# privy digging tips?



## tigue710 (Jan 4, 2008)

well I'm off to probe my first privy tomorrow morning...  any tips anyone can give me?  About 2-3 inches of frost in the ground right now....


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## Gratefuldigger (Jan 4, 2008)

What type of place are you probing?   Age wise?     Yard size?


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## JGUIS (Jan 4, 2008)

If you're frozen, it's gonna suck.  How long have you been below zero?  I always start with depressions, then property lines.  A tip for whatever you dig, put some glass in it at different levels when you fill it back in.  Probe it afterwards, use it for reference.[]


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## tigue710 (Jan 4, 2008)

its a town house 1/4 acre yard, 1820's,  It is in the older are of my small city, and the house is on the 1880's Sanborn's, which are not really any help as we had sewers by the 1870's.  Everyone says there are no privy's in New England, but I just cant see people being that much different here from the rest world!  Probably be shallow though...

 We were in the 40's until three days ago,  I dug a dump today and the frost was only a couple inches although I expect a yard to have a little deeper frost because of exposure...


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## appliedlips (Jan 4, 2008)

Don't think too much!It's not as hard as some make it sound.Property lines are my favorite,If the lots are wide,I find most in line with the corners of the house.Get a feel for the undesturbed soil in the area first then probe for spots that feel different.When you find a spot that probes different ,angle probe for walls.Look at your probe tip from time to time checking for ash,brickdust,glass,etc..There are probably a lot of shallow pits up your way,so don't ignore spots only 3 or 4 ft. deep.Good luck.

 P.S. If you hit something that feels like glass but your not sure because rocks can feel almost the same.Really the only way  to be sure is to slam the probe into it,if you feel one crunch then another,it was the two sides of a bottle.[]


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## tigue710 (Jan 4, 2008)

here is the lot, high lighted in blue of course, the house I am probing is the one set back from the road, the other is now separated into another lot.  This is the property in 1884...


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## tigue710 (Jan 4, 2008)

well that took up a little room...

 Doug, luck would have it that pop be the only bottle!


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## lexdigger (Jan 4, 2008)

Doug pretty much hit the nail on the head. Property lines are great spots to start. I usually stand at the back door and just walk straight back and start probing. When you're just getting started, dig anything that feels different untill you get the hang of it. Even if it just feels like rocks or debris buried, dig it. You won't always feel glass in a pit, especially the older or deep holes. If it's loaded with trash you'll know it. Some pits will feel like a big air pocket and you might fall on your face cause the probe goes in so easy! Definatly remember to diagonally probe if you think you've got one. You'll find the walls and get an idea of how big to open it up. Dig it out to all four walls and keep them clean. You don't want to leave stuff hanging over you're head cause most of the time it will end up falling. Make sure you've got a partner with you and tell you're significant other where you'll be and when you expect to be back. I'm sure there are privies up there, you just need to figure out if they threw trash in them or not. Around here some people did and others didn't. It's a gamble we're willing to take. Usually it's loaded or empty, one or the other. Good Luck and let us know how you do!!! We're digging our first pit of 08 in the morning. It's an early house and we've dug the 60's/70's pit and the 80's/90's pit. Hopefully this one is the original hole to the house!!! I hope the bottle gods are in a good mood!!! Chris


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## tigue710 (Jan 4, 2008)

thanks everyone!

 Chris I'll post em if I get em, tomorrow will a step down the long road of trial and error... they have to be out there...

 good luck tomorrow, start the year off with a bang!


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## baltbottles (Jan 5, 2008)

One thing i suggest is after you get used to the idea of probing try some different tip designs as the type and density of the soil in your area may be different then the type the probe of your tip was designed for. The tip i use is great for soil and sand and medium density clay which is what we have a lot of in baltimore. However Philly has alot of very dense clay and I have a heaver duty tip that i plan to put into use for probing there this year. As for locations try both property lines as pits are often shared with the house next door . If that fails try along the back property line. Also I've found that about 8 out of ten pits in my area are on the oppsit side of the yard from the back door.

 Chris


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## tigue710 (Jan 5, 2008)

here we go...


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## idigjars (Jan 5, 2008)

Good luck Matt.             Paul


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## tigue710 (Jan 5, 2008)

well, I dont know what I found!  The house is under arson investigation and kept under watchful eyes at the moment so further investigation was thought better of.  I probed a couple depressions and sunk my 4 footer easily but could not locate walls.  The areas felt loose with no debris.  With the frost I could not sink into any other areas but these depressions, to see what everything else felt like.  We did dig one depression down a foot and hit sandy clay about 8 inches down... it looked undisturbed.  Some area's here everything is like that while other areas are hard packed clay, so it is hard figure out what we found.  It could be the whole yard is the same but I'm unable to check, I cant say.  I'm going to contact the home owner and see what we can do...


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## JGUIS (Jan 5, 2008)

Here's a tip I got from a fellow digger.  Walk around town with your probe, stabbing everything you can.  Get a feel for the ground.  It sounds like you have the same type as I do, which is a blessing in some instances, but very crappy on others.  I run test holes alot, because the dense clay here makes soft spots all the more obvious.  The crapper about it, is most of the clay is sitting on top of rock, so alot of the privies are shallow, and dipped to death.  I'd wait on the permission till it died down a little.  Good luck


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## lexdigger (Jan 6, 2008)

Yeah Matt, it sounds like a Written Perm. might be your best bet on that one! A few more tips I forgot to tell you. Some pits are HUGE and you will not find the walls with a standard four foot probe. We've dug round brickliners that were eight feet wide and the brick didn't start untill about four feet deep. Finding walls is really only good for smaller pits, but it usually does work. As far as frost goes, here's a little secret. Take an iron digger and bust a hole in the ground for your probe to go it. We also do this in gravel and other conditions when probing is difficult or impossible. Like the others have said to, make sure your tip is right for the soil and remember that practice make perfect. I started out in my back yard (no privies) and went around town stabbing the ground to death. After a while you get the feel for the natural ground and it makes finding a pit alot easier. Don't forget that bottles aren't only in privies. We dig trash pits, coal/ash pits, lime pits, and shallow dump layers. Back then they threw trash wherever they could find. Keep after it and you'll find them for sure. Even if they didn't throw trash in them they could have easily accidentally dropped bottles, marbles, coins, and other goodies in there. Chris


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## JGUIS (Jan 6, 2008)

What's all this talk about different probe tips?  Mine used to be a socket, and works great in any soil.  I have a basher probe for gravel, but the shaft is thicker, not the tip.  The only rules I was aware of for probe tips is"Never sharpen them"  I don't have the luxury of a threaded probe shaft, so I can only switch tips with my welder.  What am I missing?


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## lexdigger (Jan 6, 2008)

Well, out in Cali where they have very sandy soil they stick a bead right on the very tip of the rod. A digger out there sent me my first probe when I got started and I couldn't even get it in the ground here in Ky. We have a very hard clay so you need your bead to be about an inch back from the tip. We also like to make the very tip of the rod shaped like a crayon, sharpened but with a flat tip. That's the only way to go around here or you'll wear yourself out trying to find a pit. Mine is welded on to. We also use worn down tips with no bead in the hole to feel for glass layers down deeper. You don't want to use the regular probe for that cause you might damage bottles. When we're digging a deep hole with no trash in it we have to decide "Is it worth it?" Sometimes if the age isn't good and there doesn't feel like there's any layer in the bottom we fill her in. Never have used a basher probe but it seems like it would wear you out? Isn't it hard on the hands? An iron digger or spud bar works great here. We just stick it in, rock it back and fourth, and then the probe goes in behind it nice and easy. The old timers around here taught me that one. Chris


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## JGUIS (Jan 6, 2008)

It's all hard clay here too, and probing a whole yard does wear me out.  Plays hell on the wrists too.  The basher is like a normal probe, but inserted with a mini sledge.  Works on most residential parking spots, but the commercial ones that have been added to or compacted, I use a bladed spud bar to get down to the clay.  I use a 3/8" socket welded on, and shaped like a 45cal. hollow point round on the grinder.


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## lexdigger (Jan 6, 2008)

Sounds like you're ground is pretty similar to ours down here in Ky. Probing can really put a hurting on the hands, especially the palms and wrists. Nothing worst than slamming down on a rock or brick! I got some padded gloves made for high impact work and they help, but my hands are still sore from yesterday. Pulling buckets sucks, filling a pit in sucks, but probing has to be the hardest part of the job. Is the socket on your probe welded right on the tip or back a little? I've found that having that inch to get started makes it go alot easier. Mine has a nut welded on and ground down a little. I like having the ledge on top to bring up soil samples from the depths. Chris


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## rlo (Jan 6, 2008)

where do you but these probes?


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## appliedlips (Jan 6, 2008)

> ORIGINAL: appliedlips
> 
> Don't think too much!It's not as hard as some make it sound.


 
*TOLD YA![]  I said that earlier because all of us who have been doing it awhile,all have our subtle personal preferences but we are all doing the same thing.When I started I was confused with all the different approaches.Once you do it a few times you will figure it out.*

*Chris,Chris,and Josh,*
*I understand the different tips and try to use the largest I can in a given soil type.The larger the tip the more you feel.You can ALWAYS angle probe to find the walls.I like either like a bead of weld or a rounded bullet shape tip on the end but I dig in alot of sandy and gravely soil.*


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## idigjars (Jan 6, 2008)

*Becca, here is one place to get probes.   Paul *

*Spring Steel Probes* (5/16" or 3/8" size) for $25 each. Replacement tips are $5 each. 
*Raybrite Tumbling Powder* for $5.25/lb. 
 Contact Chip Cable, Email: chpcable@weld.com, Address: 235 Main Entrance Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15228, Phone: 412-343-4955.


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