DIY sand sifter, light, cheap, different and works great

[dirtyJohn]

DIY Floating Sifter, light, cheap, different and works great

I made this sifter by cutting the top off a 5 gallon bucket. Then I drilled some holes around the sides of it to slip the zip ties through then zip tied the pipe insulation to it.

I had the prospecting classifier from a kit I bought before but only got to use it for it's intended purpose maybe once or twice a year when I visit a buddy out west.

The classifier has fins around the outside of it to sit higher on the bucket, so I had to grind them flat so the lip of the classifier sat flush with the top of the bucket. Classifier are made to fit into a 5 gallon bucket.

It drops downs nice and snug into the bucket top and the whole thing floats like a cork. Plus it's deep so it won't be easy to lose anything. You could fill this with rocks and it wouldn't go under and you can remove the classifier to get a closer look if you wanted to. Classifiers are pretty cheap and come with holes from 1/8" on up. The one I used here is either 1/4" or 5/16" but I could use a different one with smaller or bigger holes. it would drop right in.
Thanks for looking.

HH
John

 

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[firemac]

Like it, looks good.

 

[Diggin Dave]

Nice job DJ!

 

[dirtyJohn]

Like it, looks good.

Thanks

HH
John

 

[dirtyJohn]

Nice job DJ!

Thank you

HH
John

 

[auferret]

Nice idea to make the classifier removable. Now you don't have to flip the whole thing to dump out the rocks.

 

[NoBootyYet]

What's better than creativity? Thanks for sharing

 

[sponge]

Very creative idea. Hope the gold likes it too.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Great idea! Thanks!

 

[dirtyJohn]

Thanks for all the nice comments
HH
John

 

[OBN]

Very clean and function able, I like the fact there is no metal. I have build several and they are worth there weight in gold. The first 2 I built were heavy, then after one season I realized light was the secret. Only thing I would add to yours would be some lead weights to keep it in place, the dag things like to follow you around getting in the way, the lead weights on a string will keep them setting in one place until you need, then you just give it a yank...Good Luck, Nice Work...

 

[fsa46]

Very nice job DJ... I like it.

One tip you may want to consider beside what OBN mentioned, which is VERY important. Tie yourself a 3' - 4' lanyard off the tie wrap, to get the metal latch away from your sifter and you won't have any problem running your coil over the sifter to see if anything is in it.

 

[Sandman]

Very nice sifter. I like the way you can remove the sifter to dump out rocks and shells. I used to use one long ago but it turned into a chore when I came out of the water to detect the dry sand on the way back to the car. But it is best to have one if the waves aren't to rough.

 

[BruceB]

Very cool

 

[cdv1]

Nice work.... easy to carry with the removable classifier. Add the weights and tow cord and maybe a loose looped wire tie between the bucket and classifier....it could work as a hinge for when you dump and you wouldn't have to worry about losing the classifier IF it came off with a wave or the wind.

Cliff

 

[junk]

real good idea

 

[dirtyJohn]

Thanks for the replies. I did think about tying a thin nylon rope from a fishing stringer from the bucket to the classifier. The lead weights are a great idea.
Thanks again,

HH
John

 

[GatorBoy]

That came out great I use a much larger version when I fossil hunt in certain rivers.