Below find a few paragraphs to give you an idea what the book is like, the first two large chapters are a whole bunch of entries like this covering a plethora of subject matters having to do with metal detecting and treasure hunting. The next major chapter is Mechanical Treasure Salvage, how to find things and recover treasure in ways other than metal detecting; then there is Sustainment Metallica, my metals conservation book which is a resource unto itself, and finally the super booster, which is a very nice thing to build and use, and very easy with my instructions...it will give you a super advantage, and is worth the cost of the book by itself....b
TARGET RETRIEVAL WHEN METAL DETECTING IN WATER
When wading in hip and chest deep water with a metal detector, especially in
lakes and around some other beaches, you can dispense with the scoop and
floating sifter, if the bottom is relatively clear. Wear a dive mask, and
your wetsuit, or not (depending on how cold it is), and drop to the bottom
and hand fan the targets. It takes some getting used to, but is worth the
effort on many occasions. If you wear a wet suit you will need your weight
belt too, of course.
This method of target retrieval works very well in areas where the water is
calm, and somewhat clear, and where the trash is not piled up too badly. If
there is some sort of current, including tidal currents, that is even
better. In very cold conditions, this method is not recommended.
METAL DETECTORS IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY
I once gave a lumberman a metal detector, and it served him very well. It is
probably still serving him well. This person was a tree surgeon by trade,
and he also owned a Lucas Mill. The Lucas Mill is a portable lumber mill
made in Australia, that processes rough wood, like tree trunks and large
branches, into high quality lumber: 2x4's, 1x2's, anything you want, this
mill would make it. Easily, and fast.
The biggest problem this lumberman had was this: his saw blades were very
expensive, because they were very large, and because they had special teeth.
These teeth were easily damaged by nails in the tree trunks that he made
into lumber, so everytime the blade would hit a nail, and there were many
such nails, there went another tooth or two on the blade; when enough of the
blades teeth were shot, and it was time for a new blade, that rather
defeated a lot of the profit of making lumber.
I got him an old Bounty Hunter ALL METAL DETECTOR which I had picked up at a
flea market almost for nothing because it did not work. I replaced a bad
transistor in it, and that was that. This bounty hunter was not too good for
treasure hunting, but it sure did the job of finding nails in the tree
trunks! The nail signals in the tree trunks were circled with white or
yellow grease pencil, and it was then easy to avoid them. That was just one
good way I have seen metal detectors used in Private Industry.
Another is in Plumbing. When I was a boy, with my first metal detector, the
world famous JETCO MUSTANG, I used to hunt the schoolyard at Amelia Earhart
Elementary in Hialeah, where I went to grade school. Mr. Tyree, the janitor
there, saw me doing it one day and asked to borrow the machine. I asked my
parents if he could borrow it, because it had been a birthday gift to me
from them, and they said sure, as long as it was alright with me, and of
course it was. Mr. Tyree had such success finding lost pipes and hitherto
unlocatable water mains and such, that he had the school system spring for a
metal detector for himself to use at the school, doing his janitorial work.
He said later that was one of the most valuable tools he had ever had for
plumbing, and I know many plumbers who use the metal detector to locate
plumbing of all types.
SOME METAL DETECTING TRICKS
When attempting to get the deepest targets at a good site, go very very
slowly, and be very methodical in your movement of the coil forward. Make
sure there is only an inch or so of forward movement with each swing. This
is the best and most productive metal detecting trick I know of. I mean it.
If you are getting a good signal from your Motion-discriminator in an area
chock full o' nails or bottlecaps, which are notorious for leading the metal
detectorist astray, and even into insanity, with false signals, then check
the target signal at 180 degrees off the original swing. This means make a
square X over the target. Most times the signal will break up if it is a
nail, when you go over it at 180 degrees off the original swing. For bottle
caps the only trick I know is to burn the coil across the target FAST. If it
is a bottle cap it will usually break up the signal when you burn the coil
across it fast, whereas it is nearly impossible to make a bona-fide Good
signal break up.
Burning the coil FAST across a target in motion-discriminate-mode will many
times give you greater depth as well, and also may allow you to discern a
good target that is near a piece of iron trying to mask it. At some clean
sites like fort sites in Florida, where all the targets are worthy, the very
deepest signals will many times just cause a very indistinct wavering of the
detectors tone, like an electronic butterfly flapping its wings in your
earphones. My, thats almost poetic, hmmmmm? Sometimes I surprise even
myself...
But whatever...for these miniscule signals, a fast burn of the coil across
the target may get you a signal clear enough to warrant digging. Don't
damage the detector doing this though, and also be careful to keep the coil
as close to the ground as possible, and at a uniform distance from the
ground.
I use my transmitter receiver (TR) discriminator mode a lot, even in highly
mineralized areas, because it is unparalleled in its ability to key on round
sounds (see earlier post explaining the Round Sound). I was given permission
to hunt a trashy lot in Largo Florida once, where three real old houses had been bulldozed.
The city official giving me permission said -- sure go ahead -- and they had
me sign an insurance waiver which I was more than happy to do (Sign
Everthing ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THOUGH!). This city official also advised me
pickings would be very slim, as it had been hit hard by another detectorist
for some weeks before me.
I went slowly and methodically with my TR circuit almost exclusively, and
found over 750 coins before 1960! Many deep silver dimes, one silver watch,
and a lot of the regular stuff you always get like costume jewelry
(Victorian!), keys, toys, and I even found a commemorative Sterling Silver
Medal of the Sherwin Williams company dated 1923, as big as a silver dollar!
I found a plethora of wheat cents, all the way back to 1909, and Indian Head
cents and barber dimes too! The detectorist before me not only missed all
that but I do not think he dug one nickel, because I found so many Indian
Head/Buffalo Nickels I got sick of them.
Not.
But I sure did found many of the things, from Almost Uncirculated, to nearly
worn flat, and everything in between. Most of the signals were tiny little
blips, but I had set the discrim so that ANY signal was diggable, and I
wasted very little time trying to figure should I dig or not. Yes, a good
memory to keep forever, and I sure did find a bunch of cool stuff too.
These few tricks will help you find a lot more fast, if you use them. Be
careful, have fun, and as always, Good Luck.
TARGET RETRIEVAL WHEN METAL DETECTING IN WATER
When wading in hip and chest deep water with a metal detector, especially in
lakes and around some other beaches, you can dispense with the scoop and
floating sifter, if the bottom is relatively clear. Wear a dive mask, and
your wetsuit, or not (depending on how cold it is), and drop to the bottom
and hand fan the targets. It takes some getting used to, but is worth the
effort on many occasions. If you wear a wet suit you will need your weight
belt too, of course.
This method of target retrieval works very well in areas where the water is
calm, and somewhat clear, and where the trash is not piled up too badly. If
there is some sort of current, including tidal currents, that is even
better. In very cold conditions, this method is not recommended.
METAL DETECTORS IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY
I once gave a lumberman a metal detector, and it served him very well. It is
probably still serving him well. This person was a tree surgeon by trade,
and he also owned a Lucas Mill. The Lucas Mill is a portable lumber mill
made in Australia, that processes rough wood, like tree trunks and large
branches, into high quality lumber: 2x4's, 1x2's, anything you want, this
mill would make it. Easily, and fast.
The biggest problem this lumberman had was this: his saw blades were very
expensive, because they were very large, and because they had special teeth.
These teeth were easily damaged by nails in the tree trunks that he made
into lumber, so everytime the blade would hit a nail, and there were many
such nails, there went another tooth or two on the blade; when enough of the
blades teeth were shot, and it was time for a new blade, that rather
defeated a lot of the profit of making lumber.
I got him an old Bounty Hunter ALL METAL DETECTOR which I had picked up at a
flea market almost for nothing because it did not work. I replaced a bad
transistor in it, and that was that. This bounty hunter was not too good for
treasure hunting, but it sure did the job of finding nails in the tree
trunks! The nail signals in the tree trunks were circled with white or
yellow grease pencil, and it was then easy to avoid them. That was just one
good way I have seen metal detectors used in Private Industry.
Another is in Plumbing. When I was a boy, with my first metal detector, the
world famous JETCO MUSTANG, I used to hunt the schoolyard at Amelia Earhart
Elementary in Hialeah, where I went to grade school. Mr. Tyree, the janitor
there, saw me doing it one day and asked to borrow the machine. I asked my
parents if he could borrow it, because it had been a birthday gift to me
from them, and they said sure, as long as it was alright with me, and of
course it was. Mr. Tyree had such success finding lost pipes and hitherto
unlocatable water mains and such, that he had the school system spring for a
metal detector for himself to use at the school, doing his janitorial work.
He said later that was one of the most valuable tools he had ever had for
plumbing, and I know many plumbers who use the metal detector to locate
plumbing of all types.
SOME METAL DETECTING TRICKS
When attempting to get the deepest targets at a good site, go very very
slowly, and be very methodical in your movement of the coil forward. Make
sure there is only an inch or so of forward movement with each swing. This
is the best and most productive metal detecting trick I know of. I mean it.
If you are getting a good signal from your Motion-discriminator in an area
chock full o' nails or bottlecaps, which are notorious for leading the metal
detectorist astray, and even into insanity, with false signals, then check
the target signal at 180 degrees off the original swing. This means make a
square X over the target. Most times the signal will break up if it is a
nail, when you go over it at 180 degrees off the original swing. For bottle
caps the only trick I know is to burn the coil across the target FAST. If it
is a bottle cap it will usually break up the signal when you burn the coil
across it fast, whereas it is nearly impossible to make a bona-fide Good
signal break up.
Burning the coil FAST across a target in motion-discriminate-mode will many
times give you greater depth as well, and also may allow you to discern a
good target that is near a piece of iron trying to mask it. At some clean
sites like fort sites in Florida, where all the targets are worthy, the very
deepest signals will many times just cause a very indistinct wavering of the
detectors tone, like an electronic butterfly flapping its wings in your
earphones. My, thats almost poetic, hmmmmm? Sometimes I surprise even
myself...
But whatever...for these miniscule signals, a fast burn of the coil across
the target may get you a signal clear enough to warrant digging. Don't
damage the detector doing this though, and also be careful to keep the coil
as close to the ground as possible, and at a uniform distance from the
ground.
I use my transmitter receiver (TR) discriminator mode a lot, even in highly
mineralized areas, because it is unparalleled in its ability to key on round
sounds (see earlier post explaining the Round Sound). I was given permission
to hunt a trashy lot in Largo Florida once, where three real old houses had been bulldozed.
The city official giving me permission said -- sure go ahead -- and they had
me sign an insurance waiver which I was more than happy to do (Sign
Everthing ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THOUGH!). This city official also advised me
pickings would be very slim, as it had been hit hard by another detectorist
for some weeks before me.
I went slowly and methodically with my TR circuit almost exclusively, and
found over 750 coins before 1960! Many deep silver dimes, one silver watch,
and a lot of the regular stuff you always get like costume jewelry
(Victorian!), keys, toys, and I even found a commemorative Sterling Silver
Medal of the Sherwin Williams company dated 1923, as big as a silver dollar!
I found a plethora of wheat cents, all the way back to 1909, and Indian Head
cents and barber dimes too! The detectorist before me not only missed all
that but I do not think he dug one nickel, because I found so many Indian
Head/Buffalo Nickels I got sick of them.
Not.
But I sure did found many of the things, from Almost Uncirculated, to nearly
worn flat, and everything in between. Most of the signals were tiny little
blips, but I had set the discrim so that ANY signal was diggable, and I
wasted very little time trying to figure should I dig or not. Yes, a good
memory to keep forever, and I sure did find a bunch of cool stuff too.
These few tricks will help you find a lot more fast, if you use them. Be
careful, have fun, and as always, Good Luck.
Planning a real treasure hunting experience for the entire family is simple to do and will create memories that will last a lifetime. Getting your kids outside and active while engaging their minds and imaginations can be fun and exciting for Mom and Dad, too. With a little planning and a bit of imagination, treasure games can bring families closer together and will provide hours of fun and exciting entertainment.
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