Metal detectors

[maple flats]

Any of you using a metal detector? What do you use and how deep will it detect something the size of an 8 penny nail? Please give brands and model #'s
Maple Flats      ??? 8) ???

[Tom]

I use a Garret.  It's quite old but the equivelant is the Master Hunter Series.  It cost me about
$700 in the 1980's.

It will detcct an 6 penny nail, depending on the "view" at 3" to 8". 

I have really enjoyed owning a metal detector.  Using it on the mill has been a windfall.   I love to look through old house sites and fair grounds.  You wouldn't believe the "treasure" that I've found over the years, shovels, axe heads, hammers, pliers, bullets, silverware, pots and pans, old square cut-nails, horse, mule and oxen hardware, pieces of old railroad equipment, coins, rings and getting on the trash heaps has allowed me to find old bottles.

I found a friends lost wedding band one time.  Boy, did that make him happy.   I use it to find tools I drop in the sawdust and parts that I drop in the grass.  When my boys were young we spent many pleasant  hours together searching the school ground for coins.

[Cedarman]

My first detector was a Heath Kit I built myself in 1969. Every school yard, church yard, house yard was practically virgin territory.  The coins we found I use a Tesoro now to mostly find lost nuts, wrenches, chains I've lost in the woods.  Use it on any suspect log before sawing it. I have become rather good at smelling cedar logs with metal in them and then checking to verify my hunch.  Mine will find a bb at 3 inches. A small nail at 5. Any time we hit metal with the saw, it comes off the mill and I check the whole log for more metal. 4 out of 5 times, find one nail find another.

Go to a dealer and tell them what you want a detector for. There is a good chance that he will loan or rent you one to try out.  If they are not too far from you, maybe you could get them to bring some over and they could show you the possibilities.  Especially if you have an old house yard and let them do a little searching.

[Frank_Pender]

Rens, Model ?  It will go in the ground to at least 4' and through a log at least 4'.  I paid $1,300 for it about 5 years ago.

[Tom]

4 out of 5 times, find one nail find another.

I found that folks won't put one nail in a tree if 4 or 5 will work. :D

[Captain]

White's Classic Series, I have both a 1 and 2.  They do not do a great job discriminating ferrous metals...wait....that's what I want them for  :D

Captain

[leweee]

Fisher model 1270 in the all metal mode. 8" coil will find nails at 12" depth. It has saved it's cost in blades alone in my first week of ownership.You'll be amazed at the hardware that can hide in a log ;D

[Cedarman]

I've had loggers bring logs in with 3 strands of barbed wire sticking out 6 inces and swear they didn't see it. I was very sceptical, until one day I'm whacking cedar like crazy, drug the tree out with several others, got the logs to the mill and my yard guy asked me why I brought a log in with wire sticking out.  Blew my mind that I could have not seen the 3 strands of barbed wire.  My eyes didn't work on that one.

[maple flats]

come on guys, there must be more of you using metal detectors. Please clue me in, what works good, what doesn't work good enough? Being new in the sawmill game I need your help before I run my Peterson blade into a nail or horseshoe or RR spike. You know, something that will do worse than just chip a few teeth. I want to order a metal detector very soon but don't want to get one that won't find the metal nor one that breaks the bank un-necessarily.  HELP PLEASE!!!  ??? ??? ???

[Tom]

You should be able to purchase a White's, Garrett, Fisher or other main brand name of detector that will work, shopping in the range of 200 ot 500 dollars.   Some have 800 "free" phone numbers and that would be a good start.  Your local Metal detector shop is well worth a visit.  It is an industry much like the sawmill industry where the manufacturers and dealer will try to help.

Most of the money spent on high end detectors is for the descrimination or identification features.   You will find that most of the lower end models will work fine to look for nails in logs.  I'm not talking about the 30 dollar toy that you find in some of the Electronic shops or department stores.  I'm talking about a real detector that would be found on the shelf of a Metal dectector shop.    Start at $200.

[maple flats]

Thanks Tom, that seems to be the best answer I've gotten yet. I think I now have a better idea of what to get.
Maple flats

[Sawyerfortyish]

I'm with Frank Pender. I got a Rens I think it cost about 1800$ and paid for itself in the first month I had it. I no longer buy those big logs with steel in them that every tree service brings in I send them back. Word has finally got around if they think it has metal in it they don't even put it on the truck.The only bad thing about the Rens is it doesn't have a setting for concrete :'(.

[ohsoloco]

I purchased a White's spectrum XLT a few years ago on ebay for around $600.  I think they're close to a grand new.  They go about 13 inches deep, and if the log is big enough I can still use it when it's sitting on the mill.  Had a large oak on the mill and the detector said there was a nail a few inches down.  I took off a board or two and tried it again...it said 1.5".  I took off one more 4/4 board (I was really gritting my teeth when I went over the spot it said the nail was), and then took a chisel to where it was supposed to be.  I popped off a little skim of wood to find the nail head  ;D

Even though I have it, I don't always use it  :

[Rockn H]

Ours is a Quick Draw II made by Bounty Hunter.  Seems like it was around the $300 range.  In the all metal mode it works pretty good and seperates lead from steel fairly well.  I'm with Tom on buying a brand name.  I also would stay in the $200 to $300 range.   The more expensive units just have more descrimination features and functions, and can be confusing to a beginner.  Also, beware, detecting can be as addictive as sawing. ;D

[Kirk_Allen]

May I suggest making sure you have a spare blade for the saw ;D  I would venture to say even those folks with metal detectors have hit metal a time or two. 

I currently dont have one but would like to have one in the future.  If I was still cutting logs in Suburbia I would definatly have one.  I think I hit more nails in on one cutting job in Suburbia than in all the logs I have cut here at the farm. 

Like Tom said, why use 1 nail when 4 or 5 will work.  :D

[Cedarman]

Visit www.kellycodetectors.com  Have them send you a catalog. Huge number of detectors with prices and accessories.

[MrMoo]

I have a Rens 3000 that I just bought used for $625. I thought it was a decent price. It will detect metal in wood at 36". I had to call the folks at Rens actually Lacey-Hamar and found them to be terrific. Very nice and helpful.

I'd also say that whenever I have hit metal I haven't destroyed any blades. I have cut thru 3/8" diameter hooks and stuff. The blade needs to be removed but I can clean off the metal that is fused to the face of the teeth & then resharpen it and use it again. With that said though I am sure if you hit a railroad spike it would destroy a blade.

[ohsoloco]

Ceramic insulators tend to grind teeth off your blades too  >:(

[maple flats]

Just ordered from a unit Kellyco. I sent for an MP3 Pro that they sell for $299.99 normally but they just received a double shipment in error (sales pitch?) and were selling 50 units only for $159.99 by arrangement with mfgr. Said this was normal dealer cost. Really good markup % normally. Hopefully this unit will find metal before the blade does. I hope to be smart enough to use it and not just own it.
  8) 8) 8) 8) 8)  not 

[Sawyerfortyish]

After you use it a while you will get to know who brings logs that don't need to be checked and who brings logs where you have to check every one.  If it's a butt log and I think it's a yard tree I run the detector over it.  More than half the time they have steel in them. Like was said before nobody uses only one nail. If they got a handful of nails they use em all

[SawDust_Studios]

Of the detectors everyone is listing, which ones are small hand helds?  Or are they the standard scavenger type looking units?

Dave

I bought one of those airport types you see from the woodworking stores, worked ok if the metal was nearly showing!!!! Or course it doesn't work at all now since it was left out in a rain shower  :-[

Dave

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Take it apart and dry it in the sun. Carefully look for little white spots of corrosion and wipe them off with a toothbrush, carefully. Might try new batteries. Fresh water should not hurt it.

[Ga_Boy]

Maple,

I hope you have better luck with Kellyco than I have.

I ordered a Fisher 1225 last Thursday morning, I evenpaid $30 extra for 2 day express shipping.

Here it is seven days later and no detector.  It seems the Fisher was out of stock, it took Kellyco until Monday to find this out, they subsutited a White classic IV for the Fisher, shipped this on Monday morning.  Now here it is Wednesday night and still no detector.  Other wise would not be that bad, but I paid for the express shipping and I got a bunch of logs to scan before milling. >:( >:(

I am pithed with Kellyco at this moment.  I'll keep yall posted as to how and if they make this right.





Mark

[maple flats]

I got an email less than an hour after placing the order saying it had shipped and giving the UPS tracking #. Sorry to hear about your delay with them.

[UNCLEBUCK]

I got a new Pioneer 202 Bounty Hunter that I used once last year but I didnt have a good spot to set the log and fart around looking for tramp metal because where I roll my logs into the mill shed it is old trailer house I beams so I have to make it a religion to check the log before loading it on . I must read and practice using this metal detector because its just a matter of time I will collide with something. This thread has got me seriously going to make use of this metal detector, the first time I tried it it sounded like a casino with all the beeps and buzzes. Hope everyone has a good safe sawing summer !  :P