Placer Claim Mined Out?

[desertgolddigger]

I belong to a local club that owns a claim. This club has had this claim for many years, and acquired it after the old timers had mined it previously, and others after they commercial outfits closed up.
I walked quite a bit of the 160 acre claim, and noted that just about every wash had been worked. Most of the surface nuggets has also been detected by those with gold detectors. In other words, this place has been picked over and over and over.
But I m a stubborn type of person, and I figured, just watching how people ram their puffer and blower drywashers, that some gold was just being blown through them. maybe not much, but some small stuff that never got a chance to settle behind the riffles.
I know many of you would never go to the effort of digging for three to four hours through the tailings in these washes. Again, I'm a bit stubborn, and anyway, I just wanted to have some fun locally, instead of driving 300 miles roundtrip to something that gives a little more for less effort.
I've spent the last three weeks, digging a few times a week along about 30 yards of wash, and have recovered just about a gram of gold. That might not seem like much, but I have only dug up 5 grams, not counting this one gram in almost 20 years out here drywashing in the desert of southern California.
As you would know, things always seem to go wrong. My gas powered blower motor decided it was time for the repair shop, and haven't heard from the shop in two weeks. So I purchased a WORX WG521 corded electric leaf blower to use with my Royal Large drywasher. I'm using a portable generator to provide the power. And it actually is working better than with my old gas powered blower. I have to run the blower on the lowest speed, or I just blow everything through the riffles. Results are very good, as I am getting gold specks so small that I will have to use the Blue bowl in order to recover them.
I'm not only getting a little gold, I'm having some fun, and I am getting a good workout. I've lost 10 pounds since I started. So things are going well.
I'm still digging test holes around the old time hard rock mines in the hope I will find where the gold has drifted downhill below these mines. So far just a couple specks here and there. I figure I just have to move laterally one way or the other before I get something better Of course, I' don't really know if the old timers stripped the hillsides. Even if they have, they apparently aren't as thorough as I am. I hope that I may be lucky and find a larger piece of gold that the old timers, previous placer miners, and detectorists have missed.
Hope everyone is having as much fun as I have been having.

 

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[southfork]

I've sent a technical help request concerning the proper strip metal needed for the gold shaker to Online Metals Will let you know if they have an answer, and let you know, so you can at least know that.

Some scrap steel banding that's used in shipping would work comes in all sizes. A little dumpster diving at local Constuction suppliers they always throw it out construction sites also. Steel Barrell bands are super springy and hardened. How about springs? on the corners easy to find at the local hardware I use them on dirt sifters and last forever where all the flexing with spring steel might crack. Eye bolts would let you adjust spring tension have fun.

 

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[desertgolddigger]

Some scrap steel banding that's used in shipping would work comes in all sizes. A little dumpster diving at local Constuction suppliers they always throw it out construction sites also. Steel Barrell bands are super springy and hardened. How about springs? on the corners easy to find at the local hardware I use them on dirt sifters and last forever where all the flexing with spring steel might crack. Eye bolts would let you adjust spring tension have fun.

You don't dumpster dive at construction sites anymore. If there were any locally, I would ask one of the workers. I don't want to be arrested for stealing.

I thought about large springs, but I think they wouldn't keep the motion in one direction, but would sway in all directions. You need the motion in a tight back and forth direction. Envision a sloshing bucket full of water, and that is what a spring would do.

Since I ordered the aircraft aluminum, I will use that to test the setup. It should last long enough to get an idea if my contraption actually works. Blue spring steel 1095 is pretty expensive.

 

[southfork]

Actually, strong springs would be pulling against each other I had one setup made from a hobby horse frame. It lasted years of shoveling rocks and dirt on to it. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel just a suggestion.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Actually, strong springs would be pulling against each other I had one setup made from a hobby horse frame. It lasted years of shoveling rocks and dirt on to it. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel just a suggestion.

Thanks, but for now, will use the aluminum for just doing the testing. Online Metals answered, and said they don't have an engineer on staff, so they can't tell me anything; they just sell metals.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Hey just trying to help yah out, you said you were looking for 1/16” by 2” spring steel bar which is the link I posted. If the plans you are following called for that material I wouldn’t recommend deviating your possibility setting yourself up for problems. Aluminum becomes brittle with repeated flex, it’s not good as a spring.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Hey just trying to help yah out, you said you were looking for 1/16” by 2” spring steel bar which is the link I posted. If the plans you are following called for that material I wouldn’t recommend deviating your possibility setting yourself up for problems. Aluminum becomes brittle with repeated flex, it’s not good as a spring.

There aren't any plans. It's something seen on a YouTube video, so everything I'll be trying is experimental, just like the shaker table was in the video. The Guy used aircraft aluminum, and had run his table at least 30 hours. Like I said, it'll just be something for testing.

I'd love to see the mounting system of a professionally built shaker table, but haven't seen a photo or video depicting it.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I think I found an alternative to springs and sheet metal mounting of a shaker table.

They are linear slide rails with four slide blocks that are for heavy weights. Since I will be using a linear type electric motor, this should work

 

[N-Lionberger]

I think I found an alternative to springs and sheet metal mounting of a shaker table.

They are linear slide rails with four slide blocks that are for heavy weights. Since I will be using a linear type electric motor, this should work

This is ideal for where you need the table to stay flat, the vertical spring type bed does not maintain a flat side to side motion and has a tendency to cause the material to “jump” along the table surface. I like the idea of a spring type design as there are less moving parts and the cost is lower but I’m concerned about material jumping vs crawling along the table.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Still studying Gold Shaker Tables. I found that the grooves need to be tapered from the feed side to the outlet side. Now I have to figure out how to cut these 1/4 inch wide grooves with a router, while they taper from left to right. If I could create a jig I could do it, but going from 3/16 deep to zero depth at the end I believe is beyond my talents.

I'm thinking of ditching the rubber mat on the plywood base, and adding wood riffles I can taper, then sealing it, and finally putting several coats of liquid rubber over that.

I think I've figure out how to make tabletop tilt adjustments so the table can slope down and slope upward right to left.

Kind of wish someone sold just the vacuum formed shaker table top I could attach to the rest I know I can build. The riffles are a daunting endeavour.

EDITED: No one sells just the vac formed tabletops. If they did, I'm guessing they would be about half the price of a fully assembled unit. Not worth it. Found a Deister pair, but no price, and they are all wood.

 

[southfork]

A lot to look at but some good ideas. https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/gold-shaker-table-plans

 

[desertgolddigger]

A lot to look at but some good ideas. https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/gold-shaker-table-plans

Yes, I found that reference. I'm looking at everything, trying to learn. One of the big problems is that it seems every picture of different shaker tables has a different riffle pattern. I think I'm going to use the ones parallel to the long side of the table. It's easier, though not sure it is the most efficient. I would imagine that if you run carefully cleaned, and classified material (gold/black sand/and blondes without the dirty silt) any table will more easily separate the material.

Right now I'm saving my concentrates because I know there's gold so small I cannot pan it. I can see it with a loupe, but I just don't have the skill to pan it.

I've decided to go with plan "A", which I initially posed previously, which is to build a very small shaker table that is basically a shaking Miller's Table. Mine will be 12 wide by 24 long. Supposedly you can get the gold to stop going down, holding in a line, while the blonde and black sands run off the end of the table into the catch basin. Once I figure out how that works, then I'll tackle the bigger gold shaker table. I will route one small shallow riffle once I get it working, and adjust everything so the riffle funnels the gold into a hole that contains a catch bottle. I've seen catch bottles on Miller's Tables that allow you to brush your gold into it.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

I've built a couple of tables. Check this guy's channel...he's got a good video on building a table: https://www.youtube.com/@orophilia

 

[desertgolddigger]

I've built a couple of tables. Check this guy's channel...he's got a good video on building a table: https://www.youtube.com/@orophilia

Yes, He's my main source of ideas for mine. It's where I saw the finishing shaker table, which I will try to build first.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Yes, He's my main source of ideas for mine. It's where I saw the finishing shaker table, which I will try to build first.

He mentioned the name of the material he used for the supports.
Jim

 

[desertgolddigger]

He mentioned the name of the material he used for the supports.
Jim

Yes, it's aircraft grade aluminum. Problem is that they flex, but move up and down slightly even with a 5mm limit applied. I've got the linear rails, and mounting blocks, so hopefully the motor I ordered will move it between 200 and 300 times per minute, and not bind.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

That up and down problem is way overstated. In most cases, has minimal impact on recovery. I seriously doubt you'd see any difference. For fine gold on your table, you want a high speed, and short stroke. The total vertical movement, for a support length of 5", and a stroke of 5mm is only .024". The longer the support length, the less the vertical movement
Jim

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Another point is he did not use aluminum for his supports he used a product called "garolite". Garolite is a fiberglass/epoxy composite with a very high strength to weight ratio, and very low moisture absorption. You can't bend it alot, but for short stroke tables it's a really good product.
Jim

 

[desertgolddigger]

Another point is he did not use aluminum for his supports he used a product called "garolite". Garolite is a fiberglass/epoxy composite with a very high strength to weight ratio, and very low moisture absorption. You can't bend it alot, but for short stroke tables it's a really good product.
Jim

Maybe I heard it wrong, but I remember in one video him saying ""6061 T6". If it was listed on his actual plan for download, I couldn't bring it up, as I don't have the software required to view it. But no biggie. I'll muddle through it. Builds like this usually take me ages to figure out, even if I did have a plan, and a parts list. I was trained as a communications operator when in the military, not a technician. Making things and getting them to work has always been difficult for me.

 

[russau]

I think you could set up a router with a tapered base / jig to cut your "riffles" for this table and use each "riffle" as the limit or guide to cut the next "riffle". you would need to heavily modify the guide for the router so that it could track the previously cut riffle and when getting close to the end of the tapered riffle you would need to slow down to keep from making a sloppy cut. just a idea I that might get you into thinking out of the box ! Good Luck on your project ! I like where this is going !

 

[desertgolddigger]

I think you could set up a router with a tapered base / jig to cut your "riffles" for this table and use each "riffle" as the limit or guide to cut the next "riffle". you would need to heavily modify the guide for the router so that it could track the previously cut riffle and when getting close to the end of the tapered riffle you would need to slow down to keep from making a sloppy cut. just a idea I that might get you into thinking out of the box ! Good Luck on your project ! I like where this is going !

Yes. But I would, after the first cut, rotate the tabletop 180 degrees, and start at the shallow end, and slowly go towards the deeper end.

I understand the principle of the tapered riffles, or think I do. Of course, you tilt the table downward so the lighter material flows that way with the water. But you also, tilt the table to almost level the riffles so that the gold and heavier material follow along the riffles to shallow end, and eventually off the side into the collection area, and finally into the tube down to the container.