I present to you the diagram and design of a  simple metal detector for DIY manufacturing

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a metal detector

The circuit is based on two NE555 chips. There is a transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) coil, so the
circuit can be conditionally divided into two parts. The left part is a rectangular pulse generator. The
timing components R1, R2, C1 are selected so that the output frequency is about 700 Hz. This is the
frequency of the audible range. Pulses are transmitted through a current-limiting resistor R3.

Both coils are located in space so that they together form a certain overlap zone and the system is in
induction balance. In this case, the receiving coil has zero voltage and the right side of the circuit does
not react in any way. If a metal object appears nearby, an imbalance occurs and a sound signal
appears.
The signal from the receiving coil is amplified by the transistor VT1 and is fed to the input of the
second chip. The CT3102EM is used as a bipolar transistor VT1, it can be replaced with any similar
one with a large gain. Using four resistors R5 - R8, a voltage divider is formed. Variable resistors are
used to configure the metal detector. The R6 is trimmer and configurable after the coils are positioned
together. And R7 and R8 are used for rough and fine tuning, they should be installed on the device
body (provide easy access to them).
The sound signal is generated thanks to the BA1 piezo emitter, which can be taken from an
unnecessary multimeter. But when testing the circuit, I liked the sound of a piezo emitter with a built-
in generator. Despite the fact that a pulse signal is generated at the output of DD2, it will not only
signal well, but will also allow you to catch the slightest changes in sound when a metal object is
detected.

Making coils

For winding the coils of the metal detector, an enameled winding wire with a diameter of 0.3 mm is
required. In my case, the maximum allowable diameter of 0.7 mm was used. 
The optimal diameter of the coil winding is about 15-16 cm. You should pick up some kind of round
object (for example a bucket) so that a coil is wound around it. But you can use the device. To do this,
on a clean wooden surface you need to hammer in nails in a previously drawn circle.
The inner diameter in my case is 15.5 cm. I wound 25 full turns. The number of turns can and should
even be done more than mine, for example, about 50 turns. The winding wire itself can be taken from
unnecessary electric motors or power transformers.
When the coil is wound, carefully remove it from the device and wrap it with paper tape. As a result,
you need to make two absolutely identical coils. Next, we scrape off the varnish with a knife and after
cleaning these ends need to be tinned.

Windings tend to bend and lose the correct geometry, so the coils must be completely wrapped, for
example, with paper tape. After that, they need to be flattened a little where they overlap each
other. Often they are made like the letter "D" as shown in the figure below.

As a basis for search coils, it is convenient to use a sandwich panel, which is used for sloping plastic
windows.

The board will be located at some distance from the search coils and it is not recommended to use
ordinary wires. To connect the coils to the board, I used a shielded wire, if I'm not mistaken from the
microphone.

Shielded wire for connecting coils to the board.

Location and adjustment of coils

System setup starts before the coils are glued to the base.

We set the tuning resistor R6 at about 90 kΩ, and set the adjustment resistors R7 and R8 in the middle
position. Now you need to move the coils. The device will make a sound in two positions. With wide
and narrow overlap. I recommend fixing the coils with their narrow overlap as shown in the figure
below (position 2). According to my observations in position 2, the sensitivity is better and more
accurate positioning occurs.

After this, you need to carefully stick to the base. I did it with hot melt glue. But if there is a desire,
you can make recesses for the coils at the base and fill them with epoxy.

After the glue has hardened, you need to adjust the settings again. We do not touch R7 and R8 yet,
they are set to the middle position and the R6 resistor needs to achieve a situation in which the sound
emitter crackles a little and is, so to speak, in the boundary position between silence and beeping (on
the verge of breakdown). In the future, when using a metal detector, you only need to adjust the
position of R7 and R8. This is due to the fact that the device is not perfect, the coils are not shielded,
and the settings will spoil when the battery voltage is lost.

Revision option

Optionally, you can make additional refinement of the coils - shielding from external electromagnetic
fields ("Faraday shield"). This is done after the initial coating of the windings, which was previously
described (paper tape or electrical tape). Then you need to take long strips of aluminum foil and wrap
the coils. This is not done completely, but a gap of about 1-2 cm is left in the place where the wires
exit. The foil connects to the end of the coil and connects to the negative power. After that, the coil is
covered with electrical tape.

I did not do this, because I was afraid of losing sensitivity.

Metal detector design

After soldering the components, it is advisable to remove flux and rosin residues from the surface of
the board, as they can interfere with the operation of the circuit.
I decided to place the board in a metal box, and so that there was no short circuit with soldered joints,
the bottom of the case was covered with electrical tape. Later, I will most likely pick up a plastic case.
Always pay attention to cable stiffness, as It will be a shame if during the use of something that
decays.
The circuit will be powered by a "crown" battery. The circuit has low power consumption, but still it
is better to put an alkaline battery, it will ensure the operation of the device for several "cops".

The handle was made of a metal-plastic water pipe, and closer to the base it was continued with plastic
tubes so that the coils did not respond to the metal-plastic handle itself. The design is quite
light. Laying shielded wires produced electrical tape. Set the box with the detector board higher so
that the adjustment resistor is at hand.

And here is another photo:

Each time before using the metal detector, you should achieve a quick cracking of the emitter with a
variable resistor. The faster the crack, the greater the sensitivity.

First find

Experiment: I buried a coin with a diameter of 2.5 cm in the ground at a depth of 25 cm. When
scanning, the coils were 5 cm from the ground. At the same time, the metal detector emitted a distinct
signal. I suppose that large metal objects will "ring" deeper.
In any case, it takes me some time to get used to the metal detector and, after some searching, to sum
up the final results of its abilities.

There is a video for this article, which shows the process of creating a metal detector and its test.

List of Radio Elements

Programmable Timer
DD1, DD2 NE555 2 Search in Aliexpress
and Oscillator
VT1 Bipolar transistor KT3102EM 1 Search in Aliexpress
R1 Resistor 1 kOhm 1 Search in Aliexpress
R2 Resistor 100 kOhm 1 Search in Aliexpress
470 - 680
R3 Resistor 1 Search in Aliexpress
ohm
2 - 2.2
R4 Resistor 1 Search in Aliexpress
megohms
R5 Resistor 10 kOhm 1 Search in Aliexpress
R6 Trimmer Resistor 100 kOhm 1 Search in Aliexpress
100 - 500 Rough
R7 Variable resistor 1 Search in Aliexpress
kOhm tuning
Fine
R8 Variable resistor 15 - 20 kOhm 1 Search in Aliexpress
tuning
C1 Capacitor 0.01 uF 1 Search in Aliexpress
C2 Capacitor 0.0027 uF 1 Search in Aliexpress
C3 Electrolytic capacitor 100 uF 1 Search in Aliexpress
C4 Electrolytic capacitor 100 - 470 uF 1 Search in Aliexpress
BA1 Piezo emitter 1 Search in Aliexpress
SA1 Switch 1 Any Search in Aliexpress

Download list of items (PDF)