It Works?!?

[JakePhelps]

Yesterday i was sitting in my basement and i noticed a few clothshangers lying around, decided to make dowsing rods outa them just for fun. To my surprise they actually worked well sorta When i passed near a metal filing cabinet or the metal dust collecter they crossed! Also when i went near the huge water pipe or the sink full of water. but they didnt cross over small things like a penny or a small baby food jar full of water. I was thinking that i could use it to tell if those rock piles are wells or a pile of rocks, also maybe i could find metal with it. My mom said my grandpa dowses with a special wood stick and has dug all his wells that way. I think i need more practice though

 

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[gldhntr]

from the sound of your sites you have posted i think you have the perfect proving grounds for testing and learning about dowsing jake...........just keep thinking positive.............gldhntr

 

[JakePhelps]

I took them out to try them in the woods and they just randomly crossed. I try my detector where they cross and i dont come up with anything Does that mean there is water there very far down? They DO cross over old covered up wells though

 

[gldhntr]

jake, you are hitting the signal line from the target.....when you are walking and they cross, stop, and very slowly back up till rods are straight again, then ease back forward into the signal line very slowly,,,,,the rods should both point toward the target, right down the target line....follow this signal till rods cross again and re-detect.......your rods will cross every time you cross the signal line, unless going directly down the line toward the target.........look at arts posts on '' so you want to try dowsing'' and several other posts/threads of his as these will help you get started...........................gldhntr

 

[max finkelstein]

Occasionally among readers I get a response in the right direction. THere is a time to dowse and a time not to dowse. And this aint one of them. I have been plugging away year after year that with the right solar conditions you can dowse and without the right solar conditions you cant. WE wont have favourable conditions untill the next 11 year solar cycle begins in a few months time.

 

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Jake...The rods will cross when you find a signal line. This line may be short or long according to what is producing it. You know that the rods will cross so it is just a matter of following it. Gldhntr's and my rods react a little different to objects so you need to read the instuctions and go from there. It takes some practice to learn what the rods are telling you....Art

 

[gldhntr]

jake, you can dowse anytime except overcast days.. full moon nights work well for me.....sunny days are okay too......dowsing responses do not only happen during any 11 year cycle when there are solar flares....this might make dowsing better, but it is not the only time you can dowse and anyone that would wait 11 years for this to happen in my opinion is just wasting alot of time, instead of being out trying to sharpen their skills while the conditions are not at their peak........i could set it in my mind that i couldn't dowse unless i had a purple rock in my pocket, and once set in mind, would be a fact...........go out, practice, and enjoy yourself........gldhntr

 

[aarthrj3811]

Right on gldhntr-------I don't have the time to wait. I have to admit that there has been a few times when the rods would not react to a known target but in 5 minutes they did. Do I know why this happened ? No...I was looking for some car keys a few weeks ago and could not locate them. They were found a 100 feet away on a bathroom floor. I should have located them. Things happen...Art

 

[rusty nails]

great stuff , yah i am still around ~ i am not going anywhere ~ keep up the great posts.
LBP

 

[ClonedSIM]

I'm just curious. Why does it have to be sunny to dowse? This seems odd to me.

 

[aarthrj3811]

As you know there is a lot of different ways that dowsing works. What works for me may not work for others. My own son's dowsing is different than mine. Some only dowse on sunny days as thats how it works for them. We may disagree on some aspects but the fact is it works for us. I enjoy learning how it works for others as there may be something I can use. I am sure when you first started with a metal detector you had a lot to learn and now you have your own idea's or rules of how to search an area.....Art

 

[ClonedSIM]

I guess I can see the reasoning behind that. I honestly can't say that I see the same behavior in detectorists, but then I've met only a few of them. But I have to ask you art, what makes the rods work? From the admission of a few others on the pro-dowsing list, all you have to do is to take a couple of wire hangers, straighten them and bend a handle onto then, and you have dowsing rods. But I've also heard folks talk about placing a magnet behind the opposite ear and dowsing under a full moon and during the 11 year something-or-other. And besides you two other folks I've seen, there seems to be no one displaying their finds here. Isn't that what this thread is for? Stop defending the hobby and start posting finds and sharing thoughts with other dowsers. I have been flipping through and I always seem to find responses to anti-dowsing remarks made by critics. Then the thread goes downhill and never recovers. I hate to see that happen anywhere. And I have one more question for you, art. Is dowsing based more on belief or fact? I've seen arguments both ways, but I have to be honest with you, that's another reason I believe there are so many critics of dowsing. You can scan through these threads and see some folks talking about dowsing as though it were a hard and fast science, and the alignment of the planets in the third cycle of the moon and magnets on your ears and I even heard one person tell me you have to talk to the dowsing rods before they'll work. Arguments like this make me think that there's a textbook on dowsing kicking around somewhere full of these facts. But then you can see other people talking about the body's aura having an effect on the finds, and that you have to believe in the rods before they'll work. Pure faith is needed for these folks to dowse. To put it another way, a metal detector will find metal whether you believe it will or not. You can take the most hard-boiled MD'ing critic, take him into the field, and prove that a detector works and will find something every time. Is this true for dowsing, I guess is what my questions boil down to.

 

[aarthrj3811]

I am guilty of defending my hobby. If you stick around for a while you will find that a big percentage of the skeptics are one person with many names. His hopes are that this subject will be deleted again so what good information that is here will be gone. Most texts about dowsing are one persons way of dowsing. I have my own beilef system, rules, methods or whatever anyone wants to call it. These are how it works for me. I think we all agree that rods will not work if not in someones hands. My thinking is that the body provides the power to turn the rods. How this works is beyond me.

Have you ever had a gold signal and when you dug for it you found nothing? The signal was strong enough that there should have been something there. If this has happened let me know and I will tell you what I told my Metal Detector freinds...Art

 

[ClonedSIM]

I can't say that's ever happened to me, getting a gold signal then not being able to locate the source. Granted, in the spots I hunt this turns out to be most often a bit of aluminum or a pop-tab, but I do find my fair share of nickels and gold. I would love to get the detector into a gold-bearing area at some point, but I have a lot of areas in town that I want to get to first, places like school yards and private homes and fields.

I have to say I find it very refreshing to hear you say that you don't know exactly how the rods work. I believe that if more dowsers responded to the critics by saying that they don't have the perfect explanation for why the rods work, but they do, rather than trying to offer solutions that consist of the alignment of the planets and bodily auras, they would run into far less resistance and arguments.

If you do run into arguments, let it go. Settle on the answer that these rods work for me whether or not you understand why. It's at that time dowsers can start posting their finds rather than defending their choices. Stop Defending Yourselves, Guys! Just do what you enjoy.

 

[Atlantis0077]

Hey af1733,

I hear you man.? I was introduced to dowsing by an elderly gentleman here in town.? I was looking for a way to increase my success at finding Indian relics.? He told me the rods would cross over "areas of disturbed earth"? thus making it easier to find things placed in the ground.? ?He told me to go to cemeteries, and try the rods...walk over water hoses to get a feel for the rods etc.? I was skeptical at best, but will try anything no matter how ridiculous it seems if it will help me find and arrowhead.? Well he was spot on with the crossing on graves and the water hose.? I also found that the rods would cross over any type of Indian relics...arrowheads, pottery, grinding stones or whathaveyou.? ?For some reason the rods will not cross over bone or shell for me? I cannot explain this.? I also have NO idea why they work as they do.? ? I will also be the first to tell you they are NOT 100% accurate..? ..whether by nature or due to my inexperience I cannot say.? What I tell my friends is that I use the rods as one of many tools for searching, not the only tool for searching.? As far as posting finds, I am trying to figure out how to post some photos of my relics on here....think my file size is a little large.? I have found things with by using the rods. ...I would tell you much more than with my metal detector, but that would be an unfair comparison as you are not likely to find rocks and pottery with a Fisher Pro...

I could have more "faith" in the rods as a scientific fact if they weren't so many times linked to occult sites, UFOs, ouija boards, and pendalums.? I am sorry, but I just cant accept all that hoodoo and voodoo stuff.? I am a hard evidence type of person and your telling me to "ask the rods" where something is just wont wash.? I use them because they work in the manner I employ them...ie crossing over relics and disturbed places in the ground...wish I could give you a real reason why, but I just don't know...perhaps they allow for the detecting of subtle field changes around artifacts or soil, but that is something for conjecture by those more knowledgable than I.

I do get false readings...caused by water, roots and a host of other things. .......in the field? I will tell you that I get about 40%....the biggest problem I have found with random crossing is that the rods are sensitive....in searching for relics? the smallest point and unfortunately chipped piece of stone or pottery fragment will cause the rods to cross.? ?LOL and I haven't developed my skills enough to ask the rods to only find "whole pottery vessels"....but I am working on it.?

So bottom line, from my admittedly limited range of experience, is that the rods do work in certain situations.? I guess each tailors them to his/her own specific needs.? I will not tell you all the outlandish claims made on their abilities are true, but neither will I tell you as some do, they they are pure rubbish and all "in your head."? I use them and would encourage others to give them a try as well.....as far as purchasing the expensive rods.....save your money....buy you some good brass brazing rods from the local? welding supply shop....I like the heavier ones, bend them in an "L" and get to work.

Since I am new to this forum, and havent had the time to read through all the posts on here, I would appreciate any suggestions by those who use the rods to search for indian relics.? Maybe you have a few pointers to allow me to hone my rusty skills a bit.

Atlantis

 

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Atlantis...good comments...the facts as you see them...The rods are to sensitive. I seek mostly placer gold and my rods love to pick up micro-gold. I agree on not putting a lot of money in rods but that is a matter of choice. To make some free wittness rods go to a one hour photo shop and get some 35 mm film canisters. Drill a small hole through the sides close to the bottom. Force the rods through the holes. Put them up close to the handles. Wittnes rods will help with the false signals.

In the thread called Want to try Dowsing I tried to explain how dowsing works for me. These are the ways that I have become more accurate. Enjoy your rods as they are just a tool....Art

 

[Atlantis0077]

Hey Art,

Thanks for the advice on the witness chamber. As I said before I am willing to try anything if it will give me an advantage in finding relics. Film canisters....I am assuming you put them on the ends of the "handles" of the L rods? Also, if looking for pottery should I just put a small piece of pottery in the canister? Also heard it said if your witness object was too large (as in the case of a pot) to put a photo of the thing in your witness chamber...hows that work?

I will give you an overview of what I am looking at and perhaps you could give me some advice. I have an Indian village complex on the banks of a dried up lake bed. Fingers of higher land run from high to low. Houses etc were at one time on these fingers. Broken pottery, arrowheads shell and stones of various types lay buried in the ground from surface to a depth of about 3 feet. Lots of stuff, therefore false readings are common....not so much false readings, but readings of insignificant stuff.

How would one go about filtering out all the inconsequential scraps and zero in on whole pottery, good points etc? They are there mind you, I have found whole pottery vessels there. Honestly I haven't dowsed the area much at all because of the huge amount of "trash." Currently its a dig, look and move on technique...but have found some nice stuff. Tree roots are NOT the diggers best friend..

I am attempting to make a science outta this, and to do that I need to be able to accurately repeat results. This is possible with pipes and points in a semi-controlled environment....now to move it to the field. Also, I find that the rods only cross with object directly under and between my feet so you have a very narrow field of search as you are walking...any way to widen the field?

All info appreciated.

Atlantis

 

[aarthrj3811]

One of the things I hear a lot is that the rods cross when on the target. They will but they will also cross other places on the same target line. You need to do a lot of experiments to find what your rods are telling you. Put a target on the floor and walk a square at least 5 feet from the target starting in a North-South direction. Place a marker between your feet each time the rods cross. When I do this my rods will cross 4 times at the 4 cardinal directions. My son's rods will close 8 times so I know it is different for others. Another thing to try is when the rods cross drop one rod to your side. The remaining rod should point to the target.

As for the photo in the canister. I tried writting a note which was suggested by one of the skeptics and it seems to work. I will have to do a lot of experiments to see if this is something that I want to use. There is a fine line between the physical and the mental asspects of dowsing. Good Luck...Art