metal detector for nales in logs

[Polly]

 8) 8)   i need a metal detector to find nails in logs beforestarting to saw can someone suggest a resonable priced one or is their a better solution thanks for the help 8)

[ellmoe]

Polly,

   I use a cheap, entry level detector- don't recall the brand name. We haven't missed a nail...yet! ;D


Mark

[Raider Bill]

Here's my dumb question of the day...... :P

If you find a log with a nail in it do you cut around it somehow and pull it or not use the log at all? ???

[Tom]

I generally try to cut around it and pull it or cut the offending portion off.  I've cut hardwoods for customers that looked like swiss cheese.  Sometimes history overrides good sense.  :D

[leweee]

Here's my dumb question of the day...... :P

If you find a log with a nail in it do you cut around it somehow and pull it or not use the log at all? ???

Bill...first of all there are no dumb questions....the only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked ;)

The metal detector won't tell you the size or the deepth of the metal. It could be a bullet, a nail,a fence staple,an eye bolt ,a lag bolt,a cloths line pully etc......in short it's always a surprise inside.

[ellmoe]

 Bill,
  We had a customer bring in a big (30" dbh) cypress log the other day. He wanted us to cut some beams and 1" boards out of the butt and to board out the other cuts. As he left he casually mentioned," I noticed a small nail in the bottom log". Not good, thinks I. ;D Out came the metal detector. We could easily see the TWO nails sticking out, but what the detector "showed" us was the other 50+ nails under the bark! I suspect that tree had been next to somone's dock and had probably had everything you can imagine nailed to it. The detector saved us a blade (or two ) and alot of time. Generally, if we have only one "hit"with the detector we will either trim off the log or dig the metal  out. This usually depends on the value of the log and the location of the metal. My $100 detector has saved me thousands. It probably has the best payback record of anything I've bought.

Mark

[Cedarman]

Ever drop that importatant nut into the sawdust?  I have scooped that sawdust away from the mill and all the metal and found them.  I like it better than a magnet.  Plus they are fun to use to check out the old farm site.

Cheap detectors are fine for metal in log.  With experience you can get a good idea how deep the metal is.  But multiple nails can make things a bit confusing.

[woodmills1]

try whites, I bought a used one and they send me instructions for it for free.

[tomboysawyer]

I have a $100+ Whites that I bought at a local coin shop.

I "had" to buy it because I forgot to put the cap on the hydraulic resevoir of our 1970 Ford skidsteer and had accidentally buried it.

Since then we've scanned for nails in new driveways, parts for the backhoe when a pin broke in the stump hole, other miscellaneous parts, a co-worker's wedding ring = all with success.

For me, the $100 was worth it for my resevoir cap. Everything else has just been an added bonus.