Dropping in From Eastern Washington

Dejure

Jr. Member
Nov 30, 2023
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NAME: Kelly

LOCATION: The east side of The State of Washington. More specifically, about an hour from Ephrata (north-ish), Wenatchee (northwest-ish), Ellensburg (west-ish), Yakima (southwest-ish), Tri-Cities, southeast-ish), Othello (east-ish) and Moses Lake (northeast-ish). So in the middle of everywhere (a step up from in the middle of nowhere).

[A LITTLE BACKGROUND] I've been away from it for about 55 years, but spent a good bit of my youth on metal detecting and other treasure related adventures.

My parents co-owned an antique-rock-bottle shop in Brewster, Washington, so the metal detecting thing fit like a glove. If only for locating long abandoned dumps and giving us an excuse to dig holes up to five feet deep.

My dad's detectors were Whites. I suspect even a cheap detector of this era would more than compete with them. We'll see. As I write this, I'm still in the shopping mode. I have have an 1,800 square foot hobby shop fitted with a 4'x6' carving machine, a cabinet saw (Unisaw), a 17" bandsaw (Grizzly) dedicated to re-sawing, a 14" inch bandsaw (Powermatic) dedicated to scroll work, a Hegner scroll saw, a couple miters, an 8" spiral cutter head jointer, and so on. So I am familiar with the "hurts once" concept, but am also familiar with the wisdom of buying a tool of lesser value, if it'll do the job, to avoid going into debt, and waiting until I can afford better (e.g., if I get enough use out of the cheaper item, I can give it away when I buy that Hilti).

First project will, probably, be to see where the property stakes are located.

In the back of my mind is the railway station site I visited just up the river back around 1965, give or take a few years. It was taken out for the hydroelectric dam.

I might do a bit of beach combing during a rare visit to the Pacific Ocean, but suspect they've been well combed by others. Said another way, there are still many abandoned homesteads and things that would be far more productive and those tug on me far more than do the beaches..
 

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Welcome to the forums
The era of the White's machines back then were heavy, but everything was virgin ground.
Sounds like a well put together shop.
 

...The east side of The State of Washington...
tn_md.gif
Welcome Aboard! Take a look at FORUM: WASHINGTON for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.
 

Welcome !
Jon from s/e Michigan 8-) :cat: :occasion14: :headbang:
 

NAME: Kelly

LOCATION: The east side of The State of Washington. More specifically, about an hour from Ephrata (north-ish), Wenatchee (northwest-ish), Ellensburg (west-ish), Yakima (southwest-ish), Tri-Cities, southeast-ish), Othello (east-ish) and Moses Lake (northeast-ish). So in the middle of everywhere (a step up from in the middle of nowhere).

[A LITTLE BACKGROUND] I've been away from it for about 55 years, but spent a good bit of my youth on metal detecting and other treasure related adventures.

My parents co-owned an antique-rock-bottle shop in Brewster, Washington, so the metal detecting thing fit like a glove. If only for locating long abandoned dumps and giving us an excuse to dig holes up to five feet deep.

My dad's detectors were Whites. I suspect even a cheap detector of this era would more than compete with them. We'll see. As I write this, I'm still in the shopping mode. I have have an 1,800 square foot hobby shop fitted with a 4'x6' carving machine, a cabinet saw (Unisaw), a 17" bandsaw (Grizzly) dedicated to re-sawing, a 14" inch bandsaw (Powermatic) dedicated to scroll work, a Hegner scroll saw, a couple miters, an 8" spiral cutter head jointer, and so on. So I am familiar with the "hurts once" concept, but am also familiar with the wisdom of buying a tool of lesser value, if it'll do the job, to avoid going into debt, and waiting until I can afford better (e.g., if I get enough use out of the cheaper item, I can give it away when I buy that Hilti).

First project will, probably, be to see where the property stakes are located.

In the back of my mind is the railway station site I visited just up the river back around 1965, give or take a few years. It was taken out for the hydroelectric dam.

I might do a bit of beach combing during a rare visit to the Pacific Ocean, but suspect they've been well combed by others. Said another way, there are still many abandoned homesteads and things that would be far more productive and those tug on me far more than do the beaches..
Welcome Kelly!
 

Welcome from AZ! Your area (old homesteads) should serve you well! ╦╦ç
 

Welcome the forum from the northeast side of Oregon!
 

Welcome back to the hobby! Nice work shop you have! Hope you find some good treasures!
 

Welcome from AZ! Your area (old homesteads) should serve you well! ╦╦ç
Yep. AND, my buddy moved about 70 miles up the road, to the town I was born and raised in. There, he bought an old house. I just checked, he's going to be gone for a while, soon, and this would be a great opportunity to find those old coins in his yard, and to teach him about the world of divits. . . . [insert knee slap here]


Seriously, am thinking about polishing my photoshop abilities an sending him an email with his yard all dug up. . . .
 

Welcome frm IL. Woodworker here too. Stockmaker and wood carver.
Thanks for the welcome, and, HA!

At least at the onset, detecting is a bit like buying a lathe. I'd never touched one, literally, until I was 70. Then bought one.

Ended up with four, for a while. My little starter Jet, then grabbed a big old Delta 450 from a scrapper. Added a Nova, THEN was given big one a school was dumping. Back down to the latter now.

All that aside, first came the lathe. Then the means of sharpening the knives/gouges (had a 1" Delta sander, then bought a four wheel grinder off craigslist, swapped the 220 motor for an industrial sewing machine motor (3/4 HORSE, 0-2,400 RPM dc unit and controller, swapped wheels for CBNs,. . . ). Then came the chucks . . . .

As they say, it's a vortex.

And here I am again. First a detector, then the pinpointer. After that the hand digger. Then the fancy, portable shovel. Maybe another head . . . .


SIDE NOTE: I have a carver that will do stocks, including long mussel loader types. (it's a CNC type, BUT I am the CNC driver). Carving equipment, got that too. Now, if only I could buy some talent.
 

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Welcome back to the hobby! Nice work shop you have! Hope you find some good treasures!
Thanks. I BELIEVE I will, even if the beauty of the find remains only in the eye of the beholder, and others in this group. ;)
 

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