Detecting Platinum

[dsen]

OK, newbie here that just lost his platinum wedding band while splitting wood yesterday. While throwing a piece of wood underhand to the hardwood pile that was @ 20 feet away, the ring slid off my finger as my left arm/hand was fully extended on the follow through. I stood there frozen, eyes wide open hoping I would see the ring as it came down. Well, I did see it come down directly to my left into a pile of old spruce that was cut up into firewood length pieces @ 20 feet away. Went over immediately and couldn't see it. The problem is that area is an old dumping ground where people used to dump there household crud so there's plenty of metal around there and the cheapy metal detector I have picks up everything. I moved the logs out of the area and am confident I'm looking in the right space but with the wrong equipment. I'd like some advice on how to approach this and to what extent better metal detectors can help focus on the platinum or at least weed out the nails and other common metals in the area. I probably shouldn't have disturbed the area but I was so confident where it came down that I moved the wood from the area and checked w/the metal detector I had. I can either rent one or would be willing to buy a used one if that's gonna make the difference. BTW, I live south of Boston.
Thanks,
David

 

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[cosmic]

Turn down the sensitivity to next to nothing so you only get a 1-2" so you don't have to deal with the deeper metals.. The ring should be on the surface unless stepped on so just under it.. That should help weed through the targets..

 

[Sandman]

Cosmic has the best advice on turning down the Sensitivity. You don't really need a better detector to id the ring as it would not id everything correctly anyway. Best to check the wood you tossed into another pile too. Grid off the area with string into 1 foot squares and search each one on hands and knees if needed. It didn't bounce did it?

 

[The.Boomer]

Wow dude platinum IDs right in the lower metals area even though it's one of the most precious. On most tectors it will ID in the foil area, so a better detector wont help. I suggest you get some hardware screen with the little 1/4 inch squares and use that to sift through everything.

 

[dsen]

Thanks for the suggestions. The MD I have is a $15.00 Treasure Tracker and that's about it's worth and picks up everything. The depth adjustment doesn't really work. I've used it to check logs for screws and nails and it was pretty good for that. Would a better one be able to effectively discriminate against the iron and steel that's in the area and be able to focus on something the size of the ring? I've been trying to research them and have seen that some give different tones for different metals and sizes detected. It's a mini Mt Trashmore over there so anything that can narrow the search parameters is a big plus. A local rental place has one for @ $25.00/day and I'm going to check what kind it is.
Thanks, David

 

[cosmic]

As Sandman and Boomer stated it will read low as foil or high iron like gold would.. I don't know your machine does it have a sensitivity adjustment? If not take a nickel lay it on the ground then try scanning a few inches above it until you don't pick it up any more.. Then scan for the ring at a little lower then the height where you lost the nickel signal. If you can't find it then either rent a machine or maybe find someone in your area to help you out...

 

[Mr.Jody]

That ring is going to probably be on top of the soil and maybe under some wood, I would get on my hands and knees and start moving EVERYTHING out of the way, then start looking and get a pair of snippers to cut the grass out of the way.It might be hung on the wood you tossed??

 

[Farmercal]

The ring is probaby on top of the ground in the that area. You could use a plastic rake and rake the ground clean and put all the material in a container. Then slowly in a another container of some kind sort through the material until you find the ring. There hasn't been enough time for it to sink. This is also a cheaper solution to your problem.

 

[dsen]

Yeah, I guess there's really no easy way out of it. Just my luck to lose a ring in an old dumping ground. I'll experiment w/how high I should keep the scanner off the ground to get the surface stuff. That should help the most.
Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.

 

[wildrider]

Are there any clubs in your neck of the woods? You didn't mentioned where you live. Lots of folks like to help just for the help of it.

w

 

[N.J.THer]

If you know the general area the I would collect all the top material by just scraping the top of the ground with a square shovel then place it in a five gallon plastic bucket. You can lift the bucket and stick the detector coil in and see if you get a signal. Get a nice size box that is alteast 12 or more inches high and place the material on the box then scan with the metal detector. Since your detector is a $15 model it should definitely not pick up anything over 12 inches away so any signal would be a target in the material you collected. I also like the sifting method if you know the general area.

NJ

 

[sqwaby]

If your spouse has a matching band you could use a detector with a notch discrimination. Notch out everything except where the rings reads. You'll avoid lots of unwanted targets.

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Hey,

I think a better machine will help for several reasons. That cheap one likely only gets a few inches or so so if that and if your above the ring 3 inches you won't find it. A new machine will give you a nice loud noise if the ring is on the surface. When you moved the wood the ring could have been stuck on a piece of wood. I would search the wood with a good machine and again you should get a nice signal. Then check the area you cleared, then check the surrounding area's. I'm not to far from Boston if your close enough I can help you find it.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Keep @ it and HH!!