# Tips on where to dig?



## happyamos (Sep 11, 2020)

Any tips on finding places to dig? I've dug quite a few at my folks house, but I think I picked it clean.


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## hemihampton (Sep 12, 2020)

I'd suggest this.





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						WTS - FOR SALE: Book on how to find Privies, Dumps, Bottles.
					

If your new to the Hobby then this is the Perfect Book for you. Lots of tips & info in this Book. Only $30.00. Shipping extra.



					www.antique-bottles.net
				





P.S. Welcome to the site.


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## Drift (Sep 12, 2020)

Do you watch any bottle diggers on YouTube? That rapidly accelerated my knowledge of all things dump digging, along with perusing this and other bottle sites.

Do you have a cemetery dating back to the 1800's in your town? Does that cemetery have woods next to it, and better yet, a creek running through it? That's one of my go to spots if I have a limited amount of time in an unfamiliar city. Your mileage may vary.

If you check out some YouTubers, I recommend Digger Dave Beeler, Southern Searcher, and Adventure Archaeology. Just between the three they probably have a combined century of knowledge and they freely share a lot of it with viewers.

Is there a local bottle book for your area? Seek it out, study it. Chances are it'll be hard to find, out of print, and a little pricey, like the one I have for my area. Probably still a worthwhile purchase though, along with other books you can get your hands on.

Do you have a probe? Do you know any local collectors who might show you a long picked over dump they swear was dug out in the 60's? I don't believe in dug out in the 60's. There's still millions of bottles in the ground. You'll find some nice honey holes. Good luck!


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## happyamos (Sep 12, 2020)

Thank you for the tips and the welcome! I do not have a probe, not sure what one is. I will have to investigate, thanks!


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## mytauntaunsbeat (Sep 13, 2020)

See if there are any old atlases from your state that would have old properties listed.  PA has a site that has aerial photos from the 30s-present that i use to compare to the old maps as well


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## sandchip (Sep 13, 2020)

happyamos said:


> Any tips on finding places to dig? I've dug quite a few at my folks house, but I think I picked it clean.



The neighbors!


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## SimmonsT (Sep 13, 2020)

I've actually came across 2 seperate dumps while geocaching, you may consider trying it. It brings you to those random areas that you wouldn't otherwise go to!


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Sep 14, 2020)

happyamos said:


> Thank you for the tips and the welcome! I do not have a probe, not sure what one is. I will have to investigate, thanks!



Here's one of my probes:


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## happyamos (Sep 14, 2020)

Awesome! I did some reading on them last night. I might make one, if I can get access to a stick welder.


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## hemihampton (Sep 14, 2020)

You'll need Spring Steel to make one. LEON.


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## happyamos (Sep 14, 2020)

Yep, saw that. I think I can get my hands on some through work.


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Oct 4, 2020)

happyamos said:


> Yep, saw that. I think I can get my hands on some through work.


 Yeah If you don't use spring steel, you'll spend more time straightening the probe than using it.


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## happyamos (Oct 4, 2020)

Boy, was I wrong about that. Turns out, SS is not as common as I thought. Couldn't order any unless I wanted to buy a truckload. Obviously, I don't need that much! Junk yards it is, I suppose!


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## UncleBruce (Oct 4, 2020)

happyamos said:


> Boy, was I wrong about that. Turns out, SS is not as common as I thought. Couldn't order any unless I wanted to buy a truckload. Obviously, I don't need that much! Junk yards it is, I suppose!


Older car trunks had spring steel rods in them.  If you can find the older 70's and  80's they are longer. Hit up a salvage yard you can usually get them very cheap.


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## hemihampton (Oct 4, 2020)

I've been buying sheet metal from a local steel shop here in Detroit area for past 20 years. A couple of years ago I went in to see if I could buy some Spring Steel rods from him & surprisingly he had no clue or idea what I was talking about & never heard of it? And this is a huge wharehouse full of different shapes & sizes of steel? LEON.


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## happyamos (Oct 4, 2020)

hemihampton said:


> I've been buying sheet metal from a local steel shop here in Detroit area for past 20 years. A couple of years ago I went in to see if I could buy some Spring Steel rods from him & surprisingly he had no clue or idea what I was talking about & never heard of it? And this is a huge wharehouse full of different shapes & sizes of steel? LEON.


It's a specialty metal. I work for a specialty metal distributor and even they don't carry it. I did find a couple distributors, one in Chicago area, one in Detroit area, as well as Alro, and they all laughed when I told them how much I needed. It can be obtained, but it's pretty much made to order. So, unless you are buying a flatbeds worth of steel...


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Oct 6, 2020)

Yeah the old large car trunks are gonna be the cheapest and best bet on the spring steel rods. And then some metalworking of course...


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## embe (Oct 7, 2020)

I made a probe (for a septic tank of all things) out of a metal rod from an old crib, and some gas line fittings for the "T" handle.  Did the job.


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## olddog21 (Oct 7, 2020)

I had a hard time getting spring steel years ago. I was talking to a guy who I teamed up with later on and he said to try a garage door spring manufacturer. I found a spring maker in town and was able to buy twenty feet of steel. That’s great, I can coil it up and stick it in my cars trunk. I got the piece out to my car and found out the stuff isn’t easy to coil up. I had a big car trunk. 

Got the piece in the trunk then home and cut to length.  I’m not a welder so finding someone who understood that if spring steel heated to hot, it becomes brittle. Not a good thing if you are pushing the probe into the ground and it breaks either at the tip or at the handle

Finally found a good welder and made my probes. 

The spring manufacturer sold out to a consortium of makers and they now have a huge plant to make springs. Getting steel from those guys depends on the day and how the secretary feels


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