Need bottle digging advice!

Could anyone direct me to a website that contains the basics of excavating and finding well buried bottles? I would hate to break a good bottle find because I don't know what I'm doing. Info on tools and probing would be helpful.

Thanks,

HJ

[Mr.Silver]

I'Ve been digging bottles all of 15 yrs. I use a long handle 4-prong curved rake, a bunch of newspaper to wrap bottles(each one you find I take + wrap the bottles each one i find),put my bottles in 5-gallon buckets and start rakin again. I seldom use a long handle shovel but some dumps you need it.,to go deeper, but intend to break some bottles ,be careful using a shovel. I take a pruner to cut roots that get in the way, and a small folding saw about 9" to 10"(folded) to cut branches out of way also., + a pair of safety glasses(for flying dirt or broken glass) I used to not wear them,but I got dirt in my eyes 2 times, and went to emergency room too many times. -SO WEAR THEM-I have a yellow pair it brighted up everything around you, I wear dark-colored ones when its real bright out. The newspaper an old man told me that year ago to wrap the bottles because they have attendice to blow up on you, if you don't wrap them! I used to not wrap them the first years of bottle digging, I sat one on a stump I was going to put in the bucket + it blew up on me!!!So you live and learn I guess?Plus the newspaper pads the bottles from each other. I use a full sheet for 1 bottle+half sheet for little items. I almost forgot use some bug spray( I use OFF! lotion)When you dig, you stur a lotta of crittes up(little gnats,etc...)you don't
west niles disease!
I hope this helps you!?

Mr.Silver

That is some real good advice Mr. Silver, thanks for posting it.

Thanks very much for the tips Mr. Silver, I'll try to put them to good practice. Some of the ideas that you touched on had not occured to me, especially having a bottle blow up on me.

I did learn a valuable lesson just this past weekend. I was working my way up the slope of the dump, and the ground gave way under me. I grabbed a tree root to save myself, I thought I had fallen into a mine shaft. When I pulled myself out and regained my composure, I saw that that part of the hillside had a lot of old gallon paint cans buried in it. My weight caused the badly rusted cans to colapse, and I went down around 4-5 feet.

Did find some cool bottles in that hole though......................

Thanks again

HJ

[Mr.Silver]

I always were a good set of rubber gloves that are flexible, and a cotton ones under them when its gets cold or damp! I also wrap my rake with pipe insulation from the bottom to the top end of the rake, then I put duct tape over this insulation, it makes a pad so you will not get any blisters(they hurt). And the other thing when you find a painted label(ACL) do not rub it off when you find it just shake the dirt fom inside the bottle and just wrap very carefully with newspaper, if you rub it the words and pictures will come off with the dirt! Then you just get mad and throw over your shoulder and keep on diggin'. Just more advice for your bottle diggers!!

Mr.Silver

[Mr.Silver]

To CW:
It's the bottle's blowing up when you first dig them out of the ground, I wrap in newspaper if you do not they may crack or blow up! Its the cause of being buried for so long and being exsposed to the AIR that makes them crack and blow up!! It's like MDing when you dig a coin out of the ground its looks like its an excellent condition until you bring it home, if you don't put in a container of olive oil when you dig it, put the coin or object in olive to preserve it until you get home from the hunt?! It's like putting newspaper around each bottle you find leave them in newspaper until you are ready to clean them, that's what I do?

Mr.Silver

[CanUdigit?]

It's not the air (unless you’re talking air temp). Glass that has been buried is well insulated from temp extremes. Removing a bottle from the ground and setting it in the sun is a sure way to see the bottle crack or 'blow-up". Wrapping a bottle in newspaper allows the bottle to warm up slowly by insulating it.

Same thing happens when you pour a liquid over ice. As the temp of the liquid is higher than the ice, the ice cracks when you pour in the liquid. Because the ice expands (warms) faster than it structure can take.

I always wrap my bottles when they come from the ground and place them in my Coleman ice chest (no I don't put em on ice, its empty!). This allows my bottles to warm slowly, and not develop cracks.

Now that you know how to dig, it's just a matter of where to dig!

Hint: Sanborn / Google Earth

Can You Dig It?