Stone Detecting

manumuskin

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Messages
6
Hi
My name is Al and I'm new here and I come with a question.
Me and a friend of mine have a highly unusual hobby.We search out old survey stones used to mark property.Some of these stones are in excess of 200 years old and all are at least 100.I have some experience with cheap metal detectors so I thought you guys might be able to help.You see to find the stones we use old maps and surveys and then plot the stones using computer programs,guesswork and some good map/topography savvy.Then we hit the field with handheld gps units after plotting an exact location or a declination arc but when we get there if the stone is above ground it is usually found quickly but if it is underground due to humus accumulation or purposely buried by the surveyor as some are we are stuck.Are units commonly only get down to about 16 to 24 ft accuracy.Thats a 32 to 48 ft diameter circle and if there are no surveyor clues as paint,blazes,nails in trees,ditches,etc then we have to stab the ground with pokers and hope we hit the stone and a 48 ft diameter circle is a lot of ground to cover in thick brush with a poker.My question to you folks is this.Would it be possible to either build a detector or modify a metal detector to detect stone an concrete and not confuse it with wood?If it confuses it with metal this is no big deal because most places we hunt are in the woods and there is very little metal outside of an occasional bottle cap or shotgun shell.Stone and concrete would be less dense then metal so I assume it would need a detector more sensitive then the normal metal detector.I live in southern NJ and our soil is mostly sands of quartz very fine and hardly any natural rock to speak of except on tops of the higher hills there is some native sandstone and this is what most survey stones we find are made of.It is very coarse and fragile compared to most sandstone and the coarse stuff can frequently be broken by hand or a light tap.The professional surveyors use gps units accurate to the foot to find old stones but they are thousands of dollars an unavailable to the general populace.Can any one offer any advice?
Thanks,
Al
 
we don't take them.we document the location and take pictures,that is all.some are inscribed with names and dates and many people mistake them as tombstones.They are stolen on occasion and we keep all locations secret and rebury buried ones.
 
Sounds like an interesting little niche hobby ya got there.....That is pretty cool....good luck on your quests.
 
Does anyone even know if a metal detector can be made to detect stone and concrete?Not much use in the mountains but would do the trick in the jersey pine barrens.
 
Al, I had just assumed you were collecting them...I hope I didn't come across as accusing or stepping on your interests. Locating and preserving the locations of your local stones is a great thing. I grew up not far from that marker I posted a link on---- and anytime I think about boundary stones I think about that curse written on that particular stone.

Thanks for the link on the Fairfax stone. Good luck and happy hunting!
 
No you did not offend me at all though i have had people assume the same thing in a much more arrogant way.I just had a surveyor on another forum tell me to leave the stones alone ,get another hobby and basically I was a stone stealin butthole.The guys first words to me,didn't know me from Mr. J Poop.I called him on it and sent him links to a forum where our stone loacting work was on display minus the locations and that were were recorders and preservers of stones and not theives.he hasn;t replied yet.Surveyors get pissed because when people steal stones it makes their job harder,if they don't want them taken they can bury them on the spot but that would require work and sweat.That would make my hobby harder but also the thieves work harder too which is okay with me.My friend has been toying with the idea of stamps with nails through them attached to boots,sorta like oversized cleats.Most stones are a mere one to four inches down so this would detect many,can't make em too big or they would be too unweildly.There are also ground piercing radar detectors out there that can see stones and voids,basically a visual instead of audible metal detector but Most I've found ar prohibitevly expensive.There are several inscribed stones we've looked for in the middle of nowhere we could not find and I'm almost certain their buried.Would love to find them.The stamps may do it if we ever make them.
Al
 
Thanks Digger.I have found some ground penetrating radar type detectors but they be way expensive but they are advertised to find stones,voids,any object underground.I may just go with stamps strapped to my feet with nails poking through the bottoms.extra big cleats sorta.Guess the detector idea is a no go.
Al
 
...I have found some ground penetrating radar type detectors ...
Al

I was going to suggest this, or some other type of sonographic equipment(of which I know none available to the general populace, but then again, i havent really searched).
 
I would suggest a probe that the privvy diggers use to locate old privvys and the subsequent bottles and such to be found there. I seen a few on various viedeos that go 15 to 20 foot deep. Some come in sections. Some one piece. But would probably be a crapshoot to locate one particular marker as oppossed to looking for general bottles and artifacts................
 
Check out waymarking.com I think they have a catagory for these marker stones that you speak of. On that site you can post a picture of them along with any other info. I do a little waymarking myself.

Mark
 
Here is a suggestion for you!

Since a metal detector is just that and cannot be modded to find stone or concrete: What type of probe are you using to find the stone you are seeking?

Pot hunters use a metal whip antenna...pretty stiff but small and can be slipped into most ground easily. When it hits something solid, like your rock or concrete, it not only stops but will "sing" when tapping the object!

If the ground where you are hunting is not loaded withs stones, then this could solve your problem...light weight, easy to push in and gives you, with a bit of experience, knowledge of potential spots to dig for your stone! Usually these rods are 5 to 6 feet long and may be rounded or pointed on the end, for easier insertion into the ground. Some guys who use them call them pippers because if you hit a pot, it "pips' a hole in it, but with experience, you can recognize what it is you are hitting!
 
Finding Stones

I live in an area with fairly uniform soil and few rocks. Using a detector like the Tesoro Silver Sabre 2, one with a simple ground balancing system. Small dips in the soil or coil contact with the ground give a tone shift with this breed.
I have had good results in finding disturbed ground and the rare large rock by ground balancing, using slow swings, and listening to the constant tone for changes as I pass over the anomaly.
I can locate utility trenches, large tree roots, and the like on my property if I listen carefully as the tone shifts.
It may work for you if you are fortunate enough to be searching reasonably clear ground (low weeds).
 
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