I am building my own prospecting equipment, and have a few questions for the more experienced....
1. When building a sluice box, I have used square heater ducting for the main body. I was told to use aluminum, but can't afford it. Is there a reason other than weight I should use aluminum???
2. Should I stay in the same within the demensions of a standard sluice or go with what I can???
Replies
you could make a lightweight cleanup sluice w that duct Im making one out of a double dryer vent thing and some cupboard lining...Just to see if it works..
I made my first sluice from a kids plastic slide I found in a roadside trash pile, cut off the curved parts and was still left with about 5 1/2' of box to work with. I then made sections of different sized expanded over carpet. It worked OK for me until I decided to make a smaller aluminum one for easier portability. .005 aircraft aluminum, can't beat it for sturdiness. I have had that sluice for about 15 years now and still gets the gold.
There is no limit to ones creativness. In other words, so long as it works its good.
Shawn your supose to tell him to drll before digging !!! laughing here SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE !!!
Cody made a sluice box out of the pan from a snowmobile once...couldn't tell ya how he did it, but we used it up Big Creek
I don' t even know where to go around here...
take a shovel and a pan. Dig.... anywhere
rust
Ok I got my aluminum from a road sign. Check with your city or county shop you may get to buy one of there old sign. Now I used aluminum so that I can use a magnet and not turn my sluice in to a magnet. One sign I made the sluice riffles and a punch plate and flare, and a little left. My box is side 4" base 12" long 4' flare is 1 1/2' long and wide at the top end it works good. I payed 5 bucks for my sign fron the city.
I made a sluice out of 1/8" alum.
There are 3 sections @ 8' long, 8" wide and 4" deep. Very durable!
This unit stands on legs and I use a 1- 1/2" hose from upstream to direct the water to the sluice.
I can take the upper section, by it's self, and lay in the stream to run material if I'm testing another spot.
o32 gauge anodized steel is lightweight and durable, and resists rust very well.
I have 4-4' boxes built from the 032 anodized steel.
You could use wooden slats run down the length to beef up your ducting.
Use 1"x1" wooden slats and run the attaching screws through the sluice into the wood.
Weight, or the lack there of, and durability are key issues to me.
BTW, you can use a couple of layers of electrical tape along the edges to prevent cuts and scrapes.
Bending the edges over is a real PITA if you don't have a metal brake.
I made one from the side of an old R.V. It is alum. a little weak hade to put it on some ply, but it's an 8 footer, use it as a home water recycle unit . I like the idea of using a rain gutter for fines
another option for a sluice.The first one i made was from a florescent light case ( the one made for two lights).they are normally pretty easy to find the older ones and they are pretty sturdy.just remove the ends,the guts and fill the holes and you have a really cheap sturdy frame.
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