Wizard Detectors 25506 Lumber Wizard III Metal Detector
- Detects metal in all types of woods up to 6 inches thick–including particle board and solid woods
- Features a low voltage vibrator, which alerts the user when metal is detected
- Pinpoints exact location of metal objects
- No calibrating, no measuring, no guessing
- 9-volt battery required (battery not included)
Product Description
Item number 30561-45, Grading is cover/record: VG+ using Goldmine standards. 196?,ocs Please see seller profile for abbreviation descriptions.Amazon.com
Recycled wood is wonderful to work with, but you run the risk of damage each time you machine it. Old nails, screws, and fasteners will wreck expensive planer, jointer, and saw blades quicker than a wink, but the Lumber Wizard can keep that from ever happening in your shop again. A metal detector for your wood, The Lumber Wizard locates metal buried in wood up to 6 inches thick. In addition to the sound alert, you can plug an earphone into the jack or set the unit to vibrate instead. A smart designer engineered the handle with a little bend in it, so you won’t be dragging your hand along the wood surface, a small touch we appreciate. For about the cost of a good carbide blade, you’ll be saving yourself countless ruined bits and blades. And that makes the Lumber Wizard is a smart investment.–… More >>
Wizard Detectors 25506 Lumber Wizard III Metal Detector
This is a revamp of a previous review. I wasn’t sure whether to order one after reading the other reviews, and after visiting the Wizard web site. Well I broke down and ordered one, and I am glad that I did. I noticed that they eliminated the large adjusting knob on the face of the unit. The plastic form pack and instructions that it is shipped in still have the bulge, where the knob used to go, and the cardboard placard still has the instructions on how to use the missing knob. Before it had the large fine adjusting knob, and a recessed fine adjust screw what was used to get the large knob within adjusting range.
Adjusting is simple now. With the single recessed screw, you simply hold it up in the air and turn the screw until it starts to squeal, then back it off just enough for it to get quiet. Now you are at the maximum sensitive setting. It is intuitive and simple enough, that you don’t mind, setting it, every time you use it.
Next I wanted to check the accuracy of the unit. I took an aluminum screw and parked it under a 2×4. When I passed it over the squeal rang out. Good there, then I put the screw under two 2×4s, and it didn’t find it. Hey if it is buried 3″ deep, I wouldn’t normally need to be concerned about it. The instructions call for passing over both sides of the wood, so that would cover even a piece of metal inside of a 3″ piece of wood. Then I went over to a piece of 3/4 oak, and put a small brass screw under it, it rang out. Then I put it under two 3/4″ pieces of wood it rang out again. Under three it failed to notice it. So the unit is great for depths up to 1 1/2″.
The other thing worth mentioning is that this is a rather large unit, with the last 7″ containing the sensor area. Since the sensor runs along the length of the unit, as compared to across the face, you get much better results, when making a pass that brings the length of the piece of metal into the length of the sensor. So you want to be sure and pass the detector over the same area at right angles to one another.
Sorry for mentioning the obvious but the larger the piece of metal, the easier it is to detect.
Pertaining to the battery holder, I noticed that a reviewer was having trouble with that. I don’t know if that was improved over the earlier unit, but the way it is now is great. It removes easily, and reinstalls easily as well. You simply push in the tab and it pops right out. When reinstalling it, you simply push it back in until is snaps in place. I expect to get a lifetime of dependable use out of it.
The manufacturer suggests that you remove the battery when it is not in use, so that is why some people were not getting a lot of use out of a single battery. With the ease of removing the battery, makes this a no hassle procedure. Simply put, you don’t mind having to remove it.
In conclusion I have to say that I now highly recommend the Wizard Detector. It is easy to use, works dependably, even when testing it on different pieces of wood. Considering the price of buying an airport security level of detector, makes this Wizard a no brainer. I don’t know how it worked before, but this new upgraded unit does the job I was hoping it would. Buy it you won’t be sorry.
I upgraded to the lumber wizard after having really good success with the smaller (and cheaper) little wizard from the same company. This is similar to security wands at the airports, but more “woodworker” friendly (you don’t have to scrape your knuckles to get close to the wood since the handle is raised – and its half the price of the others). The vibration feature is really nice to have when the workshop gets noisy. I had to fine tune it when I first got it, but haven’t touched it since (nearly 3 months). It’s super sensitive, but when you get it tuned right and move it slowly and thoroughly, I doubt anything metal would get past it. Much faster to use than the little wizard as well, since the scanner area is much bigger. Well worth it if blades and time are important to you.
I have purchased both units separately. The small unit can pickup heads of nail etc in walls but it is not sensitive enough to check for metal in wood before planing. The large red unit is great – it has an ear piece so you can hear sound as it senses metal while you in a noisy shop or other area as well as a vibrating mode or both.
I did one sensitivity test. I drove 1/2″ 18guage finish nail from my air gun into a 3/4″ block of wood recessing it a fraction of an inch below the surface. The big unit picked up the brad on both sides of the wood. The little unit couldn’t find it. I believe it’s because their isn’t enough mass in the tiny nail. If you like to recycle lumber or repair old furniture then the red unit will save your planer and saw blades which = frustration and money. It’s great for finding hidden nails in repaired furniture
This tool can be made to work, and can save blades. But, it is far from perfect. Keep a test board with a known nail handy, and swipe it occasionally during use. Otherwise, the tool will drift off sensitivity, and you won’t know it until your $$ carbide blade tells you… The tool is VERY sensitive to humidity, which is fine if you’re in one of those spiffy shops that Fine Woodworking is always featuring, but if you’re under a tin roof shed on a humid, rainy day, trying to turn salvaged heart pine siding into flooring, well… just forget it.
Although slow to be shipped (after two weeks) the detector seems to work as advertised. I tested scrap oak with embedded 18 gauge by 1/2″ brads, heads removed, and found the Wizard detected them at depths up to 1/4″, sufficient to protect my surface planer. Follow the manufacturer’s recomendation to perform two scans, the second scan at 90 degrees from the first, or you can miss horizontal nail orientations. The audible warning feature is a plus for these small objects.