that will help you find trash in logs.
  I will look for used machines online and give some example prices.
  BTW, Radio Shack has 2 different breeds of detectors. The Pioneer Brand is made by Bounty Hunter. They are good machines and worth buying.
   The other is "Micronta" I believe???  Ain't been in RS in years. DON'T buy that !!!!!!!!
 

[duke401]

well i guess i did the stupid thing , couldnt stand looking at that log an not knowing what was in it yesterday, so i called around local an the only one i could find was at the shack in dodge. the log is still 14 inchs thick an 30 inchs wide an covers four log dogs it picked up all 4, the blade stoped right on the 3rd one so i still dont know.[129.99]
so you are saying it is harder to pickup smaller targets an what is the diffrence between high$ an low$ is it in the head or the box i can see there could be a lot diffrence in the box what about changing heads
the kids went out in the yard an found two tresures until mom found them in the grass [i had to laugh that was worth 129.99]
duke

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Found all 4 log stops and the blade stopped on the third  Didja hit something
 In the trade, $$$= depth. More ya spend, deeper ya can find stuff.
 For $129.99 you may have gotten a Tracker model made by Bounty Hunter. There are 4 different series 1,2,3,4. Should work for that size log. If there is discrimination, turn it low or off. Volume wide open. Scan slowly and sometimes it will just barely make a sound. This is a typical cheaper machine.
 I just checked all the links on our website (treasure-scoops.com) and there doesn't seem to be any classifieds on the internet for used detectors
 I will get some prices for ya in a day or so.

 If ya get bored, check out our site and see what we do in real life  

[Den Socling]

I used to work with Metal Detectors, Inc. out of Eugene, OR. They would call me when they had a problem with a whole log scanner in the mid-Atlantic states. They sold a little hand-held called the 2000. List was around $600. I sold a few to smaller operations. One day, a guy who had called me, met me with "you have two minutes to show me what it will do". A real hard a$$.  We ended up spending about an hour going through a pile of logs that had been discarded because of stain. If they saw stain from metal and couldn't find metal, the log was tossed. After he bought the metal detector, we spent another hour touring his mill and kilns. A real nice guy.   Point is, a decent detector is worth it's weight in gold. Last I heard, the cheapest unit that MDI had was $1000.

Jason, the circle saws eat nails for lunch. It's bandsaws that don't like anything metallic. I did sell a hand held to a company with a circle saw that was running into a lot of insulators. Chunks of their blades were flying. A very unhealthy and costly situation.