Went fishing in the Potomac for artifacts. Got a fence post and no rusty guns or money boxes. At the boat house they told us there were dozens of cell phones 40 feet down, but I only found fasteners. And a mystery object.
Neat! This is magnet fishing? Pitty that won't get coins because I bet there are a few down there.
Yep, not likely to find a steel penny these days. The most valuable thing I pulled up was the magnet itself. I keep it stuck to a steel beam at home and it's pretty hard to dislodge. If it got attached to a boat anchor stuck on the bottom there would be little hope of recovery.
This has me wondering what might get pulled up locally here. Otis Redding and six others died when their plane crashed into Lake Monona, and an F-102 also did. A magnet wouldn't get any aluminium bits, of course, but there might be some steel pieces that weren't recovered.
Maybe put it in a burlap sack and tie it over the hook/line? It won't impede the pull, but the added layer eases the separation while helping to protect the magnet against eventual damage. Our lab techs cover permanent magnet slabs in this weird fine rubbery cloth for some experiments, but I'd bet even some old jeans would work.If it got attached to a boat anchor stuck on the bottom there would be little hope of recovery.
An old sock or some latex gloves secured with rubber bands would have helped. As it happened, a thick coating of river mud and grit coated the magnet after the first few drops. The most interesting things might not contain much iron, though. A key ring with keys, a cell phone, even a modern gun can be mostly plastic. Any guesses about the mystery object? It feels like a solid mass of metal, but may have been separate parts fused by corrosion.
Lol, that too. Learned my lesson trying to get the spilled ferrofluid off of a magnet once. Hull bolt? I have no idea. Some ceramics contain iron in them. Not just as glaze or pigment or literal ceramic magnets, but it's added into the clay/other material. Dunno if it would work, but then again you have a strong magnet on your hands so maybe it could pick some fun bauble.As it happened, a thick coating of river mud and grit coated the magnet after the first few drops.
Any guesses about the mystery object? It feels like a solid mass of metal, but may have been separate parts fused by corrosion.
The most interesting things might not contain much iron, though. A key ring with keys, a cell phone, even a modern gun can be mostly plastic.