Handheld metal detectors

[Bryan Nuss]

Can anyone recommend a good handheld metal detector for checking out lumber before planing or jointing? I just bought a new DeWalt 733 planer and would hate to chew it up planing resawn wood!

What do you think of the Little Wizard (smaller or larger one)?

Thanks.

[Terry Hatfield]

Bryan,

I have a good buddy that recycles a ton of wood. He has the Little Wizard, the little one, and is very pleased with it. It's sure worth the $20 investment!!!

Terry

[John Preston]

I've got the little wizard (the small one) and have had almost no use for it.

At first, I kept it in the garage- no heat, no AC. Turned it on, couldn't get it tuned down so that it wouldn't go into alarm. Put it in my house, fiddled with it for a week, still wouldn't work.

Took it to work, sat there for a couple of weeks until I got around to calling the company up, and lo and behold, it worked while I was talking to their rep.

Kept it on my desk at home until last week, turned it on, and now the lights light up but no sound.

Arrrg.

I would recommend at least one model up.

[Bryan Nuss]

Terry & John,

Thanks for your comments. I think I'll probably go for the "big brother version" .... I don't hear of any complaints about it compared to the smaller model.

[Ray Johnson]

I have the same problem. The buzzer won't stop. Maybe I'll check their website and/ or call them.

[Allan Johanson]

I just picked one up from Radio Shack the other day. It passed my initial tests with flying colors. It was reasonably priced too, on sale for $50 Canadian.

I'm not sure if it's available in the US or not. I only see it on the Canadian website for Radio Shack (radioshack.ca not radioshack.com).

The detector portion is 8" long so you can scan an 8" board in a single pass. It's very convenient.

Good luck!

Allan

[Bryan Nuss]

Ray & Allan,
Thanks for the tips. I 'll check the one out at Radio Shack when I move back to Moncton in 3 weeks. Back to my shop after a 6 month absence!:D