Dowsers

Exactly Meloc! I sat in the breakroom with 3 other people one day and the conversation turned to dowsing. We made dowsing rods out of a coat hanger and used a styro cup with water for our "well". Three of us could dowse but the fourth one could not and she was the one that thought it was all faked somehow. I've always wondered why it will work for one and not the other, but the fact is, if it works for you Dave...you can find water.

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Lori

My great grandfather always dowsed for local folks. Even as a young un I thought it was bunk. I figure anywhere you drill if you go deep enough you will hit water.

He had a pretty maxed out rep as a "water witch" in his neck of the woods.

He came to visit me about ten years before he passed on and we started talking about it. I finally was old enough to feel comfy enough to tell him I thought it was BS. He said not only could he find water but could find things like water pipes etc.

So I tested him. I told him if he could find mine I would admit he was a dowser. He grabbed a forked limb after poking around in a hedge for it. He walked around my yard for about fifteen minutes. He then started making lil scuff marks with his heel.

Now my water line was a bit odd. It left the meter and went straight for around 30 feet where it took a left for another 35-40 feet. Then right again 20 or so feet, then right again for close to a 100 feet. The people that owned it before me had originally had a mobile home and had come off it to another outbuilding and then on to the house that I was currently living in. Later after daughter moved out of the trailer they had lived in they sold it. Eventually tore down the building because it was out in the middle of the yard by itself without the trailer.

There was no indication at all of those former buildings,nor the water line. It had been well over a decade since either existed. There was no visible crease in the ground that I could find etc. I was 300 miles from where my great granpa lived and he had never been here before.

But he followed the line and made a mark where he turned and then made another where he made a turn etc. He overshot the corners each time but came back and marked where he "felt" they made a turn.

He made a mark 3-4 feet past one corner. But came within a ft of the other ones.

I have been a believer ever since

Dowsing is about divining an answer to a question... so, in theory, it's dependent upon what you are seeking.

I don't have a firm opinion on whether or not it's "real"... but I have seen various folks over the years that have used dowsing for a variety of purposes and sometimes their results were downright spot-on.

I accept the possibility that the technique works... but I'd never use it as my final source of "information". And I definitely wouldn't recommend that the OP do their own dowsing for decision making purposes. Like all skills it would surely take time to develop any sort of dependable accuracy.

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Patrick Harris
http://ByExample.com

For a peach limb, cut a nice limb that has a well distinct looking Fork in the limb. Each fork limb should be about 1 1/2 to 2 feet long. With your elbows down and your hands stretched out in front of you, palms facing up. Grab each limb and hold it so that the V point is facing straight away from you at a level position. Walk around with the V pointing straight away from you and when you cross a water source the tip of the V will dip down toward the ground.

For the L's, cut two peices of stiff wire about 16 - 18 inches long and the handles should be about 6 inches. Roughly the wire should be about 2 ft. long before you bend it in a L shape. As someone mentioned above, hold the two peices of wire in your hands as if you was holding two pistols, pointing straight away from you. Don't grip the handles too tight, but hold them loosly like. Walk forward, and when the two wires swing over and makes an X in front of you, you have found something.

I prefer the two pieces of wire shaped into L's. Simply cause it's easier to find wire then it is to run around looking for a good peach limb.

I not only can find water but I also can find water pipes, electrical lines and old graves. Being in the electrical construction business I have often looked for old buried electrical lines, gas pipes, and water pipes before digging. I purty accurate at finding something, just always have a hard time knowing what it is before I dig down. I have successfully traced electrical and pipe lines out. Also, I live next to our family cemetary that has been in existance since 1832, and I have found several old grave sites.

As far as the water pipes, electrical pipes and grave sites go, I think the reason why these can be found using the Whichery sticks is simply because of the ground disturbance. How it works, I don't know. But, it cannot be done by all people. They say you have to have the gift, and the gift is quit common as a lot of people can do it.

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r.h. in oklahoma

Raised a country boy, and will die a country boy.

Sorry, my grandpa could do it. I witnessed it many times and never once did he fail when I was there.

Yep, I can do it. We used welding rods, with a bend near the end.

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http://mmsmiracle.com/EnjoyBetterHealth

This is what works for me also, but I just use metal from coat hangers. You can follow an underground water course by walking back and forth mapping out the flow. However, I don't know how to tell either the depth or the amount of flow, though witching my own well where I wanted it drilled gave me more insight about how the underground water flows by the 'rod crossing' techinque.

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The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

I'll never forget going from a FIRM skeptic to having the wires cross in my hands only to be confirmed by the backhoe locating the underground burial tape right where they crossed....SPOOKY. I still doubt myself more often than not, but I do "trust the rods" As for finding a water source- several good tips given, post hole was my favorite. Look for water tolerant grasses/sedges and trees such as willow to help narrow your search for a pond spot. To aid you, do a search for "hydric soil plants of xxyy" with xxyy being your state.

My uncle has never failed. He says the rods "just know."

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Robin

I could probably be convinced that it does not work, especially by one who does his homework, as you do.

I could not get over however, how that "L" shaped piece of cattle panel wire whipped around in my hand and smacked my shoulder when I passed near water.

to the OP ~ ANSWER to your question and NOT the debate on whether it works or not~

talk to your older neighbors, I'll bet theyll know a dowser.

I'm a dowser and if you were closer I'd do it for you.

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Dear God So far today Ive done ok I havent gossiped got mad been greedy grumpy or nasty Im very thankful But in a few min. Im goin to get outta bed from then on Im goin to need alot more help AMEN

I have never heard of one being used arround here. But my sister built her place in N.C. and she did use a Douser, it worked. I saw the cistern and the stream of water that came out,it was quit interesting.

I believe it's right in there with the tooth fairy but people that think it works don't really hurt anybody.

Everyone knows the tooth fairy doesn't find water.

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Robin

I've never tried finding water but I have found metal many times using bent welding rods. Once a neighbor was spraying a big apple tree with a slide sprayer and the nozzle flew off the end up into the tree and he didn't see where it went. He and his wife looked for a long time and couldn't find it. I took some welding rods and found it in tall grass in less than 2 minutes straight below where the rods crossed.

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Dear Math, it is time you grew up and solved your own problems.

This will work for anybody if they hole the rods right. I can do this and so can anybody else but it is different from dowsing. I haven't been able to find water but I can find metal or a pipe (even plastic) with this method.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

I'm on the "it works" side after seeing and doing myself, but when we moved to Oregon from Alaska, and got ready to put in the well, the local well digger said we could dowse if we wanted, but it wouldn't work on our land. Apparently, the water is too wide-spread in a strata of gravel over clay underground - more of a flowing lake than a narrow stream. Well, I try not to argue with experts, but I was very disappointed. He did come in with a well with more flow than the neighbors, though, so in the long run we were OK.
So, basically, if your dowse doesn't work, it may be the underground situation rather than it being folly in the first place.
Kit
Oregon

When we got ready to dig our farm pond we contacted the county USDA office (used to be Soil Conservation Service but has a new name?). Anyway, a couple of their guys came out and told us exactly the best place for our pond, how deep and how wide to dig. Where we are we depend on run-off water but there you may have underground springs. Our pond dried up this year due to the severe drouth situation but that was a first in 10 years. The USDA service is free of charge and they were a wealth of information, including educating us about various native plants. We hired a man with a backhoe to do the digging and he did okay except he got one side too steep for us to mow. That may also be something for you to keep in mind. And seed the banks ASAP so when it rains you won't get a bunch of loose dirt going back into the pond.

Totally believe.First saw it done about 25 years ago with 'L' copper tubing while work in the irrigation bussiness.Sone old farms/orchards were on their 3rd or 4th system and this prevented hiting old pipes with the trencher.As a side note,the oldest pipes we found were made of wooden staves,like a whiskey barrel wrapped with 1/4 inch wire in a spiral.
As to the 'Y' shaped branch,here we use weeping willow,a water seeking tree.Not only will the branch bend down to indicate water etc,but it will 'bounce',count the bounces and that is how many feet down.Surprised nobody mentioned this.
Anyone need irrigation tips,I'm your guy.Have background in most aspects,turf,orchards,golf courses,spriklers,drip,misters,filter systems,controls etc.
Don't hesitate to ask.

Mark

There are no magnetic qualities in copper or water.
If we assume water can be located in low spots on your property, then the copper "L" shaped rods can be seen to come together as we slowly walk down hill. That is due to the process known as Camber and Caster. As you walk down hill, you unintentionally tip the rods forward, as you level off or go back up, you tip the rods back, causing them to swing together. Look at a farm gate. If the gate's attaching points are out at the bottom and closer at the top, the gate will swing both ways, but not stop in the middle. If the gate hinge is out at the top and close at the bottom, the gate will stay centered, swinging away from the left or right.

Using a forked willow branch, you can get the stem of the stick to pull downward by twisting the branch in your left hand counterclockwise and the branch in your right hand clockwise. Anything beyond that, search Ouija Board for a more in depth coverage.

I know a guy that can tell if his horse is bred buy the nail method. Simply tie a string onto the middle of a nail. Hold it near the horse's hip/belly area. If it hangs still, she's not bred. If it swings, she's in foal. Some folks believe it. You be the judge.