Right over my head! :shrug:

[silversmith]

I just don't get it! The magnets it mean! Why would you want nails and other pieces of rusty iron to stick to your scoop or digging tool. I'm puzzled by this one. Why not glue magnets to the bottom of your shoes, by the end of the day, look'et all the little pieces of iron and steel you could have. Please someone tell me the why of this. Seriously, Ron.

 

[homefires]

Only thing I can think of is it would keep the nasty sharp junk in one corner you can see.

 

[jim tn]

Without the magnet, small pieces of iron fall back through the holes in the scoop. HH jim tn

 

[GoGoGopher]

You want to remove this junk so you do not have to dig it up again later...Aslo, it is your duty to the hobby to remove trash from your dig sites...JUST THE RIGHT THING TO DO...


HH,

 

[pmike]

Have you ever gotten a signal but just couldn't seem to locate the item? I have had this happen a number of times and so I began using a magnet. I noticed the magnet could find bits of iron my eyes just were not seeing. I n many cases little bits of iron tend to take on the coloring of the soil they are resting in and are hard to distinguish, the magnet eliminates the confusion.

Mike

 

[Socalal]

Have you ever been in tall grass / clover/ weeds, etc., got a good signal, thought you had the target pinpointed, then spent the next ten minutes trying to actually locate the find? Well, most of of have. I use a magnet with a telescoping handle to first go lightly over the area. If it's a nail, a scew, a piece of wire, etc. it is easily picked up without having to dig (or having to fill in the hole). What hasn't been mentioned is don't use a regular store-bought magnet like the one's used for holding notes onto the refrigerator door ----- go buy what is called a "rare earth magnet" ---- MUCH STRONGER! What's wrong with picking up a couple of nails, hairpins, pieces of wire, or screws at the same time? ---- Those are just several more targets that you won't have to mess with later. People say "it's your responsibility" to pick up the trash ---- it is ---- but I like to think of it another way ----- THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I WON'T HAVE TO DIG AGAIN LATER!

Yeah guys, I do know about pinpointers ----- after 30 + years of detecting I finally bought a VibraProbe --- and then got a Bullseye II for free when I bought my DFX. PROBES TAKE SO MUCH WORK OUT OF SEARCHING FOR THE TARGET! But the question wasn't about pinpointers, it was about why do we use a magnet.

--- Al

 

[RickIowa2009]

I should be top dog when it comes to finding nails, yippee

 

[silversmith]

You know what, come to think of it, one of my digging tools (a miners pick looking thing) came with a cow magnet embedded in the opposite end of the handle. Maybe I'll glue it back end and "give it a go"
The neat thing about asking questions here, is you get answers! Thanks for the answers

 

[tidewalker2]

Great idea! Wonder if one of those magnetic shop sweepers fitted with smaler wheels or skids would work to improve a site BEFORE you search.