# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  detecting nails in salvaged timber

## carr

detecting nails in salvaged timber, 
Any recommendations  for a detector..?

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## cyclic

> detecting nails in salvaged timber, 
> Any recommendations  for a detector..?

  One pair of good eyes.
One strong magnet.

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## carr

> One pair of good eyes.
> One strong magnet.

  Its the  ones that are broken off and  hidden under   embedded dirt and dust that  concern me. They are virtually invisible

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## commodorenut

Get yourself some magnets out of an old 3.5" hard disk. They are incredibly strong, and will stick like crazy to any hint of ferrous metal - even under putty.  I found it an easy way to scan for nails in floorboards when we ripped up the carpet.  Just stuck a few in a row (with sticky tape) on the end of a bit of yellow-tongue and "swept" across the floor - they grab at any bit of metal, and you can take a closer look (or slower sweep) to pinpoint it,

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## OBBob

Jaycar sell rare earth magnets if you don't have a stash of used hard drives.

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## carr

> Get yourself some magnets out of an old 3.5" hard disk. They are incredibly strong, and will stick like crazy to any hint of ferrous metal - even under putty.  I found it an easy way to scan for nails in floorboards when we ripped up the carpet.  Just stuck a few in a row (with sticky tape) on the end of a bit of yellow-tongue and "swept" across the floor - they grab at any bit of metal, and you can take a closer look (or slower sweep) to pinpoint it,

  
I have a couple of 3.5's that I was gonna  recycle  after I had deleted them with a 10lb hammer. Great.. Cheaper than  wrecking a saw blade  :Smilie:

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## commodorenut

It's the 2 magnets that work the coil on the arm that you want.  The arm that sweeps across the disk (and has the heads on its tip).   
They are normally fitted on metal carriers that you can unscrew.  Here's a pic of a bundle I salvaged a while back:

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## PlatypusGardens

+1 for harddrive magnets.
Amazingly strong  :Shock:   
Reading this topic though, had me wondering, would a stud finder react to a nail in hardwood or is it too small to detect....
hmm

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## Jon

Carbotec sell them.  Use them before putting salvaged timber through a thicknesseser etc.

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## Bros

Magnets would be fine but is a slow method if you have a lot to do. Do you know anybody that does gold prospecting as their detectors would be good and do a lot quickly.

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## carr

Thanks  Guys. Il give  the HD magnets  try and also the stud finer  for comparison and Hopefully  I find a nugget  embedded in there somewhere.

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