prospecting

[tweeta_bear]

is it fair to say that most of the high mountain have fissures in them? is it also fair to say gold follows water? with these questions in mind if i find an old dried up creek bed coming down off the mountain and i dig in the right spot i can get what im looking for or has it nit made it down off the side off the mountain yet(ie not reach the creek yet)?

 

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[KevinInColorado]

this is a pic of where i was panning in 1880.

Cool pic! See how narrow the tracks are compared to the current road and how wide the creek is? The hand of man is heavy on that canyon!

 

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[Jimmydolittle]

this is a pic of where i was panning in 1880.

I'm guessing you're not 133, the picture was taken in 1880. LOL

 

[tweeta_bear]

hahaha you know what i meant.

 

[tweeta_bear]

i must be doing something right.

 

[Oakview2]

Has anyone every suggested that your photo bares a resmeblance to Chuck Norriss? That would be perfect, you could just order the gold out of ground Good health and good hunting

 

[tweeta_bear]

well i went up clear creek in Gilpin county yesterday and got a full 5gallon bucket of material out of a crack in a very large rock(which i believe is bedrock! i only took a shovel. the rock is protruding into the creek and the water was just high enuf to fill the crack, when i reached into the crack it went up to my elbow. NOW... im making a hand suction dredge. im going to try to incorporate check valves to control the direction of the discharge. ill get that crack!!! and its the good kind of crack! lmao. im taking KevinInColorado's advice and im trying to find spots that haven't had much activity or where not much road work has been done in a long time. i found a spot that i believe is the original road they used back in the day, i can follow this road until it turns into just a foot path because erosion over time has washed the old road down into the creek. im going to try to get back up there this wk to finish cleaning out that crack with my new hand dredge im building.

oh and chuck norris only wishes he was as good as i! lmfao hes what 100yrs old now!

 

[fowledup]

If your building a smaller hand dredge for cracks forget the check valves. Use a pvc bell reducer for your end cap and 3/4 pvc for the nozzle. Drill or file out the bell reducer so the 3/4 slides thru it. Slide nozzle end about 3" into bell reducer and glue. The bell reducer then becomes a reservoir cap. You need a relieve hole at other end. Work handle a few times and dump cap into bucket. I'm probably not explaining this very well but it works great.

 

[tweeta_bear]

i wish i knew what you where talkin about. the pvc pipe seems to be inconstant with its inside diameter and my plunger is not creating pressure. any suggestions on another method?

 

[tweeta_bear]

YAY

i figured it out! i lubed up the inside of the tube with this! then tightened it a lil more.

so here it is and my first test from my sluice box tailings.

 

[enamel7]

You don't want a foreign material or lube in the PVC. You want a seal that can be adjusted to fit snug. My handdredge has a seal with a wing nut and flat washers on both sides. The tighter the nut the more the seal spreads out. Works great for me!

 

[fowledup]

See if I can get you a picture or two-

 

[Jason in Enid]

No lube! It will contaminate your cons and you can say "bye bye" to the gold.

 

[tweeta_bear]

i dont understand how the first picture works but i thought i had that set up in the second picture. maybe i just need to go to a plumbing supply place and get the old style drain plug and not the new plastic kind. does the type of pipe matter? should i use schedule 40 pipe or will the black work fine? the tighter i made the seal the harder it is to pump.

 

[fowledup]

The nozzle extending thru the cap and up into the barrel does not let the material go back out when the handle is pumped. Start the pump underwater, helps with the prime, pump until reservoir/cap is full (you'll get a feel for it). When cap is full dump into bucket, keep repeating. No lube, lube gets on gold and will float it when panning. lube will also retain grit that will eat up seals. Water acts as lubricant.

 

[tweeta_bear]

ok thank you very much.

 

[tweeta_bear]

thats a nice lookn lil pump you got there.

 

[fowledup]

That one is a Keene and by far my favorite for the type of prospecting I do most- cracks and crevices. I have a couple different types of larger ones (homemade and brand name) that are really nothing more then slow and glorified means of removing overburden. When I'm 2'-4' back in a crack fighting for pinches of material is when this thing shines. It will still pull material with a 1/2" x 4' stinger on the end. Once you get the hang of it you get a rhythm doing two things. First the pull gets the material, then you point the nozzle at the top of the crack and the push/flush stroke washes the material down the crack, point nozzle down repeat. As well as dumping the cap you can also pull the handle all the way back and empty the material thru the prime/relief hole. Because you have an exhaust stroke for every suction stroke it hardly ever gets a clog or stuck rock, maybe once or twice a day.

 

[tweeta_bear]

i like that idea of having a prime hole. i messed with the one i just made and i think i got it working good. when i get the plunger in if i turn the handle i can tightn the suction. also i figured out that the i have to prime mine and i have to have my outlet tube in my bucket of water. im going to make a few more attachments for it. sunday i went to the creek and found a huge rock in the creek(i believe its bedrock), in the rock is a crack the had water spilling over the rock into the crack. i shoveled out a full 5gallon bucket of 1/4" classified(seemed to be naturally some how) already. when i reached down into the crack my arm went in past my elbow. im going to go back up saturday to try to clean it out, provided the weather allows. i didnt take my phone with me for pictures last time but i will this time.

 

[tweeta_bear]

i made another plunger for my hand pump.

 

[425jesse]

Keep up the great determination, between good attitude, good work ethic, and good skills you will continue to feed the yellow fever!!

Cheers