Metal detector - what to get for big logs?

[davidwyby]

Thanks

 

[chiselbit]

I’ve got a Garrett wand type. It’s real handy, keep behind the seat, but as I said in the other thread it doesn’t penetrate much past maybe 3”? Not sure. I just know I’ve still hit *s-word inside the tree after wanding it carefully.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I use my blades, they appear to be very adept at finding metal.

 

[Moparmyway]

Welp, unlike Guido, I just use my chains ........ the square filed ones, guaranteed to find every single piece of stone/metal/rock/sand/bullet/cannonball/clothesline pulley/lag bolt ................

 

[chiselbit]

The newer the chain, the better it works. New chains over 32” have the best metal detecting qualities

 

[Nutball]

Sometimes you get lucky with the extra long chains provided you are cutting fast, they can cut through a couple nails or wire and still have enough good cutters to keep going.

 

[RajS]

Sometimes you get lucky with the extra long chains provided you are cutting fast, they can cut through a couple nails or wire and still have enough good cutters to keep going.

I wish!!

 

[kneedeepinsaws]

if your milling outside city limits you may want to pass on a metal detector. 8/10 trees i mill have buckshot in them, and I can say that the saw usually goes right through it without adverse effects to the cutters.
If you had a wand you would be turning down quite a few candidates

 

[Nutball]

Can't say I'd want to burn lead filled wood though.

 

[old guy]

Can't say I'd want to burn lead filled wood though.

Why not?, it just melts & falls in the ash pan.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Can't say I'd want to burn lead filled wood though.

Most people tend not to burn the wood they have taken the time and effort to mill.

 

[charles.mann]

Iv been thinking of getting a metal detector too. I cut a red oak a month ago that was intended for the wood heater. I noticed some unique color variations in the butt log and decided to open it up. I milled 4 slabs with no issues, but the fifth cut, about 4” into the cut, i hit something steel that wrecked 4 cutters on a 42” chain, then 8’ further up the that same cut, hit 2 .22LR bullets that were around 25 yrs old since they were embedded into the tree.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I am milling a bunch of planted pine. I routinely hit bullets, they are soft enough not to significantly damage my blades.

 

[Nutball]

Why not?, it just melts & falls in the ash pan.

Lead fumes can be released at around 900F or more, it may also react with other substances which could help it vaporize.

 

[old guy]

I have two metal detectors which I have not used for several years, but this summer I did some work on an 044, there was only one screw holding the little cover over the 2nd muffler port but I took it out to the test log & made a few cuts, when I got back in the shop I noticed the little cover, screen & screw were gone.
So I got out one of the detectors & started rooting around in the chips, I got a faint signal and there was the screw, after awhile further to the right the cover lit up the machine, soon right close to the log I found the screen.

Just last week I took a Husky 350 out to cut 3 small dead white oaks, noticed a muffler bolt missing when I was finished.
Got the detector out again, leaves were 4'' deep but found the bolt in the first 4 feet of looking. Yeah I know I gotta tighten my bolts bettermore.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Why not?, it just melts & falls in the ash pan.

I found a half melted lag bolt in my pan a few years ago. Luckily never hit it with the saw, never even seen it until I found it in the stove.

 

[JIMG]

Chains are good. If they dont work, the bandsaw can find that metal.
Those in the know say stay away from the yard trees with your mill, especially around the trunk, especially sugar maples.
Turns out maple tap spiles remain hard for up to a century and apparently they were very cheap and not worth taking out of the tree after the sap run.
My kids abandoned a cheapie metal detector grandma got them. I believe it's somewhere in the tall grass (now tall snow). I might find some batteries and see how that does. Or I might just listen to those in the know.

 

[Gullet]

I was cutting what I thought was clean wood a few months ago & felt a bump on my 272xp that turned out to be a knife blade!
Ruined the chain but cut right thru the cheapo knife blade!

I've found that if running the older Huskies, a metal detector is not a bad investment.
I've lost muffler support screws twice having vibrated loose.

 

[Nutball]

I was making some timed cuts comparing 50cc saws in white oak. I felt some vibration from one, and thought it was just going through a knot, but it slowed down significantly afterward, which got me wondering if something dulled the chain.

 

[davidwyby]

Anyone tried the HF detector?