07/28/08

This page is intended to instruct those who would like to try to do dowsing themselves.  It describes how to make your own rod, test out your ability to use one, and then develop the skill to find evidence of things that you can not detect otherwise.

Making a Dowsing Rod

The easiest way to start, is to find an old wire coat hanger.  They come in several gages.  Try to find one with the heavier gage.  Take the coat hanger and cut it on one side just below the hook.  On the other side cut the wire about 3/4 of an inch above the bottom that goes across to the other side.  Discard the part with the hook.  You now have a wire that has two bends.  At the end with the 3/4 inch stub, bend the stub over to make a closed loop on the end.  This keeps you from poking yourself, or others with the  blunt end of the wire.  On the other end bend it so that it is at a right angle to what was the bottom of the coat hanger.  After this is done, you can make a loop at the end to form it, as at the other end, with 3/4 inches of wire, as before.  You now have a dowsing Rod.  You may later decide to put a handle on the short end (See "Using a Handle" below).

The Basic Test

Not everyone seems to be able to use a dowsing rod.  There are many who are quite able.  The easiest way to test the ability is to get a white PVC pipe and lay it on the ground.  Stand back from the pipe with it going from left to right in front of you.  Hold the short end of the rod in your hand loosely.  Allow the end of the long piece of the rod to hang just slightly downward to the front of you, so as to make the rod want to point forward by force of gravity.  It needs not slope very much to make it point forward.  Advance toward the PVC pipe.  As you cross over it, the wire will turn to be parallel to the pipe.  You need to be patient, but the pipe should make the rod turn.  If there is no sign of turning, you are one of those unfortunate few.

Using Your Dowsing Rod

If you passed the test with your new rod, you now need to practice on finding something that you can not see.  There is no point in finding things that are obvious through some other means.  Many areas now have underground utilities.  When they are routed to a building, they do not always follow a straight line, and they enter at expected points.  Water lines have been underground for decades.  You can attempt to find these water lines by walking around the building with your rod in hand.  You can then cross back and forth over it, with your rod, still in hand, to see where it comes from.  After doing simple tasks like this, you can look for other unknowns as discussed in this Web site.  Good Luck with your explorations.

Using a Handle

My first thought of using a handle came when trying to show others how to use the rod.  Many people held the rod too tight.  The solution for keeping one from holding it too tight, was to add a handle.  The handle is made from a piece of wood 4 inches in length.  The other dimensions can vary, but I use a rectangular piece that is 3/4 by 1 3/4 (1" by 2" stock).  I drill a 1/4 hole through the center of the block lengthwise, and round off the four long edges.  You can round off all twelve, if you like.  I then slightly ream out the holes at each end so that they are rounded over.  I then sand and finish the wood.  The handle is then put on the short end of the dowsing rod.  If you have already looped the wire over, you will need to straighten it or cut it off.  Once the handle is in place you can loop the end of the wire over again to hold the handle in place.  You now have a dowsing rod with a handle.

I would like to hear from those who have been successful with making a dowsing rod and using it.  Use the feedback page to let me know.