accidentally made a wand.
- Thread starter 9Veater
- Start date
Filed the threads smooth on the opposite end. Sort of ill finish it tomorrow.. Haven't slept in 48 hrs due to finals, and perfect metal detecting weather when my daughter takes her nap, which i sometimes join in on. For the record Im a dulltime truck driver, who has been out since sept 2013, due to insurance company dragging feet to approve the surgery on my shoulder. Had it done in June, mri day before turkey day showed I still had 2 tears, now waiting for approval all over again for the second procedure. Thats why i am always making !!!! and bored out of my tree! Went from 60 hrs a week to 0!
Silversmith45
Elite Member
I found that the brass rod that I originally used is hard to find anymore. You can simply find a brass rod (doesn't have to be threaded) that will fit into a cabinet handle (Or drill out the hole to fit) and rough up the end and glue it in place. I used Gorilla Glue and it seems to work well. I found that the bottle doesn't last long before it sets up and becomes useless so I would buy a small bottle. Probably any strong glue would work since there isn't much stress on the joint. I spun the rod against a sanding disk to narrow the tip down to a dull point. Probing will eventually sharpen this and it will need to be filed dull again so as not to scratch coins. I gently probe the ground until I find the coin. I push the probe in at an angle over the coin and raise it making a slot in the ground. Next I find the edge and push the probe under it and raise it to the surface through the slot. With a little practice it's easier that it sounds. They didn't have pinpointers when I started detecting. This will not work well on deep coins other than locating them. You can also tell if it is a coin sized object or something larger like a pop can. I have used golf balls but they are a little larger than I like to carry. There are no set rules in anything you make for yourself. Experiment and perhaps you will find something you like better. To find my original post on how to make one do a search for Easy Coin Probe.
I spent a couple of hours between your original thread, along with whatching coin popping videos on youtube. It really is crazy how addicting this hobby is, I have been out since I started as low as 20 degrees and raining and instead of trying to rush or just call it quits I find myself saying just one more hit, just a couple more. Before I know it it has been an hour since my wife called and I said I was just wrapping up...even though I'm no more than 10-20 min away. My favorite is when she calls and asks if I'm ready to come home so we can go grocery shopping or what ever and I'm on my knees with my pinpointer in one hand phone in the other telling her I'm making my way back to the car to scoop her up only to hit 10 more targets lol 
Shes not dumb, I've noticed she calls a lot earlier than normal lately lol
Shes not dumb, I've noticed she calls a lot earlier than normal lately lol
airscapes
Elite Member
I spent a couple of hours between your original thread, along with whatching coin popping videos on youtube. It really is crazy how addicting this hobby is, I have been out since I started as low as 20 degrees and raining and instead of trying to rush or just call it quits I find myself saying just one more hit, just a couple more. Before I know it it has been an hour since my wife called and I said I was just wrapping up...even though I'm no more than 10-20 min away. My favorite is when she calls and asks if I'm ready to come home so we can go grocery shopping or what ever and I'm on my knees with my pinpointer in one hand phone in the other telling her I'm making my way back to the car to scoop her up only to hit 10 more targets lol
Shes not dumb, I've noticed she calls a lot earlier than normal lately lol
HA!! I had that same problem.. got tired of being yelled out and got one of these to stick on my MD right above the display so I have no choice but see it!
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1292095
Lol for me metal detecting is a huge escape, being surrounded by woods, so quiet so odd since I have really bad adhd but something about being outdoors not to sound like a corny you know what. I hate hunting like an hour before I need to go somewhere and putting timelines on hunts always makes me feel like the best find would have been mt next swing lol I know I'm losing it
Way to go! I'm a Plumber. So I'd be walking around with a float ball on the end.
One tip for anyone making one. You can stick the brass rod in a drill and turn it at high speed and run it across sand paper or a file to shape it easily.
One tip for anyone making one. You can stick the brass rod in a drill and turn it at high speed and run it across sand paper or a file to shape it easily.
Way to go! I'm a Plumber. So I'd be walking around with a float ball on the end.
One tip for anyone making one. You can stick the brass rod in a drill and turn it at high speed and run it across sand paper or a file to shape it easily.
Didn't even think of that going to do that
TorqueMaster
Elite Member
I'm curious why brass is the metal of choice for a probe?
I've only probed using what I had handy -- the steel wire of a utility company yard flag -- I know that's way too hard and may scratch a coin. Also use a screwdriver for coin popping -- again, hard enough to scratch so not a great choice.
Need something better, so I started looking at the physical properties of metals, and pure copper, silver and gold are all around 2.5-3.0 on the Mohs hardness (scratchability) scale. Brass is 3.0-4.0, which on Mohs, means it is at least twice as hard as the pure metals. Zincolns (who cares, right?) are coated in 100% pure copper, "copper" cents are 95% copper/5% zinc and that alloy that is *slightly* harder. The 75% copper/25% nickel alloy used in Nickels and outer layer of clad is *slightly* harder than the 95% copper alloy. 90% silver (10% copper) alloy may be *slightly* harder still, and I think 40% silver (60% copper) is a bit harder yet.
I wonder if the minting process makes the coins harder than the raw alloys? Many sources say a "copper penny" is Mohs 3, which is the upper end of the copper range, so not hardened very much, if at all. Mohs covers a huge range from talc=1 to diamonds=10, so I doubt the hardest coin we dig is much over 3. And the softest maybe a bit less than 3.
So why do we use a brass probe in the 3.0-4.0 hardness range?
Seems like something less hard, like tin wire (1.5 hardness,) or pure copper, or some alloy with a hardness less than 3 would be a better choice. Or a stiff steel core with a softer metal as an outer layer. I think someone mentioned a bamboo skewer worked ok, too, and that should have a safe hardness around 2, but maybe less tactile feedback than metal-to-metal contact.
I don't probe much, but do coin pop. I'm going to cover my screwdriver with vinyl (electrical tape or plasti-dip, or something similar) which has a hardness around 1.
I'm also curious if anyone with a brass probe has intentionally tried to scratch coins with it? There's nothing like good old fashioned destructive evaluation...
I've only probed using what I had handy -- the steel wire of a utility company yard flag -- I know that's way too hard and may scratch a coin. Also use a screwdriver for coin popping -- again, hard enough to scratch so not a great choice.
Need something better, so I started looking at the physical properties of metals, and pure copper, silver and gold are all around 2.5-3.0 on the Mohs hardness (scratchability) scale. Brass is 3.0-4.0, which on Mohs, means it is at least twice as hard as the pure metals. Zincolns (who cares, right?) are coated in 100% pure copper, "copper" cents are 95% copper/5% zinc and that alloy that is *slightly* harder. The 75% copper/25% nickel alloy used in Nickels and outer layer of clad is *slightly* harder than the 95% copper alloy. 90% silver (10% copper) alloy may be *slightly* harder still, and I think 40% silver (60% copper) is a bit harder yet.
I wonder if the minting process makes the coins harder than the raw alloys? Many sources say a "copper penny" is Mohs 3, which is the upper end of the copper range, so not hardened very much, if at all. Mohs covers a huge range from talc=1 to diamonds=10, so I doubt the hardest coin we dig is much over 3. And the softest maybe a bit less than 3.
So why do we use a brass probe in the 3.0-4.0 hardness range?
Seems like something less hard, like tin wire (1.5 hardness,) or pure copper, or some alloy with a hardness less than 3 would be a better choice. Or a stiff steel core with a softer metal as an outer layer. I think someone mentioned a bamboo skewer worked ok, too, and that should have a safe hardness around 2, but maybe less tactile feedback than metal-to-metal contact.
I don't probe much, but do coin pop. I'm going to cover my screwdriver with vinyl (electrical tape or plasti-dip, or something similar) which has a hardness around 1.
I'm also curious if anyone with a brass probe has intentionally tried to scratch coins with it? There's nothing like good old fashioned destructive evaluation...
TorqueMaster
Elite Member
Lol, I overthink everything. I get why you probe, just not sure how/why brass became the de-facto choice for metal-detecting probes.
USAFSSK
Junior Member
I use an old flat head screw driver (rounded through rough use) for coin-popping where I know I'm hitting modern clad (tot-lots, gravel p-lots, etc) and when I'm in an area where I believe there's a better chance for older coins, I have a probe made from a brass brazing rod with a rounded tip. That way I can probe until I get metal-2-metal contact, then "pop" the item with my fiskar's spade. I push the spade down to where I know it's just below where the probe has met the target, and pry up.
All that being said, I use the brass rod not so much as a means to not damage/scratch the target, but because it is easier (in my mind) to probe with. Much like the large T-handle probes we use when locating underground utilities. The brass/copper coatings on the probe seem to make them slide easier through the ground than an iron/steel rod would.
All that being said, I use the brass rod not so much as a means to not damage/scratch the target, but because it is easier (in my mind) to probe with. Much like the large T-handle probes we use when locating underground utilities. The brass/copper coatings on the probe seem to make them slide easier through the ground than an iron/steel rod would.
