which dowsing tool is most commonly used?

[Dan Wilson]

Having made a W-rod for demonstration to students, I became interested in the potentials of hard parcel banding tape for making cheap dowsing tools.

The W-rod, no doubt called something more arcane then, was popular in the 1930s. You have something like ivory or whalebone in two thin strips about six inches long and one eight to ten inches long. These are glued or bound together at their ends to make a thing like this: |U|, the long strip being in the middle. It goes into a sideways tilt when you're doing something like depthing water and the original version which appears in old JBSDs had a small semi-circular scale swinging on a pin in the centre, so that the strip when tilted gave you a number, rather in the way Motorscopes can.

Using banding tape, you can just use an office stapler to connect the ends of the arms. Having gathered an armful of used banding tape from a factory Goods Received department, I tried some other configurations and the one I decidedly would vote for if I used tools at all would be The Mortar Board.

Here you have a six-inch strip and a 15-inch strip. They are stapled together in the middle, the six lying on top of the 15. When you pick up the ends of the 15 and squash them horizontally together, the 15 rears up in an upside-down U with serifs which you're holding, with the 6 perched on top - roughly 'U' only the other way up. See the quote marks as small horizontal handles. Turn the tool away from you horizontally like a V-rod and the small strip acts as your signal arm.

This tool is adjustable for sensitivity by squashing the arms more or less together, so you can have a toggle yes-or-no action or a graduated one which like the W-rod can give you an angle to judge a degree or number. It has quite simply got to be the most easily-made dowsing tool.

[Romaine]

Is there also a photo of? Or can you make a phot of it?
That will give a more clear picture of the instrument.

Thanks!
Romaine

[Olivier]

I use equally pendulum and bobber.

Generally, I use the bobber for all searches.
But I take my pendulum when I have to work on charts, photographs, cards...
It is probably merely psychological, but while dowsing, I like to point at the object worked upon.

Olivier

[Olivier]

Surfing around on the internet to check what an Aura-meter and a U-rod were, I realised that an aura-meter is merely an articulated (and expensive) bobber and a U-rod is a short L-rod.

Is there another difference?

Moreover, no reference seems to be made concerning the "finger detector(?)". I do not know the English word. In French, it is "détecteur tactile". It is a square metal plate sandwiched by two plexiglass plates. You rub your fore-finger on the superior plate and the (lack of) adhesion of the finger gives you the answer.

When I see many people practising deviceless dowsing, I am sure that some people use the finger detector whatever its name is...

Olivier

[Grahame]

There is a difference between an aurameter and a bobber - the aurameter also indicates direction and tends to 'follow' edges of things. It's just a more versatile instrument.

Your 'finger detector' sounds similar to the 'stick-pads' found on radionics machines, and perhaps that's what we'd call it in English; but from your description yours seems to be something that you can carry in your pocket?

I find that just rubbing thumb against forefinger works pretty well for that sort of 'devideless' dowsing, although it can fail in extreme weather conditions!

[Olivier]

The tool I was talking about can - indeed - be found on radionics machines. So it is the one I was trying to guess the name of.

And, it is true that it can be taken in a pocket. The size can be rather small.
I've got a book in which the author suggests to use the screen of a (turned on) calculator.
And - according to the number you have written on your calculator - you can uderstand the answer differently.

Bye

[Sig]

Romaine says about the aura meter:

Thank you, but the description says nothing for me, I'd like to see one on a photo or something, then I get a better idea how it works. And then I can make one myself.

I have been working with the Cameron Aurameter for over twenty-five years. On numerous occasions over that time I have looked in to making one myself, and have seen a number of copies made by others. None of them are any good. Really. The secret seems to be in the kind of wire that you use to connect the spring-loaded handle and the heavy bit at the tip. Piano wire doesn't work. The wire in other knock-offs are too limp.

So, while I have said repeatedly that the Cameron Aurameter is a rip-off, it is spectacularly good at looking at the edges of fields and for showing others what you are finding. It is not a bobber, it is not an L rod, it is not a pendulum, but it can work like all three, and can do two different dowsing operations at the same time.

I recently wrote a piece for the BSD explaining how I use it. I am not sure what they plan to do with this short article, but I trust that they will find a way to let our members see it.

(mod edit - sig's aurameter tutorial can be found by clicking here)

}:-)

Sig

[Grahame]

Here's a picture of the Cameron aurameter:

[SLAH]

At the moment, I use the pendulum, but that's because I have never had the opportunity to learn anything else.

My particular interest is dowsing for water using L-rods or Y-rods.

Cheers,
Webwitch

[Guest]

Well, This is my first post here I'm from Florida. I started doing what I believe is dowsing with my first finger and thumb with a bic pen, 3 months ago ! Being rushed thru a breif in a PM on how to do a health read,but that person was saying use mental imagery which is slow to me.She suggested do what naturally comes to your mind first then,I said drawing so after showing intent with the persons base intails say R.B.J. I drew a body outline and as she said now check the skin I just instinctively started sweeping my pen slowly across the image (2-3 sweeps per second) and felt more drag in certain whole areas and in others pinpoint hits. That person lived in HAWAII over 6000 miles away. I had remotely detected several of his ills in that rushed session,and since even done a woman in Estonia, and many others. One among those I did had evenly spaced points of resistance so many that I was forced to be aware they were acupoints,and since then using that interactive chart became even more accurate to both past and current ills very minor up to major.
Having muscular dystrophy myself without the simple in hand pen method I've stumbled into, what else is comparable and of the same ease and speed ? Do any of you remote dowse ? Could we trade maps or charts,of undisclosed known items at sites weekly here as practice sessons ? Seems that would be fun to share feedback on as weekly learning challenges !

[Keith]

I tend to change the instruments according to what I am dowsing for and the circumstances in which I am dowsing.

For instance if looking for water I might start with the L-rods to find the water and direction of flow and then may change to the V-rods to find the depth, quantity and quality of water and finally a pendulum to find out if the water is constant. I know there is no need to keep switxhing instruments but that is how I do it. I also from time to time use the aurameter for tracking purposes.

For searching for things say in the yellow pages or for map dowsing I will use a small L-rod and sometimes the aurameter.

For general yes/no questions I will use a pendulum.

I could not really say which instrument I use most as over time I seem to use the angle rod, V-rod and pendulum about equally.

Although I use the aurameter I am not so happy with it possibly because I am not sure about how to use it, although I am getting good results with it the way I am using it now. I didn't find the instruction book all that helpful.

[griff]

Hi Grahame

In the search for water sources, in addition to the Y rod, I also use the short pendulum and pointer for map dowsing and L rods for pipe and drain location. The Mager's Disc is useful for indications of minerals and for water quality.

regards Griff.

[Satyr]

I've been using a pedulum, but for the simple reason that they are easier for me to come by where I live (Cape Town, South Africa). I'm keen to try the L-rods and my husband is at the moment trying to make me some.

[Ian Pegler]

I have a pair of steel L-rods, made by John Baker - ideal for all sorts of dowsing including archaeology.

Ian

[ledgehammer]

I use the same pair of basic coppor rods... I have tried using carbon fibre rods with sleeves which are really sensative but awkward if its really windy...

Tom