finding metal in logs before the bandsaw does? - Woodworking Talk

Wrangler55 · 08-08-2009, 09:43 AM

I mill a lot of tree service trees and a lot of them have various pieces of metal inside them. (LOL nails, wire, etc) Any idea how to find them before the bandsaw blade does that's affordable?

Hal Dougherty

**Daren** · 08-08-2009, 10:04 AM

Welcome Hal. I know where you are coming from, I battle tramp metal in logs too. I just use an inexpensive (less than $100) "treasure hunter" type metal detector. I get most of it

...I mean I miss some of it

. They make nice wands for doing just what you are talking about, smaller handheld deals like at airport security. The thing about city logs is you may scan the surface and find a few/or not, but some of the metal may be several inches in and it gets missed on the first pass with the detector. The smart thing to do is use the detector while milling too and check every once in awhile, but I rarely do that

.
The old saying is the best way to find metal in a log is put a new blade on...it'll usually find a nail in the first slab.

Wrangler55 · 08-08-2009, 10:15 AM

I cut off the end of a poplar log after I hit a nail in it. I used it to test both the Harbor Freight metal detector and the wand they sell at Woodcraft. Neither could find the nail, both from the side (1" deep) and on the cut side. They found junk in the yard just fine, but not in the two logs I've tried them with. When I sell the next load of wood, I may give the Harbor Freight detector another try. It found more than the wand. It only has to save two or three blades to pay for it's self.

Hal