DetectiveDick

On 9/21/2017 at 9:11 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

Metal detectors only detect things that have conductive and magnetic properties. Most rocks a metal detector will pick up are iron ores plus a few metallic minerals like some copper ores. The types of rocks one would normally tumble, like agate, jasper, etc. are usually not going to be found with the detector itself. However, you can find such things visually while wandering around with a detector. I have a nice chuck of agatized petrified wood and some quartz crystal I have found while detecting recently and wandered into a nice agate patch not too long ago. The reality though is you don’t need the metal detector, just the eyeballs!

There are many cheaper versions but I was always a fan of Lortone Rock Tumblers

Thanks for the detailed response Steve :) I was thinking that was the case, but wondered if there would be anything interesting that is magnetic/conductive that would look nice after a quick tumble. I am always on the lookout for gems when I go wandering, spent to much time in the arctic seeing all the stuff they would pull out of the soil there to not look for myself. I'm going to take a better look at that tumbler, I think something like that would be perfect. 

Hey everyone, I have always wanted to get a metal detector and spend a couple hours every week walking around the fields and beaches to see what I find, so I have been finding this place to be a great source of information. Something I have been wondering lately is what kind of rocks/gems people will commonly find? And do you take what you do find and put it in a rock tumbler to see how it really looks. I am sure that some of you must use a tumbler as you would inevitably get something out of it after cleaning all your finds. 

To any of you that do use rock tumblers, what ones do you use? I remember having a really cheap one years ago that I would use on the gravel in front of our house and it did not last very long so I assume I need to spend more than $30 if I want a good one! I might not be getting one right away but I do find a lot of cool rocks around so it is something I have been considering. Thanks in advance for all the tips!

I took a look at both Lortone and Harbor Freight and I found some great rock tumblers but being the frugal guy I am I went looking for some deals. I did find some used rock tumblers on  http://www.used.forsale/rock-tumbler and found the same tumbler for a lot cheaper and it was barely used. I figured I would pull the trigger on this one, then if I end up using it a lot I could spend more money next time. Thanks for the suggestions guys, happy hunting :)

On 6/24/2017 at 4:44 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

Well, this video is not nugget detecting but it as close as I can get so far to the Deus elliptical coil so it will have to do....

 

Really nice video. I am just starting to get into metal detecting so I will be watching more videos on your channel. Thanks :)