DetectingWales.com

Dear Ladies and Gents

I am a newbie - I am soon to retire in 2 weeks and have decided metal detecting is for me. I have watched practically every 'Time team' and 'you tube' video there is out there and i too wish to find history!
My best mate has been land detecting for some years and is keen to show me the ropes so that's fantastic.

I have a beach hut on the coast - a shed to me, but it is my second home and hence the question, more a request really.

I have watched and read up and seen adverts for long handled metal beach/sand scoops and have noticed that 99% are from the USA.

Then i came across a forum question from this site on Google and found there are some fellas that are making these and this may include you?

I was never any good at metal work in school, in fact i'm pretty useless at all forms of DIY. So i have today joined this site with hands clasped in prayer that there is a wizard among your good selves you who can bring forge exacliber from the depths of the valleys and produce for me a long handled beach scoop made of Welsh superiority to the USA.

My email address should show, but if not it is pupharry@ntlworld.com

Please send pictures prices etc - i have paypal and bless you

Pup

Hi Pup,Im sure you will find someone to make one up or at least someone on D/W who knows who can, many years ago myself and keepmeteathinthejar travelled to Spain (Salou) twice a year for a few years on a coach organised by  a couple of great chaps Chris Martin and Mel,we decided to make a couple of stainless scoops up, well we made sure they would never break unfortuantly once filled with sand we couldn't lift the buggers infact I think we left one in the sea and no doubt it's still there to this day ;D any way I digress the scoop I eventually purchased was from America ,and still have it, it has never broke and would take some beating it was from (Reilly's Treasure Gold Inc) and would have no problem recomending they have a website also. good luck anyway ;)

Hi Pup,

Firstly do you really need one yet ?  What machine are you buying ?  Is it fully waterproof or only up to the control box ? 

Personally I'd start off on the shore till you know the machine and a Maplin £4.99 scoop and a £15 Draper spade will do to start with or maybe a black ada steel scoop if you like. £90 plus on a proper underwater sandscoop is a lot to lay out when you are starting out and unless you are wading you wont need it yet. May be better to put the money towards the machine at this point.

There is a member on here who does a nice looking scoop for £90 if you have your heart set on one then try a search.

Good luck with your retirement and your chosen hobby, I hope you'll enjoy it and stick with it, just be prepared to sift some serious quantities of ring pulls and coke cans ;)

too be quite honest with you i wanted one but have now adapted a B AN Q long handled spade instead.all the ones i looked at apart from the 200 quid american ones looked to flimsey.the 200 quid ones are very heavy,unlees your goin to only detect under water i dont see the point.sometimes could do with one at very low water mark but thats rare  :)

Hi Ladies and Gents
Yes as a newbie i have purchased the Garrett Euroace and have found numerous pegs in the bag garden in the snow, thank you dear wife!
I have pinged a gold signal, but i will have to wait till the wife is out the way before i dig up the lawn and blame it on a badger or two!
I have the spade, the pointer is en route and my eagerness is strangling my concentration in my final days in work.

Being of Welsh decent (my dad) and having played over 30 years of rugby, the knees and back are a bit knack'd, hence the long handled scoop request.
I have looked at You tube and my hut's beach is a pure sand leading out to clay, from my years of going to this beach, from nappies till now i have heard of Viking raids and exchanging goods locally, the Romans using the local clay to build castle walls (but no proof - my intenion) and there is also a bullet range and pill boxes from WW2 where i have found bullets in the clay.

The garrett as many of you will be aware is double D ring waterproof, but the box is not. To be honest the clay is sooooo slippery further out i wouldn't chance my luck.

As for the long handled scoop I prefer one made than mass manufactured item, that way i know love and care has been offered up to the searching gods rather than the thought of a pound note. I am willing to pay good money for Welsh perfection and when i see my Dad i can show him Welsh pride.

I am in the process of sorting out farm land dating back to 1086 so fingers crossed.

Happy hunting everyone

Pup

Hi Pup

Not to dishearten you but your Gold signal could well be Silver,aluminium,copper,bronze,lead and so on. all decent non - ferrous metals will give you a good Ring,Ring signal on the Euroace. Iron will be a grunt but you may also get a mixed signal which could the two ferrous/non-ferrous close together or just simply by the way the item lies in the ground, Large iron will also false and give you a ring ring regardless of how much discrim you use.

ive attached a pic of my settings, numbers 1 - 4 indicate what i commonley find/found and where on the scale:

1= Foil,large Iron,small buttons.

2= As above plus hammereds,roman copper alloy coins,hammereds

3= As above less Iron plus Gold,Cans,copper alloy coins, Hoards  ;D!!

4= As above but mainly bronze coins and shallow finds

I dig any signal between 1 - 4 as you can easily lose decent finds by ignoring sketchy signals which roman copper alloys can give and also thin hammereds, also coins on their edge give dodgy signals.

Plenty of practice and digging with lots of good and bad stuff will see you right.

Im sure some people will elaborate on my comment!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Happy Hunting
Nick

Simple really.. Dig every 'good two way' signal.

As far as being able to distinguish for certain what metal is there... It probably ranks alongside determining a child's sex be
holding something over the expectant mum's tum. 'Guesswork'.

I'm also on the lookout for a good quality SS Scoop to 314 or 316 standard.

Thanks Nick, thank you all
I will take all advice on board, really appreciated!
My foster boys have seen what i am up to today, my wife let the 'cat out of the bag' as to my intentions whilst retired.

Intrigued, curious and all three appear eager, perhaps i will get them to dig for me!

Thanks again
Pup

ps, the two eldest boys want one too, 'grrrrrrr! and ho hum', i guess i will be on the look out for another couple of detectors now.