Lots of nails, nails, nails- what to do??

[makahaman]

Does anyone have any suggestions to my problem. I have found some old house sites in the 1800's and been trying to search them but there are alot of nails!! What does one do about it? I heard use a smaller search coil but should I dig up everything or use discrimination? Help!!

 

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[urbss]

Personally, I would do both if I had a smaller coil.

I just did some hunting at a park this past weekend and decided I would try to hunt in all metal mode like some people on here suggested in some other posts. There was sooooooooo many beeps that it was driving me insane in about 2 minutes - I set the discrim on the ACE and decided I would try the all metal mode some other time when I didn't have to contend with so much trash.

 

[Sandman]

The use of the small coil allows you to move the small coil around the trash and still pick up the good stuff. A good Minelab with the Iron Mask feature will not see the iron. Not the same as discriminating it as it will still see the none iron target under the nail. But then if you want performance you gotta pay more $$$ for it till they all improve the detectors. You can also reduce the sensitivity.

Another way to remove some of the iron is to rake the surface of some of the trash before detecting, but this still doesn't remove the nails just under the surface.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[U.K. Brian]

Use a smaller coil and reduce the level of discrimination. More rubbish should equal less discrimination.
Or get a none motion machine like the Compass 77b, old Viking or even the base model Whites Beachcomber.

 

[dahut]

Being realistic and going with something you can get your hands on, lets assume you have a modern detector and not one of the relics mentioned.

A smaller coil will help, but if you want to get a search going and use the stock coil then turn your DISC to a level below nickels that strikes a happy medium. An old house site that actually goes that far back and actually has stuff to find and hasnt been hunted before will yield targets in the mid range, like nice buttons. So you dont want to DISC too much. Yes, you will have to accept nails and other iron trash as part of the bargain - iron has been the friend of man since its discovery and it has been used for everything. EVERYTHING. But, all is not lost. Read on.

Now comes the hard part. Take a GIANT shovel ful of patience and STOP expecting your detector to work miracles. Instead, try learning about the nails: what they are and how they actually respond. Old nails are distinctive and can help add to your knowledge of the site, at the very least. However, more than that, trash repeaters like nails always have a revealing signature that patience will reveal. They are also sure indicators that you are in the right area. They pretty well establish the precise site of a house. So dont despair!

Okay, now comes the good part. Start moving off a ways and working your way around the site, grid by grid. You really are forced to be an archeologist in a case like this, so adopt their methods. Odds are you WILL NOT find the good stuff right away - it takes time and patience. Add to this that right on top of where an old house stood is not going to be as good as the areas outbound from the house where people actually DID stuff, with a few exceptions. Its the same way at your house, aint it? So "re-construct" the old place.

Where was the front and rear of the house? how wide was it? Where would the laundry lines and washing area be, the outside cooking area, the outside sitting area and garden? How about the outhouse and where did the wagons pull up and where were the horses wrangled. Where were the outbuildings, the sheds, the "swing" tree, the root cellars and so on? How about the paths between all these?

Now, the corners of the house where the footing piers stood can produce a money cache, as people liked to stash such there. Wherever the front porch was (if there was one) can pay off, too. Ditto a cellar hole. Forgotton caches will also have come down with the house, if there were any. Otherwise the house itself sat on top of, well, nothing, and there is less to find there, even if there was a dirt floor. Work in first and save the all the nails for last.

 

[Night Stalker]

Smaller Coil....Higher Discrimination.​

 

[EDDE]

DD coil ,small coil ,a shovel and disc set above pull tabs in nickel range
dig it
get it out of the way
the goods will apper
keep going over small areas many many times
in different directions
patience

 

[jonnyrebel00]

I dont know what you are hunting with but i dont think you can ever get rid of nails. With my machine ill actually get a good sound from a nail and when i dig it up then itll sound like iron. i believe that is called the "Halo affect", its just one of those MDing phenomonons. Then what are you looking for? Strictly coins? If you know your machine and can PP with it you can tell the size of it and help you determine whether you want to dig it or not. Having a smaller coil will also help but that will take away from your depth a little.

Good Luck

 

[makahaman]

Hi guys I really have enjoyed all of your responses! They are so great and it is awesome how everyone helps each other here on the post! I live in Hawaii and have been hunting a few sites that are in the 1800's, I find alot of square nails, buttons and some cool relics. I have found some really cool V nickels and some silver coins but the coolest has been these coins that our prince made in the 1800's called the Kalakaua coins. They have alot of history and it is awesome to find them!! The problem I am faced with is that the house sites has vanished due to fires and from being old. They are very hard to locate them and finding them has been a challenge but when I do find them they are quite rewarding!! So what do I do, dig everything or use a little discrimination? I know using a smaller coil would help alot but haven't gotten one yet but will soon. I use a whites classic id machine and it works alright. I will post some photos of where I hunt to give you guys an idea of what I am up against. It is hard to find out where to the front door and back door was because the house structure is no longer there alot of trees has grown and some of the places are all covered up. So it is alot of guessing going on and the people were quite poor! Once I found alot of coins at the front porch but it took alot of thought before I did find those coins. So, I really do appreciate all of your guys help keep it coming and I will share some photos with you guys from sunny Hawaii! Aloha!! 8)

 

[dahut]

"The problem I am faced with is that the house sites has vanished due to fires and from being old. They are very hard to locate them and finding them has been a challenge but when I do find them they are quite rewarding!! So what do I do, dig everything or use a little discrimination?"
Basically, yes. Usually all you'll ever get is a general idea of the orientation of the house. Sometimes, by knowing the roads and other features you can do a bit better. But, educated guesses are how you start at this.
Knowing much about how people lived in the locale at the time you are investigating helps, too. For example, where I live it is often torrid in the summer, and they had no A/C in those days! So folks did a lot of daily work outdoors and most old homes had an outdoor cooking area. Knowing such things helps you gain insight into a sites arrangement.

So, once you think you have the general site located, the real work starts. Iron is the most common indicator of human habitation, and has been so for thousands of years. There are Roman sites in England that, when viewed from the air, are seen to have turned the fields and barrows red with the rust in the soil! So, turn your DISC to zero and start charting the iron finds - nails included. Use markers and flags, particularly if you are in a wooded area. Again, you are an archeologist, trying to recreate something you know little to nothing about.

Once you have done a breakout of the site, begin gridding the area in 12 ft squares. Work slowly and methodically. Alot of work? Yep. Rewarding? Usually, but not always.
But, most old house sites are of a similar size and, once you get to know this coverage area, will yield coins and other interesting items, no matter how poor the inhabitants were. It is all of these things, taken together as a whole, that makes it worthwhile. After all, if you wanted to make real money at a hobby, you'd be into something else!

 

[randall61]

dahunt gave great info..i cant add to that.


just keep diggin

 

[bakergeol]

You can always go back to the past. Those old TR machines were great around high iron areas and were good around nails. Vlf's just can't compare to them. (Remember the sequence BFO then TR then VLF). Perhaps find a old used on on E-bay. However they had limited depth 3-4" and can not compare depth wise to the VLF.


George