Glenn in CO

22 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Is the crucible made of metal (e.g. cast iron)? 

I believe crucibles are made of ceramic or some type of porcelain so they withstand high temperatures.

22 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

What detectors were you using?

This time I was using a Nokta-Makro Kruzer with a 5" coil and XP Deus with a 9" HF coil. Very heavy iron laden site.

22 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

The large, intricately decorated embossed item below the crucible in your photo reminds me of a ladie's hand-held mirror back.  (If you show us the other side I'll get a better idea if I'm on the right track.  😁)

Quarter for scale.

22 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Really stepping out on a limb now, but could the crushed item below the lock be a candle extinguisher?

No that is part of an oil lamp where you can adjust the wick.

22 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I like the thimble.  My wife has sewn (professionally and as a hobby) since she was in 4H.  I've yet to find a thimble.  Of course she probably wants a sterling one, or at least one that cleans up and is usable.

Thimbles are very common out here, in fact a detecting buddy found a sterling one yesterday at a local park that had cherubs on it.

Here is a closeup of one the items in the main picture and I'm not sure what it is or what it was use for.

Reg Sniff passed away yesterday, Reg was involved with the development of the White's TDI. RIP Reg and prayers for his family.

I and my wife have been metal detecting and prospecting since the mid-1970's. During that time we have experienced frustration with the hobby especially when first starting out. I believe everyone in this hobby has experienced this one time or another. You begin to question do I have the best or right detector? Why do my friends, club members or other people always find better coins, relics, etc. than I do. You can make the mistake sometimes by not giving enough time with the current detector you have and learning what the functions do and what the best settings to use. This hobby takes time to learn how to get the right settings for your detector and how to use it, research for better productive sites and eventually your confidence level will increase to where you are enjoying metal detecting. Listen to podcasts, read forums or other sources of information on metal detecting and you better finds will increase. If you are a newbie or seasoned detectorist there is always something new to learn about this hobby and that's just one of the many things I enjoy about this hobby. I hope you stick with it.

https://buckrail.com/forrest-fenn-i-hid-my-treasure-in-wyoming/?fbclid=IwAR0uGH0OIPXAXfDrOhnAZO_4Wrz1AETWFnEUfWk_ue6-qQrOgveK0UEJfIY

Steve, it was great to see some of of your great finds both big and small and reflect on how you found them. In my opinion you continually inspire people on this forum and give them the knowledge to achieve great results whatever they may be searching for with a metal detector. Thanks again for a great forum and allowing the new and experienced a place to share adventures, ideas, finds and the latest technology. If And has more interviews coming up it would be great to have a separate category for them.

Great finds! Amazing the different type of finds in the water. Keep the videos coming and thanks for sharing!

1 hour ago, klunker said:

I, on the other hand, go about it like I do all of my prospecting which compares well to slapping mosquitoes - no plans, split second decisions, some hits and some misses.

Some of my best nugget hunting adventures have turned out that way! Can't complain about the results. Very nice specimen.👍

11 hours ago, vanursepaul said:

How do you clean the neo mags?? would you put something like a plastic ziplock bag over them or something?

You don't, just use a glove and pull as much trash off as you can. I always have some amount of iron filings stuck to the magnet. Sorry to hear what happen to your 800.

Very nice specimens and a great way to celebrate the fourth! Didn't get to do any nugget hunting over the fourth, still waiting for a couple coils to be repaired, hopefully I get them back before the season is over.

I didn't know the made different varieties. When you find something like that or a relic, I always wonder who that person was, what were they doing, thinking at that time. That's what makes this hobby so great.

Nice relic finds, especially the 1863 CW Patriotic token with "Army and Navy". Found one here in Colorado at a Civil War era fort and the back reads " The Federal Union It Must and Shall Be Preserved".

This doesn't look good. I'm glad I'm not a dealer anymore because the existing dealers and distributors are going to take the brunt of this and be dealing with angry customers wanting answers. Hopefully they will get this all ironed out and keep what's left of there good name intact.

Gotta love them tailing piles! Congrats to you customer on a outstanding find and thanks for sharing.👍

9 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

Who will service the old units?  Can anyone make a business model to keep them alive and make money?

Keith Wills can service the old units and probably some of the newer units. Here is link to his website:

http://www.brokendetector.com/index.htm

11 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Still smiling ear to ear my dad recalled some of our hunts, his finds and many adventures.

My dad (who is now 96) was also shock to hear what happen to White's. He is in a wheelchair, has bad eyesight and a heart condition, but he keeps on plugging away. We reminisce quite a lot when I visit about nugget hunting, gold mining and detecting in general. He really misses detecting, but talking about our adventures in the past can brighten his day. Here is his first gold he found with a Eagle II with a Jimmy Sierra Goldfoot coil.

Running a high banker with dad.

Thanks again Gerry for sharing your memories!

Very nice post Gerry!👍 I wonder how many of us made their best finds with a White's detector? I know I and my wife have and the detectors continue to produce decent finds consistently today. If White's is unable to continue and least they can hold they head high and recount endless stories they have helped people accomplish finding an incredible amount of treasure.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/nation-world/federal-reserve-powell-money-coins-pandemic/507-ef711276-60da-40c7-96c4-4fe258d7d996

On 6/18/2020 at 10:20 PM, ROCKINGCM said:

Hi all,  I have lurked on here for a while and finally signed up to post.. I have 2 dead GMT detectors, any idea where I can get them repaired now?  I was trying to send them in but no replies to voice or emails. I have had them for years and don't want to just toss them.  I would appreciate any info..  Thanks to Steve for the forum, it's a nice place to look around. 

See this thread:

10 hours ago, snakejim said:

I spoke to Todd at the factory today, since I have a GMT there for repairs. They will still do repairs for the next 2 weeks; then, if you have a detector that needs repairs you will have to send it to: 

White’s East Service Center
Centreville Electronics
9437 Main Street
Manassas, VA 20110
(888) 645-0202
(703) 367-7999
Fax: (703) 367-0868
bobnpaul@centrevilleelectronics.net
www.centrevilleelectronics.net

 

I would still call the factory first, just to be safe!

Best wishes to all!

snakejim

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Once CEO Alan Holcombe left however, right around the time the V3i came out... that is when the end really started. White's just never found anyone capable of really replacing Alan.

Steve, I totally agree with you and would add that they didn't listen to there dealers and distributors in what the consumer and market was asking for and was riding on what they had built on in the past. It's sad to see the people who have remain loyal to White's as customers, dealers, distributors and employees that it has come to this. Hopefully they can gather themselves and become innovative and competitive again in a tough market, but it will be difficult if not impossible if the decision makers within White's are not willing to accept change and a new direction

Here's a old post from Steve H. with some good information:

On 1/7/2014 at 10:32 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

You sure do not want to tumble that specimen gold! But that works good for placer gold as as well as the old salt and vinegar and shake it up trick.

Have you tried oxalic acid? Very cheap and safe. You can buy it by the pound here at Amazon Just add some to water and soak. Warming it speeds it up but it is slow acting so be patient. It works great on any rust staining but will not touch the gold or quartz. It is my go to stuff for rust staining but I do not think in this case it will make your gold any shinier. There must be tricks the specimen guys use after hitting it with hydrofluoric.

You can buy Whink Rust Stain Remover at most stores in the cleaning supply section. If you read the contents it comes in two types. Whink with oxalic acid. Same as the dry stuff I use but much more expensive way to buy it already mixed. Or there is Whink with hydrofluoric acid!! This amazed me after hearing how deadly HF is. One of my links below states "HF is so incredibly dangerous that it should never be used by an amateur, and therefore will not be discussed here further." But you can buy it over the counter in a grocery store! The difference is Whink is only like 1% HF Whink MSDS

I use the Whink HF formula when I want something stronger but it is still HF acid and so deserves respect. See the MSDS link above. It will etch the rock and eventually eat it away. It works just the same as stronger HF solutions, it just takes a lot longer. It will actually whiten dark rock but it leaves a artificial frosty looking surface so that I do not like all that much. Still, I find it useful for more stubborn jobs.

I used to use reagent grade nitric acid back in the day but it has just got too hard to get it. I left my last stash behind when I left Alaska.

How To Work With Acids

More Information on How to Work with Acids

I am wondering about steam cleaning. That is what most jewelers do, but you would not want to blast a super delicate specimen too hard. I want one though so will buy this cheap steam cleaner and report back on it.

Lots of good ideas at these links:

Really great article at http://www.mindat.org/article.php/403/Cleaning+Quartz

Another article on cleaning http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles/minclean.htm

Another great article http://www.the-vug.com/vug/articlecleaningccb.html

Another thread on this forum

This has to give people encouragement that there specimens like this can still be found. Congrats to Ron and thanks for sharing this incredible find!

1 hour ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Many on here probably have never heard of such a man, so please do yourself a favor and look him up.  Jimmy Sierra Normandi was one of the most influential  detectorists with White's for many years.

I and my wife were fortunate to meet Jimmy several times and one of them was at the White's factory as Randy Smith, Jimmy, I and my wife, Bob LaVoy, Ralph Tanner and Dutch Medford were involved in White's first infomercial in 1995. The stories and treasure that was found by all at that time was incredible. Jimmy and Alan Holcombe were in my opinion the key people in the 1990's and earlier 2000's that made White's so successful. Jimmy Sierra Normandi was always great to be around, talking detecting or not.

6 hours ago, Jim McCulloch said:

My second GMT-BM, far less used, with only about 1350 nuggets to it's credit, is now owned by Glenn in CO.

Jim there must be another Glenn in CO. I and my wife use to be White's dealers for over twenty-five years and closed up shop in 2014. We had bought the first batch of GMT body mounts when they were first available from White's and still are using them today. I'm sure the other Glenn will put it to good use.

7 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I'd rather die engaged in adventure than at home in an easy chair dreaming of it. "They died doing what they chose to do." That would look good on any gravestone.

That's the way I look at it, at least I have a lot great memories to look back on now and in later years.👍