What is the best metal detector for lumber? Is salvaging plain oak worth the hassle?

[Craig Wahl]

I have about 300 or 400 board feet of stockpiled recycled oak and I would like to de-nail, plane and reuse some of it for window trim. I was just wondering what the best metal detectors are that people have used. I tried going the cheap route and bought an el cheapo "American Hawk" detector off Amazon. It�s pretty much worthless as it constantly gives false positives. Basically it is thirty bucks or so down the drain, as now the Amazon listing includes comments about them being fake knock-offs, so I'm sure the money back guarantee is worthless.

I'm wondering if anyone thinks the Lumber Wizards are worth the $130 or so they're priced at? I am also curious about the Garrett detectors. This website seems to think they are pretty great, but they obviously have a financial interest (and their website looks like it was a high school kid�s class project): http://www.detectmetal.com/garrett-m...tor-review.htm

Also, is doing the salvaged wood thing even worth the hassle and expense of a decent metal detector? I try to buy any salvage lumber for like 50 cents a bdft but for regular old flatsawn oak it seems like it may be a losing proposition since my local lumberyard is selling it for $3.50 a bdft. Seems like I might be better of just using it for random rough lumber projects that don't require any milling like benches and the like. Any thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks.

[johnny means]

If the lumber is fairly old, it will be of much higher quality than what is usually available today.

[richard poitras]

I had a Lumber Wizard and was not happy with it, as it was used just a few times very lightly and then died. I would not recommend it. Maybe others have had better luck with there’s but not me.
Good luck Richard

[Jeff Duncan]

Also, is doing the salvaged wood thing even worth the hassle and expense of a decent metal detector?

I think the answer depends on the lumber salvaged as well as the end use. There are many companies out there today selling salvaged timber and it's usually as expensive or a bit more so than new lumber. However it's also usually something desirable for either it's looks or for it's rarity....(think old growth cypress or redwood for instance). Companies that resell this timber will de-nail and remove all metal for you.....for a price! Or you can buy it as is depending on your end use.

The other side of the equation is recycling lumber for oneself to resurface and use as new to save costs. I can't tell you whether or not it's worth it to you. What I would say is saving a few bucks on lumber easily available for short money off the rack, can backfire. One broken blade or bit and you may well eat up any cost savings. Not to mention the extra time invested in milling and sorting to remove undesirable marks/blemishes etc.

Lastly oak is relatively cheap wood and I would at least call around to check on your prices. Your paying more for oak than I pay for cherry....even considering I buy from a wholesaler that seems high, so you may still be able to find a cheaper supplier?

good luck,
JeffD

[John McClanahan]

I have a wand type, like the Garret. I bought it on ebay cheap. It's missing the name label, so I'm not sure of the brand. I am quite happy with it. It can detect a single staple leg in the end of lumber, like you find in 2x4s where the tag is stapled.

[David Hawxhurst]

i have on of these http://www.garrett.com/cmerwsite/thd_main.aspx
sounds like you already have the wood, so i would be inclined to use it. if its old growth oak i would definitely use it.

[ray hampton]

will a compass tell you where the nails are when you move compass over the nail

[Thomas Canfield]

I have a Lumber Wizard and have had good luck with it. I had (and still have) the Little Wizard earlier but found it was limited on depth and also had a much smaller coverage area and took a lot more time. The Lumber Wizard will find a broken staple and nails or screws broken below the surface. I have found once a piece of metal in a tree section that had been grown over and was down about 1/2". I use the LW on all the reclaimed wood , but too often get in a hurry and don't use it on tree sections before chain sawing as much as I should, especially on city trees.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a Little Wizzard also. It's cheap. I found a nail fragment buried inside the wood too. Like Thomas says, takes a long time to scan, and depth is real limited. If you're doing just boards, you should be okay. If you can afford the wand, get it.

I'd recycle any old growth I could. It's just plain cool to have. The wood looks different, nice tight grain etc. Even if its just plain wood.

Just my $0.02.

[Carl Beckett]

Lastly oak is relatively cheap wood and I would at least call around to check on your prices. Your paying more for oak than I pay for cherry....even considering I buy from a wholesaler that seems high, so you may still be able to find a cheaper supplier?

good luck,
JeffD

Hi Jeff,

Your near me - would love to find a source of cherry under $3.50/bdft. Can you share?

[Paul Incognito]

I also have a Lumber Wizard that works well for me.
I've been working with reclaimed lumber for a while now and find it's pretty rewarding to take something that would otherwise end up in a dumpster and make something out of it. I've found that the de-nailing process can take as long as the milling sometimes, but I've been working with old floor joists. Barn siding and rafters will generally have less nails.
So far I've worked with reclaimed chestnut, oak, yellow pine and douglas fir, all tight grained, old growth stuff. I have fun with it.
Paul

[Craig Wahl]

Thanks for the input everyone. Unfortunately, in Montana most the salvaged wood is lesser species and stuff from fairly recent remodels. On the rare occasion you can find interesting, nice salvaged wood the people think its worth gold and want crazy prices- like double new or at least on par with new. I tracked down some air dried oak the other day, and the guy was asking $325 for 75 bdft of 5/4 flatsawn. That works out to just over $4.30 per bdft. If its priced as 4/4 at 63 bdft its $5.15 bdft. Like I said above, the local going rate for select kiln dried 4/4 oak is $3.50 retail. Although, I think he may have made an honest mistake in over pricing it. I explained my perspective and he agreed to come down considerably. I'm going to look at it this weekend.

What's a fair price for 5/4 air dried small mill oak that is probably #1 common? I'm thinking about $2.00 to $2.25 bdft.

You guys will get a laugh out of this ad & it will give you an idea what I am working with up here:
http://billings.craigslist.org/tls/2960280606.html

[Craig Wahl]

I forgot to mention. I found a few postings on the internet with people saying the Harbor Freight Garrett look alike detector is good. Supposedly its from the same originating company as the Garretts. Whether that's true I don't know. Its only $35 so I'm going to give that try. If it doesn't work well I can always return it. Here it is: http://www.harborfreight.com/9-volt-...and-94138.html

I will let everyone know how it works out.

[Myk Rian]

I have the HF one. Works good. Finds staple break-offs.

[Craig Wahl]

I just thought I would update my post with my initial impressions of the Harbor Freight metal detector. Without having a Garrett available for comparison, I don't know if the two are identical, but they look every similar from the pictures. The HF detector worked very well for locating broken off trim nails in my salvaged wood. False positives were somewhat frequent, but not so common as to cause significant issues. The HF detector has a sensitivity adjustment that I will try at some point, but it worked well enough without any adjustments for the few boards I scanned. With a 20% off coupon I think I paid $27ish, which I don't think you can beat. Now I will just have to see how long it lasts.
P.S. some owners have commented that the de-sensitize switches are prone to go out, but can be replaced relatively easily.