Texas Newbie-getting ready to purchase first detector!

[Rings&bling]

follow up to my first post

I did purchase a Garrett ACE 400, not quite at the one month mark, and still really learning this machine. My arm gets really tired, but I guess my 3-4 hour non-stop stints are to blame. I am SO addicted. Here is a picture of my finds for the past 3 weeks. I didn't include my bottle caps to keep my motivation up-but I have gotten my fair share. Not sure why I can't rotate the pic...

 

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[Woodsy]

The Teknetics Omega 8500 would have been nice, but I guess whats done is done. Garret does make good metal detectors, and you have a very nice load of treasure building up. Now you need a rock tumbler to clean your clad coins.

 

[Rings&bling]

clad tumbler

Woodsy,

Can you tell me more about the tumbling? I do want to clean my coins....where did you get yours?

 

[Woodsy]

Woodsy,

Can you tell me more about the tumbling? I do want to clean my coins....where did you get yours?

I dont have a tumbler yet because I just got back in to the hobby a couple months ago and haven't cashed in any of my clad coins yet, but I have been looking at the $70.00 National Geographic one on Amazon.

So far I've picked up the Tesoro Mojave, and Tesoro Tejon. I'm also looking at the Fisher F75+ or the CZ3D for when spring comes.



I dont want to be a detector collector so I might get rid of the Mojave.

 

[Woodsy]

On another note. If you dont have a good pinpointer yet, you should be thinking of that first. Having one will more than double your hunting speed.

 

[Megalodon]

On another note. If you dont have a good pinpointer yet, you should be thinking of that first. Having one will more than double your hunting speed.

I agree. I started long before pinpointers came out so got used to hunting without one. Once I got one, I wondered how i hunted without it. I got a less common model - an orange Quest Xpointer. I don't have any other pinpointer for comparison, but I like it. I used eBay bucks to get a great deal on it. Now I see that a dealer has them for only $76 with free shipping and I may get another one for my wife.

 

[Megalodon]

Woodsy,

Can you tell me more about the tumbling? I do want to clean my coins....where did you get yours?

There are several brands. The rockhound sites are good for research. I have a Thumbler's Tumbler but use it to tumble agate. I had a bank refuse a roll of nickels that were still ugly after tumbling, 30 years ago and it was embarrassing. If your bank or credit union has a coin counting machine, you could try it to see what it will accept and only bother to clean the rejected coins. I've also used dirty clad coins in vending machines, toll booths, and at self-service cash registers.

 

[Megalodon]

I did purchase a Garrett ACE 400, not quite at the one month mark, and still really learning this machine. My arm gets really tired, but I guess my 3-4 hour non-stop stints are to blame. I am SO addicted. Here is a picture of my finds for the past 3 weeks. I didn't include my bottle caps to keep my motivation up-but I have gotten my fair share. Not sure why I can't rotate the pic...

That's a nice start! Looks like you have some silver in there too. I would recommend against taking it to the Alamo, although I admit that when I visited in 1977, I wondered if anyone would notice if I had taped the cable under baggy pants to my leg and the small searchcoil to my ankle and sorta shuffled along...

 

[bigdaddyhawk]

Welcome. ..If you could get on ebay and find a mine lab sovereign it would make an excellent all around machine that really works well at the beach.

 

[Rings&bling]

I agree! A Garrett Pinpointer Pro II came with my detector...I couldn't do without it! I found a ghost town in Texas today that I want to detect!!! There was soooo much trash at this small town park near the ghost town, I got really tired. I know I need a smaller coil for this type of area, but can't afford it yet. I decided to continue to hunt pennies to hone in my pinpointing skills to see how small of a hole I can dig before the penny pops out-got pretty good at it! I learn something everytime I go out. And today was a beautiful fall Texas day!

 

[Rings&bling]

Thanks Bigdaddy hawk (that's fun saying that!). I have my first detector, so will be a while before I purchase a second one. But it WILL happen! I really enjoy this, it's very calming to be outside and putz around in the ground. I have met some really nice people, too.

 

[Rings&bling]

Megalodon~

 

[Megalodon]

I agree! A Garrett Pinpointer Pro II came with my detector...I couldn't do without it! I found a ghost town in Texas today that I want to detect!!! There was soooo much trash at this small town park near the ghost town, I got really tired. I know I need a smaller coil for this type of area, but can't afford it yet. I decided to continue to hunt pennies to hone in my pinpointing skills to see how small of a hole I can dig before the penny pops out-got pretty good at it! I learn something everytime I go out. And today was a beautiful fall Texas day!

Since you have several sites to hunt and one is trashy, perhaps save that trashy site for right after a soaking rain. The digging will be easier then, less tiring and less painful to your hands. Keep up the good work!

 

[Woodsy]

Since you have several sites to hunt and one is trashy, perhaps save that trashy site for right after a soaking rain. The digging will be easier then, less tiring and less painful to your hands. Keep up the good work!

I agree. Also crank up the discrimination. Later you can go back and rehunt the site with the smaller coil.

 

[junkhunt]

Looks like you did dang good.

 

[Ogre1190]

Tumbler-wise, look at the Harbor Freight Tools models. They have one and two tumbler types. I use their two drum model...so I can do my clad and pennies at one time. I put a couple of handfuls of coins in each, cover the coins with lemon juice and add about two teaspoons of table salt to each. I tumble the clad for about 30-35 mins and the pennies for 40-45. Then just rinse them in plain water. Don't mix pennies in with clad...the clad will look like crap afterwards.
Here's before/after...


Best of luck!

 

[Possum]

Hello and welcome to T-Net from Southeast Louisiana..."D"

 

[Rings&bling]

Tumbler-wise, look at the Harbor Freight Tools models. They have one and two tumbler types. I use their two drum model...so I can do my clad and pennies at one time. I put a couple of handfuls of coins in each, cover the coins with lemon juice and add about two teaspoons of table salt to each. I tumble the clad for about 30-35 mins and the pennies for 40-45. Then just rinse them in plain water. Don't mix pennies in with clad...the clad will look like crap afterwards.
Here's before/after...
View attachment 1655388
View attachment 1655389
Best of luck!

Wow, the difference is striking, Ogre! Thanks for the info! Happy Holidays!

 

[River Rat]

 

[Rings&bling]

View attachment 1667482

Thank you. I see you have Garrett products, too. I may pick your brain on some target VDI's and sounds.