help with sluice frame

[mountainman22]

Does anyone know where I could get an abs or aluminum sluice frame not a metal sheet that ill have to fond someone to bend it? Like somewhere I can get half a sheet of rectangular ducting? I really feel I can design a better sluice box than what I can afford. However I cant stand my wood sluice . Thanks in advance!

 

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[mountainman22]

To add no hardware store I've been to has anything like this inluding home depot lowest etc..

 

[GoldHunter24k]

Hey mountainman22! What kind of sluice do you want to build? Fyi there are a few affordable sluices that have been proven in the industry like between $40-100. When it comes down to it, if you don;t have the spare tools and parts, it's probably cheaper just to buy one. Then you can get out in the field right away without testing/troubleshooting. Especially if it's your first sluicebox. That's what I ended up doing.

Going to build my own hand dredge though with Home depot parts. I'll make a post when I end up doing that.

 

[Aurabbit79er]

Hey Mountain, Hey GoldHunter
This was my solution to a sluice stand.
Fits sluices from 4' to a small EZ Sluice.

I uploaded most of my creations to the photo albums here.

 

[mountainman22]

Thanks guys! I do have sluices and built my own but I know on losing gold. I'm looking to have a blank canvas sluice w/ no riffles or anything so I can make my own

 

[Aurabbit79er]

The Hungarian Riffle is a proven tool for catching gold, but it is only about 95% effective form what I've been told.
That is much better than the chunks of wood in the old timers long toms of the 1850s.
We are finding the gold they lost.
There is always someone trying to make the perfect riffel or rubber mat for the sluice.
Some times I double sluice, so sluice #1 catches 95% and Sluice #2 catches 95% of what #1 didn't.
Mostly flour gold.
I would like to see what you com up with.




I love to build my own gear. Check out my Pic Albums.

 

[mountainman22]

Thanks a lot aurabbit those ate all really cool! I have three diferent mats I want to use. The gold hog, miracle mat, and smack matting. Also I want to include riffles and mesh as well as miners moss. I will be building a top runner style top to the sluice as well.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Goldrabbit and mountainman--This is an interesting little thread, and you've got some great ideas for the things you're trying to build.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Aurabbit79er]

FYI I made the High Banker from an old Fertilizer Spreader.
It's made from the same plastic as the green pans.
God I love mining.
When I win the lottery I'll be a full timer the next day.

 

[GoldHunter24k]

Nice, love your work Aurabbit79er! I need to build one of those sluice stands. What do you adjust the height with? A little elbow grease?

 

[Aurabbit79er]

Pre-drilled holes for bolts at 2" apart. I can set a 2" or 4" drop on the sluice.
The connecting pipe between the leg sections can be shortened for shorter sluices.
I've had it since the 90s.
It lets me set the sluice in almost any part of the river up to about 2' deep.

 

[EvoQ]

I would think with my Fabrication background that your design would be dictated on what form of water injection you would be using. As an example of laying your sluice down into the flowing water of a stream or river..and then a gravity type water feeder would be drastically different. I have thought about this allot, and have come to the conclusion that I could build and design a sluice much better and drastically cheaper than what I have seen commercially available. A simple Aluminum sheet bent into a 3 sided rectangular trough, with having as many as 3-4 different sections that would be slightly larger on the bottom of each trough. This way you could easily slide all 3-4 section into each other for transporting to the dig site. A simple Aluminum flat bar TIG welded on each section so that they would hold their shape and also design it so that they would slide out evenly but also have a stop and lock position. You could then design in some riffles or whatever your choice of turbulent action that you wanted. This type design would not weigh much at all for the back country hiker, etc. And if you wanted an elevated standing trough then you can still use the Aluminum but have it to where the legs slipped into larger sized tubing for easy break down. A then fold-able water tight container could be designed and used for a gravity type unit, maybe line it with simple plastic tarp type material for ease of carry into the back country. But if weight and carry distance are not an issue then something a little more robust would be even easier to design and build. I just can't see spending the kinds of money that these commercial rigs go for, the cheaper ones seems way too short for any percentage of gold recovery. Also and a big thought, at the end of your sluice trough to have some sort of container that captures all the material and water that goes thru your sluice. surely a container at this position would help in capturing whatever the sluice did not recover. But this tank at the very end would get the fine grained Gold sand and would simply fall down to the bottom of such tank/container.

 

[Aurabbit79er]

I would think with my Fabrication background that your design would be dictated on what form of water injection you would be using. As an example of laying your sluice down into the flowing water of a stream or river..and then a gravity type water feeder would be drastically different. I have thought about this allot, and have come to the conclusion that I could build and design a sluice much better and drastically cheaper than what I have seen commercially available. A simple Aluminum sheet bent into a 3 sided rectangular trough, with having as many as 3-4 different sections that would be slightly larger on the bottom of each trough. This way you could easily slide all 3-4 section into each other for transporting to the dig site. A simple Aluminum flat bar TIG welded on each section so that they would hold their shape and also design it so that they would slide out evenly but also have a stop and lock position. You could then design in some riffles or whatever your choice of turbulent action that you wanted. This type design would not weigh much at all for the back country hiker, etc. And if you wanted an elevated standing trough then you can still use the Aluminum but have it to where the legs slipped into larger sized tubing for easy break down. A then fold-able water tight container could be designed and used for a gravity type unit, maybe line it with simple plastic tarp type material for ease of carry into the back country. But if weight and carry distance are not an issue then something a little more robust would be even easier to design and build. I just can't see spending the kinds of money that these commercial rigs go for, the cheaper ones seems way too short for any percentage of gold recovery. Also and a big thought, at the end of your sluice trough to have some sort of container that captures all the material and water that goes thru your sluice. surely a container at this position would help in capturing whatever the sluice did not recover. But this tank at the very end would get the fine grained Gold sand and would simply fall down to the bottom of such tank/container.

This picture is a little deceptive.
This is what is supplying the high banker water.
You can see it at the top of the other picture.



This was an experiment I did in Follows Camp 1997, Water power Pump.
The first and only prototype.
It ran continuous for 24 hrs before the pump connector broke.
I got a 4' head output.
Not real portable, but a good concept to function.
Here is the next project on the list.

Since My dredge is dry-docked here in Calif. I may re-purpose the platform.
I need 4 scrape bikes.

 

[aztim1010]

just google "sluice box blank". A very reasonable yubarivermanufacturing or similar site can make what you want affordably.

Tim

 

[Aurabbit79er]

just google "sluice box blank". A very reasonable yubarivermanufacturing or similar site can make what you want affordably.

Tim

Thanks Tim
I'll ckeck them out.
I was just going to build it out of old junk bikes.

 

[Reed Lukens]

I was going to say the same thing basically so also contact Spencer at the South Yuba mining company - South Yuba Mining Co. that way you can compare prices. Personally i would go to a recycling yard, find a blank & bend it myself but you can take it to any shop & they will bend it for you also.