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Both my big and little pick where looking a bit worse for wear lately, but they both still have nice sturdy handles on them so I decided to have a go at fixing them. To replace the big pick would probably cost me a couple of hundred bucks. My mate Steve gave me the material , a piece of car leaf spring. I used a 4½" angle grinder with a cut off disc to cut the pieces I needed, (don`t force the grinder, just let the grinder do the work and you wont tear hell out of the disc). I own a 240 volt, 15 amp inverter stick welder that I bought on ebay, ( I have no idea what the equivalent would be in the States), I fitted the new material to the the back of the pick blades, and welded them length ways only, NOT, across the blades, with low hydrogen rods. I wanted to use them for a couple of days before I told the world how clever I was, and I gotta say these new picks are great, so much easier to dig with. Much better than when they were new off the shelf. I`ve only used them 3 days so I still have to see how they stand up, but at the moment I am very happy with them. Dave

From https://www.whiteselectronics.com/product/hexscoop/ "This HexScoop is built for metal detecting beaches and sandy areas. So what makes it different from all of the other sand scoops out there? With hexagonal-shaped holes the HexScoop has an edge over traditional square-mesh construction. Each hole is laser-cut at 7/16″ – so it’s the perfect size for smaller rings and jewelry that other scoops tend to loose, but offers enough surface area to allow wet sand to fall through with a good shake. Even though with the thick-wall stainless steel construction and reinforced handles, our large and medium HexScoops are light enough to drag behind you all day. The handheld model is perfect for getting down in the sand. Each scoop is emblazoned with a laser-cut White’s logo – perfect for showing the competition who runs the beach! The HexScoop is offered in three sizes: Large* – 8″ x 4.5″ opening $129.95 Medium* – 6.75″ x 4.5″ opening $119.95 Small – Handheld $84.95 *Large and medium scoops ship without a handle. We suggest purchasing a shovel handle from a local hardware store – it will float and give you several seasons of use, even in salt. Handle opening is 1 3/8″."

Not that I dont like a good heavy duty pick, I was just tired of carrying a large pick while using the GB2 since I never really have to dig too deep while using the 6.5 inch coil. I came across an ad in a gardening magazine for the HOE•DAG. It caught my eye due to the shape and a lifetime guarantee. The handle could be an inch or two longer but I think I will like it, I can always put a new handle on in the future. I will keep everybody updated when it arrives and get some use out of it. Obviously that will not be until the desert gets a dip in the weather. Also if anybody else has used a HOEDAG let me know what you think. -Mike

I need a pick and have been looking at Bunks Hermit Pick this thing looks like a beast and heavy does anyone have any experience with the hermit pick the good the bad or the ugly.

Talking shovels, any of you Minelab guys ever seen a shovel like this?? 28 inches long, just a baby round pointed shovel. Was given to me by a guy that had several Minelab detectors.

How to do it...

Hello everyone I'm new here to The Forum and to metal detecting. Inspired by all the Rock pics I saw at the gold show in Phoenix I decided to create my own. Take a look and see what you think. It was made from a $10 Hammer I picked up at Harbor Freight. M.

So I've had my AT Gold for about a month now and have not been able to use it due to weather. I took a trip to the California bay area 2 weeks ago and got turned at Donner Pass. Luckily it was only for about an hour. I spent a day in San Francisco at Alcatraz then later at Pier 39. The next day a took a drive down to Santa Cruz in hopes of the weather clearing up but all it did was rain. My days off are during the week so it sucks everyone's working when I'm off lol. Now we are expecting another storm here in the Reno area so no hopes in using it this week either. So far I have the AT Gold detector and a pin pointer and just ordered a coil cover. Does anyone have any other items that they recommend that I will need?

What is your favorite pick? Do you like a heavy or light head? Handle length? What makes it special to you?

Six months ago my scoop detached unnoticed from my belt on thick bushes whilst detecting . Every time I go passed these particular diggings I drop in for a quick search with no luck . Now your thinking so what !!!! plenty of scoops out there , but no this was a special one that I loved . It was made in USA and I bought it online . I know it was made privately and was issued to stores until stock ran out . Description as follows . It had 3 initials in upper case on handle . (can't remember) The handle was flat to the scoop area which prevented pellets rolling into the usual small gap jamming pellets . Sides slightly angled not round and it had 4 riffles at toe of scoop . Nothing in Australia like this . Pretty sure this chap stopped making , hoping someone else has commenced . Any clues or comments would be appreciated . Very trivial request but just bugging me and my SDC misses it . Cheers goldrat

Love the concept !!!!!!if it works it could be lots of work out but a wild harvest!!!!! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beach-rakes-Beach-trawl-thin-gold-chains-/1723648… RR

You guys helped me select the Hodan pick on the forum a short time ago. I bought a 16 inch and a 21 inch before they were all gone, so thanks! I just finished an article in the mining journal on accessories and was wondering who makes your pouches and if you had a lightweight knife for digging coins in parks. The knifes I've held so far are way too heavy. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Grass Valley Buck Master

I think maybe I should have asked you all what you would recommend for a beach scoop before I purchased one. I looked on line a while and my thinking was the bigger the better. So I bought the 9 1/2 inch T-Rex. It didn't look that big in the picture but when I took it out of the box it was like "wow". Maybe I should have got the 8" model. I see how it got it's name. They told me the 3030 goes deep but I don't think I'll be missing a lot of targets on the first try with this thing but It may take a second person to operate it. Not only is it large but it's incredibly heavy duty. I looked at the welds on it etc and they are perfect. Between that and my big coils I best start working out. Terry

Over the last few years the thought rolls around in my head that with all the developments in material sciences, ceramics in particular, why has there not been a ceramic pick developed? We can make ceramic motors for cars and ceramic knifes that are pretty robust. In science fiction there are references to a mythic material called plas-steel however there really is not much on this in real science~ but its a totally cool idea and heck Star Trek practically gave us the hand held communicator ;) Any entertaining thoughts on this? Would you buy one? What do you think something like that would be worth? For me I think it would be a gold mine in itself as all current detectors on the top shelf do react to the amount of metal we carry on our persons. I don't feel things like weight are an issue but dulling down of a detector because I carry my honking big pick is rather annoying. And putting the honker down to detect is a great way to loose it, or have 30 waypoints to no where in my GPS unit... oh did I just stray 2km from where I dropped it..... and looking down I hope that target does not move before I get back to dig it. Where as with the ceramic I'm working a peak level and am Johnny on the spot when that nugget sings. This is something I feel can be done. And probably fairly cheaply~ so no carping about breaking the bloody thing ;) Thanks. And no I dont recommend something like this for solid rock but that'd be cool to as so many scrapes are full of Iron from chipping of blades and teeth.

I'm new to the forum but would like to know what you all are using for a metal detecting prospecting pick. I prefer a lightweight pick with a wood handle and I curious if you all like the ones with a magnet. Finally, if you have a model name, a price, and where you purchased it, I would be grateful... Thanks

For now Don Pedro lake still allows metal detecting with the exception of a few areas that are off limits, as long as we follow the rules. The first rule is to put the area back to normal (fill your holes) when you are done. I filled your hole in the middle of the trail, but if you continue to be inconsiderate (and this really was stupid) we will lose the freedom to hunt there.

I broke my digging tool, so I'm looking for ideas on what to replace it with. I know for prospecting you all use a pick. as do I, but that won't do for turf! this is what I've been using. works great turf.

Appreciate you attaching the Video's. Really good video and nice gold. I also like the tools you use. I have a couple short handled pics but like that long handled one you used, would save me bending over as much and you can get 2 hands on it. What brand/model is that if you don't mind? Thanks, Terry

What does everyone find convenient for holding tools, pinpointer, etc? And, what tools would you consider carrying for beeping tailing piles and exposed bedrock in a wet placer environment? Thanks Bob

"About 750 days after she first broke down, Bertha, the massive drill long stuck under Seattle’s waterfront, is back to work. Five stories tall and the biggest of her kind, Bertha overheated in December 2013, about a ninth of the way into digging a tunnel for an underground expressway. The contractor on the dig staged a painstaking rescue, and Bertha’s slowly drilling again." Full story at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-06/bertha-the-giant-drill-is-ready-to-rumble-in-seattle Wikipedia page on Bertha boring drill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_(tunnel_boring_machine)

New to this forum and I did some searching, but sorry if this has been covered before. I'm going to buy some rare earth (neodymium) magnets to take prospecting, but want to make sure I don't do something stupid in the process. I already have one (N52 cylinder, 1in X 1in) and know how powerful these can be. They come in many sizes, shapes, and strengths (see CMS Magnetics website at www.magnet4sale.com for a huge selection). My first concern: is it possible to damage the electronics of a metal detector by getting too strong of a field closeby? Second concern: would getting too powerful of a magnet be a detriment in either cleaning up black sand or clearing a trashy areas of bits of iron? I have one of those plastic encased plunger magnets that come with panning kits but it seems really wimpy. But maybe wimpy is good for the purpose of cleaning out black sand at the end of panning and too strong of a magnet would be a problem?

My neighbor was cleaning out his mother's shed and discovered a box of mining items-gold pans, gold scales, picks, etc. and this hammered iron spoon, just like the traditional horn spoons discussed earlier. It is 8 and 5/8 inches long and about an inch and a half deep. Very sturdy and well used. I had no idea the spoons even existed prior to the Forum's earlier post on the horn variety.

The old timer's horn spoon was used for sampling for values.especially in the desert where water was scarce. Any info. on technique or how it was used would be much appreciated. Thanks...Rob

i ordered some rare earth magnets and when they arrived they were a little smaller than id planned on, but i figured what the heck and stuck them on a small rake i had in the garage that i bought a while back at the local garden center. the magnets came with 5mm holes and i used some pop rivets to attach them to the rake. it's light weight and the magnets seem to be stuck on pretty good for now, we'll see if I'm careful just how long before i break it... if it is even useful out there at all.