Spanish Dip Needles - Miners Compass

aarthrj3811

Gold Member
Apr 1, 2004
9,256
1,169
Northern Nevada
Detector(s) used
Dowsing Rods and a Ranger Tell Examiner
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

I too would be interested in learning about these tools...Art
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Art, I know you have heard of these dip-needles too, as I understand it they were invented in the mid-1500s and used by the Spanish fairly frequently. Check out this little article, which is what got me wondering about them:
http://www.abenteuer-venezuela.de/eng/Angel%20Falls%20Story%20eng.htm

Heck I wouldn't mind making a little trip down to Venezuela to find what they did, even if I had to use an instrument invented in the 1500s to locate it! ;D ;)

Oroblanco
 

aarthrj3811

Gold Member
Apr 1, 2004
9,256
1,169
Northern Nevada
Detector(s) used
Dowsing Rods and a Ranger Tell Examiner
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

I have read that before...I have read that they were used in Mexico and the Southern US by the spanish....I have been told that it has something to do with the iron in the area of the gold. I have only found one gold source by following the gold from the stream to its source and I did not notice any big iron deposits in the area. We know that placer gold is always found with Black Sand which has a lot of iron in it. I also have read that the KGC placed iron on top of stuff that they buried...I have always thought that they were going to use the dip needle to re-locate the treasure. Years ago I found a place to buy them but they were to expensive....Art
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Hi Art!

I found a place that sells them now, but they want $3000 for one! (Yikes! :o) Seems like a lot for a strange type of compass, hope I can find one for less than that. Here is the place that is selling them for $3000:
http://www.thortech.org/thortech/en/spanish.dip.needle4.html

That idea of iron + gold makes sense; in many of the places we have prospected over the years there were black sands which could be removed by a magnet (and hence likely iron). It was true in a case where we found a very good gold placer in Alaska years ago north of Nome - the black sands were quite thick, and in assay it proved to be very high in iron; (I was hoping for it to be tin - you know one type of black sand is actually a tin ore, another is a type of tungsten - also worth $$$) so if it would help to locate thick lenses of black sands it would be helpful to ME. Sure hate to come up with that much dough, will keep on looking for a less-expensive source.

Oroblanco
 

dowser 501

Full Member
Apr 26, 2006
140
2
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Oroblanco and Art. get a grip on yourselves. If you dowse at the right time and know the elementary rules associated with dowsing, just about anything will do. When TV first came out in the 60s I made an antenna with half inch gal water pipe and it worked fine.
Art, I have taught you more than you realise, just have patience. Max
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Dowser501 wrote
Oroblanco and Art. get a grip on yourselves.

;D :D ;) Well, okay, but you didn't say exactly where to grip! ;D :D

Seriously Max - I personally have never dowsed for placer gold, but believe in using every tool in the arsenal to assist me in finding and recovering gold and silver (and platinum for that matter ;)) including but not limited to, metal detectors, ground-penetrating radar, sonar, magnetometers, maps, aeronautic charts etc and these Spanish dip-needles are just another tool, that seems like it would have its' uses, at least I would have use for it. I don't know if I even could successfully locate placer gold by dowsing, it seems one would need plenty of practice to become proficient at this. I can't even tell the difference in a "hit" over power lines versus a "hit" over water, so finding gold seems like pretty advanced work to a neophyte like me. If anyone wants to say that I am using a "crutch" by resorting to so many tools, I won't mind - finding the gold makes it worth while.

Good luck and good hunting to you, hope you find the treasures that you seek.

Oroblanco
 

OldBillinUT

Full Member
Feb 7, 2004
153
11
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Here is a pic of one not a good pic though sorry.

needle1.GIF
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Dang Bill, that looks like a really nice instrument, :o heck I might be willing to pay good money for such a nice piece of equipment! Thank you! Now I am really curious about them!

your friend,
Roy ~ Oroblanco
 

aarthrj3811

Gold Member
Apr 1, 2004
9,256
1,169
Northern Nevada
Detector(s) used
Dowsing Rods and a Ranger Tell Examiner
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Hey Max...I am keeping a close eye on the space weather....I like to learn about how other tools work...I have tryed what they call Spanish Needles which take 2 people to work and they seemed to work but took to much time to use.
Now Roy..lets try a few things with you. Some of this I will be assuming so let me know if I am wrong....Take some masking tape and make a large X on the floor running in the cardinal directions. Put some gold or silver in the center of the X. Now walk toward the target along the masking tape. Did the rods close before, after or when your foot was on the target. The next thing to try is to walk a square pattern using the X as a guide about 3 feet from the target. What did the rods do? The next step is to see if you can discriminate the gold from the silver. Put the silver target in the center and more silver in your hand along with the rod handle. Now walk the square again and note where the rods cross...Now replace the target with some gold and walk the square with the silver in your hand. Did the rods stay open or did they close? There are two ways to do this experiment...You can think hard about the target or occupy your mind with thoughts of a movie or anything else...This experiment is to give you some information about Dowsing not to prove anything to anyone else...Art
 

Siegfried Schlagrule

Bronze Member
Mar 19, 2003
1,579
66
Indiana
Detector(s) used
All types of BFOs owned. Especially want White's Arrow; White's Oremaster; Exanimo Spartan Little Monster; Garrett contract Little Monster.
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Oroblanco said:
Greetings,

Anyone ever used a Spanish Dip Needle, also called a "Miner's Compass"? I have a few questions about them. Thank you in advance,

Oroblanco

these are expensive. You are forgetting the mexican needles which are cheaper and can be made from old worn out silver and gold coins. The basic principle has them finding faults in the earth caused by veins and caverns. Sometimes veins lead to minerals and sometimes they don't. siegfried schlagrule
 

Siegfried Schlagrule

Bronze Member
Mar 19, 2003
1,579
66
Indiana
Detector(s) used
All types of BFOs owned. Especially want White's Arrow; White's Oremaster; Exanimo Spartan Little Monster; Garrett contract Little Monster.
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

aarthrj3811 said:
I have read that before...I have read that they were used in Mexico and the Southern US by the spanish....I have been told that it has something to do with the iron in the area of the gold. I have only found one gold source by following the gold from the stream to its source and I did not notice any big iron deposits in the area. We know that placer gold is always found with Black Sand which has a lot of iron in it. I also have read that the KGC placed iron on top of stuff that they buried...I have always thought that they were going to use the dip needle to re-locate the treasure. Years ago I found a place to buy them but they were to expensive....Art

they could have done that but it would be simpler to just use a good compass. The pirates used a jacob's rod and the ship's compass to find their buried chests. A large enough iron mass will deflect a hand held compass. This technique has been used to find a buried steam tractor in an 80 acre field among other things like dumps in ghost towns. siegfried schlagrule
 

Siegfried Schlagrule

Bronze Member
Mar 19, 2003
1,579
66
Indiana
Detector(s) used
All types of BFOs owned. Especially want White's Arrow; White's Oremaster; Exanimo Spartan Little Monster; Garrett contract Little Monster.
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

aarthrj3811 said:
Hey Max...I am keeping a close eye on the space weather....I like to learn about how other tools work...I have tryed what they call Spanish Needles which take 2 people to work and they seemed to work but took to much time to use.
Now Roy..lets try a few things with you. Some of this I will be assuming so let me know if I am wrong....Take some masking tape and make a large X on the floor running in the cardinal directions. Put some gold or silver in the center of the X. Now walk toward the target along the masking tape. Did the rods close before, after or when your foot was on the target. The next thing to try is to walk a square pattern using the X as a guide about 3 feet from the target. What did the rods do? The next step is to see if you can discriminate the gold from the silver. Put the silver target in the center and more silver in your hand along with the rod handle. Now walk the square again and note where the rods cross...Now replace the target with some gold and walk the square with the silver in your hand. Did the rods stay open or did they close? There are two ways to do this experiment...You can think hard about the target or occupy your mind with thoughts of a movie or anything else...This experiment is to give you some information about Dowsing not to prove anything to anyone else...Art

the terms spanish needles and mexican needles are used interchangeably. The only major difference is that the mexican needles seem to be hand made. My set was shipped from chicago about 1938 COD for $10. I have the original mailing tube with stamps. siegfried schlagrule
 

gldhntr

Bronze Member
Dec 6, 2004
1,382
79
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

oro, check out an '' aqua meter'', earlier made by aqua survey and instrument company, cinncinatti ohio, now built and sold by another company i think....you can get them off ebay for 50-100 bucks or new for 4-5 hundred bucks, and they are precision built, not junk......google aqua meter you will get several hits.....here is a pic of the top of one, you can also veiw compass from the side...if you get one from ebay without directions let me know and i will see if i still have mine........gldhntr

http://www.kitefarm.com/compass_museum/aquameter.htm
 

Carl-NC

Bronze Member
Mar 19, 2003
1,870
1,358
Washington
Detector(s) used
Custom Designs and Prototypes
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Once again, folks are confusing "Spanish Dip Needle", "Spanish Needles", and "Magnetic Dip Needle". These are 3 distinctly different devices. Of the 3, the Magntic Dip Needle is the one that Really Works, and can be bought off eBay for $50. I own 2 of them. A modern proton mag is much much much more sensitive.

- Carl
 

OldBillinUT

Full Member
Feb 7, 2004
153
11
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

The aqua meter looks like a good instrument. I like that you can use it by holding the strap and look downward at the top as you walk. They added needle dampening too. The type as shown in the pic I posted are adjustable for both balance of the needle using the small wire weight on one side. They also have an adjustment for the bearing tension along with a needle locking device. Only a little different from a regular navigation compass.

As Carl said these are old technology for sure. Not nearly as good as a pc linked mag. I have never used the type that have a chamber for precious metals so I dunno about em. Given the number of sucessful locations by the miners of the past you can see that they were able to use needles along with other knowledge to their advantage. Has anyone located areas they worked that had no deposits ? Just curious about that point but I haven't seen dry test holes along with their mines that had deposits.

There are some areas that I am using this on that are ancient seabed and shorelines. This is one darn thing that can be done during the winter when it's snow covered and frozen hard. There are some places where the old bed has not eroded away as it was protected by a solid cap. Some 3000 year old camps and fire pits can be found on the shoreline. The flints found in those sites by my Archeologist friend during studies for the government were so old that they didn't have any sharps left, all dulled by time and exposure he said. I don't disturb the sites myself I don't want any conflicts with the authorities.

I have heard that the Spaniards could use their needles while mounted. I haven't tried that myself so I can't say but it would have to be an animal with a very steady gait. But that could be easier than keeping an eye on the needle and watching out for obstacles and snakes at the same time maybe.

OB
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Thanks friends for all the info! I had never heard of a Mexican dip needle, will check that out, and Ebay too.

OldBillinUT wrote:
This is one darn thing that can be done during the winter when it's snow covered and frozen hard.

Hi Bill and thanks for the info - just wanted to make a suggestion; if you have a place where you can mine gold in summer, and have plenty of brush to clear or lots of firewood, you can do it the way the Klondykers' did (and a few still do) that is to pile brush on the spot you wish to mine, burn it and rake off the ash - the fire will melt down a few inches of soil even in the high Arctic. It is kind of fun too, having a sort of "bonfire" and gets rid of old brush at the same time. Of course you will only get a relatively small amount of gravels to work from each fire, but if you are like me, that danged gold bug bites no matter what the season and this is one way you can indulge yourself. People are usually pretty shocked to see you come up with fresh-mined gold in the middle of winter! ;)

Art wrote:
Now Roy..lets try a few things with you. <snip>

That sounds like an interesting experiment my friend - I will try it! I'll even post the results here, for what it is worth (heck the skeptics ought to get a laugh at the least! :D) but will try silver first - the gold is locked up and a pain in the neck to get at. Thank you for the experiments to try!

Thanks again, looks like I have much more to do.


Oroblanco
 

aarthrj3811

Gold Member
Apr 1, 2004
9,256
1,169
Northern Nevada
Detector(s) used
Dowsing Rods and a Ranger Tell Examiner
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Hey Oroblanco...The experiments will tell me more than they will tell you. Use any thing that you want..Pennies work good as long as you have 2 or more items to compare how the rods close....Nuts,bolts or brass washer also work...I have even dumped a box of green tic-tacs on a lawn to see how many I could locate....Remember...have fun....Art
 

OP
OP
Oroblanco

Oroblanco

Gold Member
Jan 21, 2005
7,837
9,821
DAKOTA TERRITORY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Lobo Supertraq, (95%) Garrett Scorpion (5%)
Re: Spanish Dip Needles - Miner's Compass

Mike - you reminded me of those old "doghouse boilers" fellow prospectors used to have up in Alaska - they looked a bit like a dog-house and would fit on a Yukon sled, even four huskies could pull it over the steepest grade. I don't know if they still even make such things, but I know of a couple of them that were still being used even though old; one guy uses it as a steam-heat furnace for his cabin, pretty neat really. Back when they were still running the big dragline dredges (not so long ago) around Nome, they also used ordinary water pumped into the ground and it worked, but not nearly as fast.

Anyone know what ever became of the big Bema dredge, used to work offshore of Nome, (submerged beach lines) but last I heard it was towed to Indonesia or someplace.

Oroblanco
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top