With the price of lumber going up all the time, I'm recycling wood more than ever. But I ruined a blade on my circular saw after hitting an old nail I'd missed when cleaning the wood (my eyes ain't what they used to be). The Lumber Wizard is a lot less expensive than those security metal detectors, and it's saved my new blade a couple times. It takes less than a minute to check a big sheet of ply. If it finds something and I still can't see it, I use the Little Wizard (when I purchased my Lumber Wizard, this came bundled with it).

I guess you could just use the Little Wizard to scan lumber, but it would take longer since it only covers a few square inches at a time. The bigger Lumber Wizard covers about a 6" x 6" area, so sweeping it over a big ply or 2 x 4 goes pretty darn quick (for thicker wood, I usually flip over the lumber and scan both sides just to be sure). The battery life is pretty good, too. I went three months on a single nine-volt battery, using it several times a day, three to four days a week. The Lumber Wizard also has a vibrate setting, which is helpful if other machines are going in the shop, since my hearing ain't what it used to be.

-- Robert Palembas

Lumber Wizard - $100
Available from Amazon

Little Wizard - $15
Available from Woodcraft

Or $20 Amazon (Little Wizard)

Manufactured by Wizard Industries