Seems like every week, I get an email or a call from someone asking me to build something out of reclaimed lumber. That's always dicey, as the chance for finding nails or screws in the wood is a real concern.
Finding bullets in boards is pretty common, too. Most people don't think about that, but shooters often attach targets to trees, and aim at them. So trees can be riddled with bullets, which make their way to lumber mills, which end up on your workbench. Running a board through my planer - and discovering a piece of metal embedded in it can be a nightmare. Blades are expensive, and the downtime for replacing the blades is a real concern.
My buddy Eric sent this video, and I was fascinated to see that someone has come up with a machine that will inspect a board for metal, and then remove it. After it is removed, the machine then x-rays the board to ensure there's nothing left!
How does this all get accomplished? That's even more interesting - the metal fragments are targeted with induction heat, thus charring the wood around the screw or nail. This makes it easier to pull out the metal culprit. Brilliant!
This ten-minute video is worth a look!
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