Search for "The Witch Man"
I am working as a carpenter for my neighbor. We are building a 3,700 square foot custom log house, on top of a mountain with beautiful 360 degree views. Value upon completion will be $800K.
Two days ago the well drilling company showed up. The owner of the company said, "Drill here, this is where the water is."
Today, the sad news. The six inch hole is 700 feet deep. No water. Cost for that hole, $5,000.
So, a discussion began as to whether a "witch man" should be found. This is a man who can "witch" water. That is, he can use dowsing rods to find subterannean water.
The guy I am working for, Frank, said he did want to try a witch man.[evidently females do not do this work.]
Paul, the carpenter's helper, said that his father was a good witch man. He called his dad on the cell. His dad said he would come right over. His dad said that he needed two pieces of copper tube, two feet long. Frank said for him to come right over.
Frank went down to his shed and got a five foot section of copper water pipe.
Paul's dad came up the mountain in twenty minutes. He instructed Paul to cut two sections of the pipe, two feet long. He told Paul to bend the pipe, so that five inches at the end was at a ninety degree angle.
Paul's dad held the short section of pipe in each hand. The fifteen inch section stuck out, parallel to the ground. He held both hands out, and each section of pipe was about a foot apart. He walked around the property for a half hour. When the pipes swung inward, so that they crossed over each other, this meant that he had found water.
He found one spot on the seven acre lot where there would be water. He said it would be found at 400 feet.
Now, the owner of the well drilling company got cold feet. He said that he needs another witch man to confirm the findings of the first water witch. He said that without confirmation of a second witch man, he will not drill a second hole.
Frank was on the cell phone all afternoon to try to find another witch man to come out tomorrow. When I left work at 5:00 he had not found one.
Two days ago the well drilling company showed up. The owner of the company said, "Drill here, this is where the water is."
Today, the sad news. The six inch hole is 700 feet deep. No water. Cost for that hole, $5,000.
So, a discussion began as to whether a "witch man" should be found. This is a man who can "witch" water. That is, he can use dowsing rods to find subterannean water.
The guy I am working for, Frank, said he did want to try a witch man.[evidently females do not do this work.]
Paul, the carpenter's helper, said that his father was a good witch man. He called his dad on the cell. His dad said he would come right over. His dad said that he needed two pieces of copper tube, two feet long. Frank said for him to come right over.
Frank went down to his shed and got a five foot section of copper water pipe.
Paul's dad came up the mountain in twenty minutes. He instructed Paul to cut two sections of the pipe, two feet long. He told Paul to bend the pipe, so that five inches at the end was at a ninety degree angle.
Paul's dad held the short section of pipe in each hand. The fifteen inch section stuck out, parallel to the ground. He held both hands out, and each section of pipe was about a foot apart. He walked around the property for a half hour. When the pipes swung inward, so that they crossed over each other, this meant that he had found water.
He found one spot on the seven acre lot where there would be water. He said it would be found at 400 feet.
Now, the owner of the well drilling company got cold feet. He said that he needs another witch man to confirm the findings of the first water witch. He said that without confirmation of a second witch man, he will not drill a second hole.
Frank was on the cell phone all afternoon to try to find another witch man to come out tomorrow. When I left work at 5:00 he had not found one.
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I've done it once. When I was a kid (maybe 10), the neighborhood I lived in was going to drill a new well. They hired an old woman to witch the well. All us neighbor kids stood around to watch. Before she started, she walked over to me and my mom (who was on the well commity) and asked me to give it a try first. She said she was sure I'd find it, and handed me the rods she carried. I walked around with her for about 10 min. before the rods crossed. I don't know how it works. Don't know why she thought I could do it. But the well was drilled, and they hit water. 0 -
I've done it...with wires and a fork of a peach tree branch...it does work. 0 -
My grandfather passed it on to me when I was about 6 and my folks were drilling a new well. I've done it since, with a fruitwood branch and it works. I found a friend's well line and well when he bought a new house.
I don't know why the driller is afraid to drill, the owner is already spending nearly a million bucks, $5000 ain't that bad. Besides, he's building on top of a hill, how high is it over grade?
If I was already into the guy for $5000 on an $800,000 house he'd drill where I told him to.0 -
I've also seen folks use witching sticks to locate water lines and graves. 0 -
Never tried to find a grave. 0 -
We used the technique to locate drainage tile when we where in the business.It's more plausable when 2 people do it with nearly indentical results.Of course I'm gonna give you a sound ration of crap the whole time you're doing it but I've seen it done and have done it to many times to discount it 0 -
I did it to find an old septic drainfield at one house, and to locate water for a well at another.
I used 2 bent coathangers.
D.0 -
...700 feet [:0] THAT is a deep water well. Where is this place being built, the Gobi?
Around here, you can just spit to pick a spot, drill, and hit water at 100 to 200 feet max...99% no fail; 200 is condsidered deep I guess it would have to be a biatch to have to guess where to drill...[;)]
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It's all Bush's fault 0 -
I worked with a guy in Texas that witched and he had very good success witching wells.....about the depth your drilling that is awful deep...I can dig a posthole down to about 3 to 4 feet and get water all day...[8D] 0 -
I can find every water line, gas line, etc. on our whole farm, with a pair of clothes hangers cut and bent the same as your witch mans copper tubing.
I challege anyone. Take two metal clothes hangers, staighten and cut say 1 1/2-2' long. Then bend the last 6" of each at a 90* angle. Holding the small ends in each hand (I've done it both ways, hands together and hands apart, made no difference.) with the long ends sticking out away from your body. You shouldn't hold the hangers tight, they should be able to swing freely. (If someone came up next to them and blew at them hard they should move) Now if you KNOW where a water line in your yard is, start say 15-20' back from it and walk towards it with the rods in your hands. When you cross the line the rods will spin in your hands parallel to the water line. If you don't know where a line is, walk into your bathroom and slowly move them over the toilet, it will do the same thing. Have fun![8D]
Ben0 -
Here in SW MO, its nothing for a water well to be 4, 5, or even 600 feet deep. As far as witching goes, as an electrician I have used two pieces of copper wire, bent at 90 degrees and found underground "empty" electrical conduits. 0 -
You can do it yourself with the right tools. It isn't "witching." It is just an attraction. I have seen it done, and I have done it myself, so I know it isn't a special gift to any individual.
Just have someone else, who has not seen the first "witching," use the same or similar tools, and see what they find.0 -
when i worked for the highway dept i maintained county records in the courthouse & did construction staking. used an older guy in the northeast part of county to help find cornerstones...really...once for a test on an open section line running a retracement for north 1/4 corner i buried a pair of visegrips in the sand & weeds..come back about two weeks later & told him i needed help finding them...no marks whatsoever, that anyone had been around, just indicated about a 200' area ....he wiggled over them & dug them up in about a minute....still befuddles me....i cant find my socks by the bed 0 -
If you don't have anything but plastic coathangers try a couple of those little marker flags that you see everywhere. Dunno why or how it works but it does for some anyway. Maybe because they have no doubt that it does.
Allen0 -
Our houses are on top of a mountain, a ridge, in North Carolina. When they drilled my well ten years ago, we were at 440 feet, and had a dry hole. I was sweating bullets.
At 450 feet he hit 1 1/2 gallons a minute. The well driller had a big smmile. This was enough to run a household.
He said he would go sixty feet deeper, for storage.
At 490 feet he hit the gusher. It was 37 gallons per minute. He was very surprised to hit so much water, so deep.
My other neighbor hit water at 520.
Down in the valleys, people hit water at 150 feet.
You want to live on top of the mountain, get those beautiful views, you gotta pay.0 -
When I was a kid I walked around with a couple of steel rods and had them move at certain spots. It does work. Tell the well guy that you discussed it with the distinguished members of Gun Broker, and we say drill! That should convince him. [:D] 0 -
I watched a guy witch for water one time and thought it was bogus until he showed me how to do it. He used 1/8" brass rods bent and when I got over a water spot those rods moved by themselves. I backed back over the same spot and they moved again swinging in the opposite direction. I am now a water witcher[8D] 0 -
Yep, used brazing rod too. 700 feet of well for 5 grand? Thats giveaway compared to here. Last I knew going rate around here was about $16.00/foot. 0 -
$7,000 for 500ft and the water looks like diahria. Iron worse I've ever seen. 0 -
Does work. I have worked with two witches one using coat hangers the other a very slender willow fork. They selected the same spot two days apart and without knowing each other. Hit water at 180 feet, while all the other wells in the area are 400-500. That was in the early 60's and the well is still producing. 0 -
water lays very strange under ground. i was a driller for a strip mine years ago .on a 15'x 15' pattern 4 holes wide and 5 holes long you may have 1 dry hole in the center and the rest be wet or just the opposite 0 -
$500 for 700 feet? That is cheap. A friend in So. Kalif. went 750 feet at $15,000. 0 -
Scary but true, I have a gentleman that can and does do it for a well driller and is 85% on the money. 0
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