Specialized tools for Cache hunting??

[BamaBill]

My son and I were hunting a construction site yesterday and evidence of an old homestead was turning up. At some point I got a deep signal and we started digging. Eighteen inches into it we came down on what turned out to be an iron pipe and as I traced signals around that area it became apparent that there was still several pipes in the ground there.

Do you guys use any kind of probe or probes when cache hunting? I'm thinking that I need to make up a variable length one with screw together sections, so I can make it a foot long or three feet long. I thinking it would help a lot when digging in the hard ground around here, to know how big to start the hole, based on how deep the signal is. Is there a preferred metal for the rod to more easily feel the difference between a rock and metal?

[GreatPlumberGuy]

I (being a plumber) use a fiberglass probe about 3' long with a "t" handle with a metal tip. They are available at any plumbing supply. With experience you can tell the difference between hitting wood (or a root), concrete, rocks, gravel or metal. Also, you can bear down and penetrate to an extent because of its length.

[BuckleBoy]

Bring your map, dowsing rod, and magic crystal.

[Kentucky Kache]

BamaBill, ignore the wannabe hunters here. They just can't understand what we get out of doing this.

[BamaBill]

That's ok Kentucky K, I never have called BBs relic hunting skills into question, maybe he ought to consider that before he starts throwing barbed comments at us believers. I'm surprised he hasn't lucked onto at least one cache while hunting all those homesites. Afterall women hid small caches all the time for groceries and some of us cache hunters are realistic about what we're looking for.

[Shortstack]

One of the best probe-making pieces I've found is a 1/2 inch diameter steel rod that came out of the inside of the shaft of a weedeater. The curved shaft housings have a heavy duty spring as the drive shaft; but the straight shafts have a solid drive rod. It's about 4 to 5 feet long and after sharpening one end and welding a T-handle on the other end, you'll have a tough probe.

[starsplitter]

Probes... any specific recommendations on diameter? Mine was a flea market find and bent so much that after a few years got fed up and tossed it onto my scrap pile.

Plus, it was too long. I think I'll go shorter this time - like about two - three feet. Steel rod is available at the local hardware. The half inch sounds good, but is probably more than I need.

I was thinking 1/4 or 3/8 and 24 - 30" long?

Thanks.