Metal detector question

brdmkr · August 02, 2005, 09:32:10 PM

What do you use to test for metal in logs? Is there any reason to spend extra cash on the higher end detectors or will the cheaper detectors work just as well? I would think that iron would be pretty easily detected with even the cheapest detectors.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Brian_Rhoad · August 02, 2005, 09:37:01 PM

I use one from Radio Shack. I bought it on sale for around $100. It was the best one they had at the time. I have "found" wire and nails over 10" deep in big logs so I think it works pretty good for me!

Furby · August 03, 2005, 02:56:02 AM

Here's a few past threads for ya:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=11667.0

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=8433.0

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=6329.0

Ron Wenrich · August 03, 2005, 06:00:41 AM

I think a lot depends on where you are getting your logs. I run about 1,000 logs a week and don't have too many problems. Mine are woods trees and still have a little bit of tramp metal. Most is due to signs and don't cause too much damage.

Yard trees and trees growing close to houses and barns have a higher risk for metal. Some guys have never figured out that trees aren't fence posts and other guys haven't figured out that you should look a tree over for metal before you cut it. A lot of times there are clues in the bark what lies beneath. Sometimes not.

leweee · August 03, 2005, 11:19:14 AM

Quote from: Ron Wenrich on August 03, 2005, 06:00:41 AM
I think a lot depends on where you are getting your logs. I run about 1,000 logs a week and don't have too many problems. Mine are woods trees and still have a little bit of tramp metal. Most is due to signs and don't cause too much damage.

Yard trees and trees growing close to houses and barns have a higher risk for metal. Some guys have never figured out that trees aren't fence posts and other guys haven't figured out that you should look a tree over for metal before you cut it. A lot of times there are clues in the bark what lies beneath. Sometimes not.

Ron....don't forget the guys who thought a tree stand for deer was a few 2x4's spiked to a tree for steps.....long after the 2x4 steps are gone the spikes remain :

DanG · August 03, 2005, 11:34:45 AM

And watch out for the guy that says, "I've been here for 15 years, and I KNOW there has never been a nail in that tree." A coupla weeks ago, I found a #6 screw eye 30 years deep in a pine log. Fortunately, I found it with the Fisher metal detector instead of the Mobile Dimension metal detector.

Mike, I'll bring the Fisher along on Saturday and we'll play with it while these other folks are poking pig down their necks.

Dan_Shade · August 03, 2005, 11:41:59 AM

sometimes I wish I had one, but then I think, how many bands can I trash before I'm to where I could have a metal detector money wise...

that said, it's really annoying to hit metal

DanG · August 03, 2005, 11:47:45 AM

I wouldn't worry about it nearly as much if I was running a bandmill. A set of teeth for my mill is about the same money as a band, but if I hit something big and trash the blade the metal detector would have paid for itself several times over.

Murf · August 03, 2005, 12:26:09 PM

The other thing to watch out for is the type of metal detector you have.

Hig end 'treasure-finder' type detectors are actually designed to ignore ferrous metals and other 'junk' so you don't dig up an old quart oil can thinking you're about to burn your mortgage with all the Spanish gold you're about to drag home.

In some cases, the el cheapo model with no discrimination to tune out the 'junk' is exactly what you want.

DanG · August 03, 2005, 12:34:37 PM

I wouldn't go too cheap, though. Durability is an issue, too. Also, make sure it has a speaker instead of headphones. Mine is nice and loud so I can hear it with machinery running around me, too. I just keep the discrimination turned all the way down, and the sensitivity all the way up.

Ron Wenrich · August 03, 2005, 07:46:43 PM

When someone asks me if we have a metal detector, I usually tell them that we have 3. One with 46 teeth and two with 22 teeth. If there's metal in the log, I'm sure we'll find it. :D

I've hit nails, railroad spikes (deer stand), a hammer head, strap metal, lag bolts, cable, a bicycle wheel, barbed wire, chicken fence, electric fence, rocks and insulators. Total damage has been quite a few teeth, and a few shoulders ripped off. Total saws ruined was 1. My circle costs are still below band costs. But, I run a bigger headrig, so its probably not a direct comparison.

I would rather saw than scan logs. I make money sawing, but none for scaning. But, I don't do yard trees, so there is some tradeoff there. Sometimes you can just tell there are nails in a log

Dan_Shade · August 03, 2005, 09:09:41 PM

every yard tree I've sawn has had metal in it, one had a LOT of metal in it

Minnesota_boy · August 03, 2005, 09:17:05 PM

While you're comparing the prices of the metal detectors, don't forget to factor in the value of your time while you're scanning the logs. Time ain't money, but there is a correlation. With the few metal parts I hit, I can't afford a metal dectector. It's much cheaper to use the blade to find the metal.

DanG · August 03, 2005, 10:52:18 PM

I guess it depends on whether you have more time, or money. My little operation is very low key, and time isn't very important. Money, on the other hand, is critical. Yeah, I know, I could work harder and faster, but that's not what I left my good paying job to do. I sweat bucketfuls while sawing and offbearing all my own boards, and stacking and loading and unloading and dealing with slabs, etc. I have yet to shed one drop of perspiration while scanning, unless I find something. I just do it while I'm resting up from everything else. Scanning doesn't take very much time, and I've yet to hit metal in a log I've scanned. I don't scan all of them, though, and I've hit a few nails before. It took a whole lot longer to replace/resharpen teeth than scanning would have taken.

Dan_Shade · August 03, 2005, 11:04:32 PM

it sounds like you enjoy scanning for metal about as much as you enjoy the whole adventure of sawing, DanG

:D

brdmkr · August 03, 2005, 11:17:51 PM

I'm not convinced that I need to buy a high dollar detector, but I have to agree with Dan regarding the need to scan. I don't have much time, but I have even less money that I can invest in milling right now.

DanG · August 04, 2005, 12:10:47 AM

I don't particularly enjoy scanning, but I sure get happy when I find some. ;D :D :D

Minnesota_boy · August 04, 2005, 06:58:05 AM

DanG, You're doing it all wrong if you're sweating buckets when sawing and offbearing. I hardly sweat at all when it's 0 to minujs 10 degrees! ;D :D :D

AtLast · September 05, 2005, 11:45:21 PM

We use either a Garrett GTI 2500 or a RENS.....depends on your application

rvrdivr · September 06, 2005, 01:38:17 PM

I've got several detectors. Three are high dollar speciallized machines one costing $1100.00. the forth is a cheap hundred dollar bounty hunter from walmart I use at the mill. I got the cheap one there cause I was afraid it would get stolen since I'm not out there all the time. So far It's failed only once. There was a nail that was almost in the center of a 25"+ diameter oak. I think it was holding a sign at one time. Must have been 50 years old.

I saw in the last Harbor Frieght catalog there is a detector on sale for $20.00. Even if it only caught half of the metal you saw it would pay for itself right away.

brdmkr · September 06, 2005, 02:53:54 PM

I wound up buying a cheap detector for around 50.00 from ebay. I have played around with it and I think it will do OK. I can detect the head of a nail through about 6 " of wood. I am sure I could have bought a better detector, but maybe this one will save me a tooth or 2.

maple flats · September 06, 2005, 09:43:39 PM

I use a Garrett Ace 250. (previously tried a MP3 pro, maker unknown, didn't find metal deep enough for what I cut max) The Ace hasn't failed me yet, only use it on yard trees and an occasional suspicious looking tree other than yard. My blades cost about $400 and I charge $.05 more/bd ft for yard trees to pay for the detector time. Goes really quick to check and can detect in excess of 8" deep on a 6 P nail head. I do fret the first time I hit a porcelin insulator with no metal in it to register on the detector. So far I havn't even had to replace the first tooth but it will happen someday, my luck won't last forever..

woodbeard · September 06, 2005, 10:14:00 PM

I have a Garrett Superscanner ( wand type ) I got used off ebay. I wasn't really expecting a lot out of it, depth-wise, but it finds nails 6" deep.

Frank_Pender · September 07, 2005, 12:14:46 AM

I use a Rens 3000. It will go at least 3' through Black Walnut and 4' into the ground. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

A couple years ago I had lost the recharger unit and was at the Oregon Logging Copnference and had explained to the folks there what had happened and they simply handed me one for nothing. I later found the lost unit and sent the new one back. What a company.