So, who has made their own sluice box?

[Cave_Dweller]

Hi all, new to the forum and prospecting in general. I live in the UK and decent sized nuggets and just gold in general is few and far between, it's all fine gold or on land where the owners don't let you prospect. Luckily for me where I pan and have done every time I have been finding gold. No where near to the extent of you lot over in the States (yes, i'm jealous ) but it still feels nice to find it. What some of you pull out in one pan is what we normally find over here in one day, even using a small portable sluice we're lucky to come away after a full day with anything close to a few grams max. Anyway, I guess that's the fun of it and a good day out regardless.

Anyway, with having a family to support with forever increasing bills and work not going too great just now it's safe to say my wallet isn't exactly deep. Therefore the cost of making my own sluice is quite appealing, I may not get it right, but it's worth a try. Mainly for the cost and simplicity I was looking at making a portable drop riffle sluice box out of wood using a router. If I can get that catching gold then I can look into making it out of a different material. I know there's a lot of different factors that go into catching gold, like water flow, angle, so on and so on, but if I can get a basic design then I can work from there.

Just wondering if anyone here has made their own drop riffle sluice box, or any other kind that isn't too hard to make for someone with not a lot of money and minimal tools...that's asking a lot I know lol. I'm just in need of some general advice and any pointers in the right direction. There's not many sluice for sale here in the UK and to order one internationally for me the postage alone costs the same as the sluice.

Many thanks.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Welcome from New York!

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...v=2&ie=UTF-8#q=building a sluice box for gold

 

[kcm]

Hello Dweller, and welcome to Tnet. Sadly, I've never even held a gold pan, but have had an interest in mining for many years. Nothing here but skunks and skeeters!

Sluices "can" be made out of wood. But you need to keep in mind that wood is porous and there will be cracks and seams that will trap gold where you cannot get to it....unless you some day burn the thing and retrieve the gold! So start thinking about ways to waterproof your sluice. Caulking the pieces is one way. Another is to line your sluice with heavy plastic sheeting using double-stick carpet tape. The more you can seal it the better.

I'm not all too familiar with drop riffles. Maybe one of the other folks can give you more info on that. Otherwise, there are two other types - the old-school style that uses Hungarian riffles or the like, and the newer sluices that use special matting. It appears the matting does an extraordinary job of grabbing and holding the gold. However, it is also quite spendy. If this is something that will use no pumps, then you might also consider buying a smaller, ready-made sluice like the ones made my Bazooka. Might be a little more than you want to pay, but these small sluices have been getting rave reviews!! Also, they are very lightweight and super portable. That can mean a lot, especially after a long day of digging followed by a long hike back to your car.

Whichever route you go, best of luck! Keep us informed if you want to make your own - DIY projects are always great to follow along with! You'll also get some of the best help and advice on the net right here. Meanwhile, don't forget to do a web search for DIY sluice, as well as checking out the youtube videos.

 

[winners58]

popandson fine gold sluce print link- just click cancel on the print dialog

the original post's from 2005 49'er mike's web archive pop&son sluice 49ermike.com

 

[kcm]

AWESOME! Hadn't seen that article before.

 

[Terry Soloman]

popandson fine gold sluce print link- just click cancel on the print dialog

the original post's from 2005 49'er mike's web archive pop&son sluice 49ermike.com

Good on ya! I was afraid to post links to other forums.

 

[Cave_Dweller]

Thanks all. I will probably end up making a few different types of sluice and I like the challenge of trial and error. loads to read and practice for now

Hello Dweller, and welcome to Tnet. Sadly, I've never even held a gold pan, but have had an interest in mining for many years. Nothing here but skunks and skeeters!

Sluices "can" be made out of wood. But you need to keep in mind that wood is porous and there will be cracks and seams that will trap gold where you cannot get to it....unless you some day burn the thing and retrieve the gold! So start thinking about ways to waterproof your sluice. Caulking the pieces is one way. Another is to line your sluice with heavy plastic sheeting using double-stick carpet tape. The more you can seal it the better.

I'm not all too familiar with drop riffles. Maybe one of the other folks can give you more info on that. Otherwise, there are two other types - the old-school style that uses Hungarian riffles or the like, and the newer sluices that use special matting. It appears the matting does an extraordinary job of grabbing and holding the gold. However, it is also quite spendy. If this is something that will use no pumps, then you might also consider buying a smaller, ready-made sluice like the ones made my Bazooka. Might be a little more than you want to pay, but these small sluices have been getting rave reviews!! Also, they are very lightweight and super portable. That can mean a lot, especially after a long day of digging followed by a long hike back to your car.

Whichever route you go, best of luck! Keep us informed if you want to make your own - DIY projects are always great to follow along with! You'll also get some of the best help and advice on the net right here. Meanwhile, don't forget to do a web search for DIY sluice, as well as checking out the youtube videos.

When I say make out of wood, that is just so I can experiment easily with different types of riffle, different sizes etc etc. If I can see something isn;t working or needs modified it will be a quick change with the router or a file. If I can make a drop riffle one that can catch fine and coarse gold then I will make a mould and recreate a replica out of carbon fibre or fibreglass. If all that fails I'll stick to a good trusted design but there's no harm in trying since I have most of the stuff laying around lol

 

[russau]

popandson fine gold sluce print link- just click cancel on the print dialog

the original post's from 2005 49'er mike's web archive pop&son sluice 49ermike.com

WOW!!! What a trip down memory lane!!

 

[utah mason]

There's plenty of videos on YouTube of guys who have made there own sluices. I think one of the t-net members (astrobouncer ) has a video of him making one. His works really well in his videos

 

[Cave_Dweller]

There's plenty of videos on YouTube of guys who have made there own sluices. I think one of the t-net members (astrobouncer ) has a video of him making one. His works really well in his videos

Thanks. Yeh I found a thread he made a few years ago now about a drop riffle sluice box, but he's not been on here since the start of june so I'm not expecting a reply to my message to him any time soon lol

 

[Dallasb84]

Hey CD I am a new member here as well and have made a couple tools for the trade so far. My latest I have yet to post up in a thread and my current one probably just won't work.

I have spent around $150 bux so far and my stuff works well. I didn't make a drop riffle but I did go with Hungarian on both my sluices.

I am really looking at the fluid bed "bazooka" type boxes as they really seem like the best bang for your buck and rather simple in design.

If you need any fab help I am pretty well versed in many materials. Composites and metal fab being a big part of my professional career in general.

I found making my tools just as much fun as using them so we may have that in common! Good luck. If you are lost or can't decide on a design draw it up and share. I'm sure you will get many helpful Pointers on this forum.

Good luck

 

[Au dave]

Welcome Cave Dweller ..DIY is the way I went as cost was a problem (postage to Aust.) I've built 2 drop riffles and a 'V' base clean up sluice using a router. With the drop riffles I used dovetail, straight and v bits varing depths and spacings.Click on my profile and check my posts for info and pics plus search on Tnet ....plenty of info here

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

 

[KevinInColorado]

Welcome Cave Dweller ..DIY is the way I went as cost was a problem (postage to Aust.) I've built 2 drop riffles and a 'V' base clean up sluice using a router. With the drop riffles I used dovetail, straight and v bits varing depths and spacings.Click on my profile and check my posts for info and pics plus search on Tnet ....plenty of info here

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

Yes yes!
If you already have access to a router, making a drop riffle is a great idea and will likely work better than a traditional Hungarian riffle sluice (which tends to lose a lot of fine gold in the hands of a newbie).

Another option is to simply line a 3 foot channel (well sealed wood is fine) with ribbed non-slip rubber mat. This is the stuff they sell to put on a step or walkway to prevent slip&fall incidents. This works great for fine gold.

 

[Dallasb84]

@au Dave. Thanks for replying I'm gonna make your diy zook!

 

[Cave_Dweller]

Thanks all.I can't keep up with the replies lol. I'll give a drop riffle sluice a try first since I already have all the tools needed to make one. if that fails it's more than likely it's me not setting it up right. In my eyes not one sluice is capable of catching 100% of the gold, but making one and aiming that high will be good fun lol

 

[kcm]

In my eyes not one sluice is capable of catching 100% of the gold, but making one and aiming that high will be good fun lol

Exactly right. In addition, different methods/equipment work better in some areas than others. You sort of have to dial in the right methods with the right equipment for your area, in order to get the best results.

Most all of the gold recovery devices will do their intended job. And few people know how much gold they're losing, as otherwise they'd be trapping it to begin with. But experience is the best teacher. ...I might actually get some one day!

 

[johnedoe]

Thanks all.I can't keep up with the replies lol. I'll give a drop riffle sluice a try first since I already have all the tools needed to make one. if that fails it's more than likely it's me not setting it up right. In my eyes not one sluice is capable of catching 100% of the gold, but making one and aiming that high will be good fun lol

What kind of gold do you have in your prospecting area?
Just design your sluice for the type of gold you have....HH and HP

 

[utah mason]

Thanks. Yeh I found a thread he made a few years ago now about a drop riffle sluice box, but he's not been on here since the start of june so I'm not expecting a reply to my message to him any time soon lol

Yeah he hasn't made any new videos for the past 2 years. I sent him p.m. asking if he had any plans for some new videos, but didn't hear back. I hope all is well with him and life is just to busy to respond.
I've made a few of my own tools but end up buying most things I need. I try to weigh how much is the product I want cost vs how much will I spend making my own version and how many hours is it going to take me to make it. Could I have spent that time working my job and made enough just to buy it? Some things are expensive enough to make me try building my own or easy enough and I could make it before it shipped. I built my version of the gold lab. But don't use it much because I realized I need all the practice panning I can get. I save everything 70 mesh and minus, to run thru it later to see what I missed.
Good luck on your build. Post some pics when your finished

 

[Cave_Dweller]

What kind of gold do you have in your prospecting area?
Just design your sluice for the type of gold you have....HH and HP

Mostly fine gold, as in just some "V" matting would do for the most of it. BUT, there are some nice pickers too but they few and far between. It would be a shame to make a sluice purely to catch fine stuff and have slightly bigger ones wash out when I eventually find them. Lets just say, over here in the UK if you find a nugget about the size of your finger nail it makes the news lol

 

[kcm]

Could always make/buy a sluice with a section of V-matting for the fine stuff, and then have something else for the pickers. That's basically the principle that Gold Hog mats work on (if I understand correctly). They have different zones, and each is specifically designed to catch certain size/shape of gold. Sounds like it's an incredibly efficient system.