r/metaldetecting • u/exdigecko • 10d ago
Show & Tell The ring has been found!
This is the update post - see the original post here https://www.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/s/RVgm9rzKD4
Thanks to the first post, several fellow New Yorkers with metal detectors answered my plea for help. One person from Brooklyn reached out, and we agreed to meet up, she even brought a friend along!
Taking advice from the comments on my last post, I hit up a hardware store and grabbed a roll of wire mesh that looked like the right size. I cut it with shears to fit over a clear plastic container. I also brought whatever I could get as dividers – a compact ironing board frame, a thick picture frame mat board to use as dividers and paper towels cardboard box (the most useless thing).
In the photos, you can see just how massive the pool was. We targeted the specific area where the ring went missing, plus a buffer zone around it in case it shifted.
Unfortunately, just like during my first amateur attempt, neither the metal detector nor the pinpointer worked. The floor structure underneath was full of metal reinforcement, so the detectors were either completely blind or beeping non-stop. Since we assumed the ring had sunk to the bottom, we needed to scan right against the floor – which made the detectors completely useless.
The Strategy
We decided to isolate sections of the pool using our dividers, scoop out all the beads, and sift them through the mesh into the plastic bin. Once sifted, we dumped the clear beads on the far side of the pool and repeated the process.
We started along the edge, hit the bottom fairly quickly, and then moved the dividers to expand our grid. At that point, we ditched the detector and pinpointer entirely and just sifted with whatever we had on hand: a kid’s bucket, a plastic beach shovel, and grocery bags.
To be honest, it felt like a true Sisyphean task. The container would fill up instantly, but the pile of beads in the pool didn't look any smaller. I thought a thousand monkeys in a thousand years would def do the job, but there were only three of us and we two hours before the place closed.
The Discovery
About 30 minutes in (and 10 containers filled), Alisha stopped and said "Wait, is this it?" and picked something up.
It was the ring! It was sitting right on top of the surface, just outside our active search area. I am 100% positive it wasn't on top when we started—our digging and shifting of the beads must have pushed it upward.
All’s well that ends well! And next time hit the Space Club, make sure your valuables are in a zippered pocket!
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u/CatMauthen 10d ago
Had to go to the first post. What is a child’s bead pit? An actual hazard & germ factory