Thread: Metal Detectors.... What are you using?

I've tried a couple. Neither was much use. One was a general purpose, supposedly high-sensitivity thing belonging to a mate and the other was a purpose-built unit specifically meant for wood.

any deeper than 1-2" and they were both useless, even when there was obvious iron staining, so I simply don't bother any more.

Nearly all my logs come from urban trees, so nails are a frequent companion. I hope someone has a good recommendation.

Originally Posted by Exador

I've tried a couple. Neither was much use. One was a general purpose, supposedly high-sensitivity thing belonging to a mate and the other was a purpose-built unit specifically meant for wood.

any deeper than 1-2" and they were both useless, even when there was obvious iron staining, so I simply don't bother any more.

Nearly all my logs come from urban trees, so nails are a frequent companion. I hope someone has a good recommendation.

Even though most of my logs have an urban origin I have been pretty lucky and have seen very little metal.

For a while there I was hitting metal about every 5th log so I bought an MMD-80A (Metal Detector : CARBA-TEC) from Carbatec but have not seen foreign metal since then and have even stopped using it. I

I now mainly use its when thicknessing since it s able to pick up a metal paper clip end on 1 mm below the wood surface wood. I haven't tested mine but it is supposed to be able to pick up a 10c piece size bit of metal at 60 mm. I suspect it would struggle at much beyond 3"

use an old whites , you do have to tune it to max sensitivity. and will pick up about 4 inches deep,simple test is small nail under some planks you have cut and tune to that. ever notice how well preserved some iron is? other problem is rocks . its such a pain to wreck blades .Bob

Comgreserv, I like most the lads, don't use one. A heap of the American millers swear by using MD's, but I just take the hits when they come. I tend to get the most metal when milling for me. I've only charged a customer 3 times now in almost 7 years!!

I leave the blade on once I hit metal in a log though, I just keep using it until the TCT doesn't cover the pocket anymore. At this stage if you keep using it, it costs much more to re-tip, but as long as the TCT still covers where the seat is for the tip on your blade, I'd keep going.

4x4's would be difficult as the stain seems to be no more than 2" away from the nail, so cutting 2" and 1" boards seems to show up the stain most often before hitting the nail, but I still don't do anything about it other than slow down near the stain...

I have a metal detector which is a radioshack brand, it will pick up metal 12 inches deep in even the hardest timbers, it has saved my ass on many occasions and hundreds in retipping fees.i cant stress how important it is to have one if you are picking up logs out of back yards and off the side of roads.
Regards
RUDE.

Mine is an old coinmaster. You have to regularly re tune the ground balance and it only goes about 4" deep. I only get it out when I suspect the log may contain metal. It makes slow progess having to scan after each slab.

I was planning an upgrade to one of the new Mine lab units. They are pretty high tech and will surposedly scan deeper.

cheers
Steve

i dont bother, normally people want there log cut anyhow and are happy to pay for blades.

retiping is not that expensive $50 blade, and i will cut threw up to 50 nails with the tips the saw doctor is using at the moment.

I have the same as Bobl, I don't use it that much for when I mill (CS mill) although I probably should, I tend to take it as it comes, the thing is for me if I am cutting a log and I detect steel with a MD What am I gonna do? I need a MD that detects with pinpoint accuracy where that bit of steel is before I try and dig it out, I don't want to chop a big hole in a log looking for a bit of steel that's in there somewhere. staining does help indicate where it is but I reckon it's still a bit unknown. If I am cutting a log it's cos I want it (species, size, or a fork that is gonna have crotch figure that I want) so I let the saw find them then work out from there whether to keep going or how to dig the nail out, mostly I find nails if vertical to the cut don't do much damage, sometimes I have cut thru em and not noticed but ususally it's more like specially if they are at an angle to the cut and every cutter tries to take a bite and it always happens on a new chain (Pete's Law)
The accuracy is what is needed in a MD XZY position so the steel can be chopped out with confidence as to where it is,..... once that happens next we want a gravel, rock, concrete, etc etc detector


Pete

Originally Posted by pjt

I need a MD that detects with pinpoint accuracy where that bit of steel is before I try and dig it out, I don't want to chop a big hole in a log looking for a bit of steel that's in there somewhere. staining does help indicate where it is but I reckon it's still a bit unknown. If I am cutting a log it's cos I want it (species, size, or a fork that is gonna have crotch figure that I want) so I let the saw find them then work out from there whether to keep going or how to dig the nail out.

Yeah - that' about the way I work. The trickiest ones are where the metal is in the middle of the log and I don't exactly want to cut the log in half finding it.

Many thanks to all for your help and advice lads!

Tis true that I too only seem to find the metal when working for myself

weisyboy... You've made me wonder if i'm using the wrong type of tips. What type should I be asking my sawdoctor to use? 50 nails How do you manage that? I hit one nail and it smashed all the teeth off beyond rescue sharpening.

Cheers all once again

Hi Guys

I thought I might be able to offer some help with the metal detectors. I work in a recycled timber retailer, in which every stick of timber has heaps of nails and screws etc. which need to be removed prior to dressing.
Our guys use a metal detector from Garrett called SuperScanner. Garrett: SuperScanner Key Features.
In the 16 months that I've been here the guys havn't missed a single nail, thankfully. We get ours from a place in SA who supply and service them for us, although I think he's just left on 7 weeks holiday.
I hope this is helpful.

Paul

its all about the blend of the metals in the tips.

a stelite tip will bend and not shatter,

different grades of tungsten can withstand different amounts of wear and tear.

talk to your saw doctor about trying different blends.

Originally Posted by AMPA

Hi Guys

I thought I might be able to offer some help with the metal detectors. I work in a recycled timber retailer, in which every stick of timber has heaps of nails and screws etc. which need to be removed prior to dressing.
Our guys use a metal detector from Garrett called SuperScanner. Garrett: SuperScanner Key Features.
In the 16 months that I've been here the guys havn't missed a single nail, thankfully. We get ours from a place in SA who supply and service them for us, although I think he's just left on 7 weeks holiday.
I hope this is helpful.

Paul

Hi Paul, anything that might be of help is always good, the Garret might be better than the one I have, I'd have to compare them, But I wonder can it tell me that there is a very rusty 2 inch nail 3 inches below the bark of a just felled mango for e.g. and exactly where it is with a set of cross hairs so I know where to start digging

Pete

Originally Posted by pjt

Hi Paul, anything that might be of help is always good, the Garret might be better than the one I have, I'd have to compare them, But I wonder can it tell me that there is a very rusty 2 inch nail 3 inches below the bark of a just felled mango for e.g. and exactly where it is with a set of cross hairs so I know where to start digging

The sensors inside the Starret and our MDs come from the same Chinese factory and are almost the same. At one point the factory had an english section on their website so you could compare the two MDs and the ones we have are more sensitive that the Starret, because they use a wider coil. The Starret Coil is long and narrow for sweeping over wide areas - this does increase the scanning area but the narrowness of the coil reduces sensitivity. It claims to detect a Gun at 9", a knife at 6", razor blades and box cutters at 3" and small foil wraps and jewelry at 1" . The one we use claims to detect a 10c size piece of metal at 60 mm - this is all under clothing or in air.

The issue might also be one of wet wood versus dry, mine can very accurately pint point a staple near the surface in dry wood but it's not so good at pinpointing the location of a 2" under green wood.