8' Spring Steel Rod?

[probe buster]

Anyone know of a source for a piece of 8' spring steel or a complete 8' probe? Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Dragon0421]

You can get the steel you need out of an old trunk in an older car at least 60s or older is what i have been told to make the probe. Hope that will help

 

[barberman]

Go to the auto junk yard and get in the trunk of a full size car. Up under where the rear speakers go there are 2 spring steel rods. Take a crecent wrench and a pry bay and they come out in a minute or so. I pay $5 per rod at my junk yard in Kansas. On a big car they are 4' long. They have a series of bends on each end and when heated up with a torch you can get 5' when it's all straightened out. However.... when you heat the steel and bend it you loose the temper and it gets a little wobbly when used.. If you want longer than 4' I'd get two 4 footers and grind the ends and butt weld them together. That's my experience with probes and welding (mig). I slip on a nut an inch up from the end and weld it on. Then start grinding and shaping.

 

[Bixel]

I have a 5 foot rod that was made by somebody in the US that custom makes probes. I know spring steel rod is not an easy thing to find when I called one of the biggest metal/steel dealers in Canada in the "Steel City" of Hamilton, Ontario, and the guy actually LAUGHED at me, and was like "We havnt carried that stuff in years, what could you possibly need that for?"

I did finally find a place in Canada that carried it, but they wanted about 20 bucks a foot. Gets expensive that way. I think my 5 foot probe cost me about 70 bucks shipped from the States to Canada.

 

[RICKJJ59W]

There will always be junk yard's []

 

[probe buster]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I've been at this for a few years and have done the trunk diving thing for spring steel rods, so I'm up on that. I have a decent arsenal of 4 to 6 footers, but an 8 footer does occasionally come in handy in some situations. I was just searching for someone that might possibly have access to full 8' lengths of spring steel. Many diggers here in Cal have them, so there must be a source somewhere? I guess I can always go to plan B and pick up some standard cold rolled steel rod and use that, since a pilot hole can be stabbed first with the 6 footer, then followed with the 8. There shouldn't be much bend tension on the 8 in such a situation.

Brand new to this forum and look forward to following the posts and participating. Hey Kyle, good seeing another fellow insulator collector here!

Dwayne

 

[BittersMax]

If your seeing longer lengths of probes here in Northern California they may be coming from my shop. I usually carry with me on our digs an assortment of rods from 3-20'. Knowing how deep your going and where a layer starts is important. I've been building & selling custom made probes for over 35 years that are some of the finest you can buy. Welding pieces together is NO good because it creates a weak spot and will either bend or break at the joint and anything other than spring is worthless. My probes are made with a special high strength, thin spring material which is much more rigid and has far superior memory than conventional spring steel. Thinner more rigid rod allows the probe to be pushed into the ground with far less effort than the thicker material usually used to make probes. All welded one piece construction with a carbide tip and lifetime guarantee. One piece lengths available up to twenty feet, your design or mine. Cost is $10 per ft. which includes tip and handle, excluding shipping. Discount available for ten or more feet. In the coming month I will be offering custom made bottle digging equipment on my website at www.oldwestbottles.com

 

[probe buster]

Hey BittersMax, you're definitely the guy I'm looking for! In fact, after looking in your profile for your name, I just realized you're the guy I bought my flat-bladed digger stick from at the last Auburn Show. What a great tool! (I was the one selling insulators and bottles across from you and slightly to your right.)

Anyway, yes, you definitely have a customer here. I'll PM you and make arrangements for a possible pick-up at a future show. Many thanks!

 

[BittersMax]

You could also stop by here if your in my area too. Those flat blade digging paddles really are cool tools and all we ever use, glad you like it.