My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Goodyguy · May 31, 2011

My DIY 15

Trying to see how cheap I can build a decent 15" gold trommel........

Using a drainage pipe 15" inside diameter 4 feet long. cost: FREE from a local excavating Co. *Note: it's smoothwall ( NOT ribbed) on the inside.
I modified an aluminum bakers rack to fit the tube that I picked up at a salvage yard for $20.
The wheels were bought on sale at Harbor Freight for $3.99 ea.
The supports for the wheels were salvaged from a discarded aluminum lawn chair.

Total weight so far: 30lbs. Total cost so far $36

It's a start :icon_sunny:

GG~

GrayCloud · Aug 12, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Have a good one GG. :thumbsup:

I will be at work.

Goodyguy · Aug 12, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GrayCloud said:
Have a good one GG.
I will be at work.

Thanks GC,

One day you and I will get to retire and then we can prospect full time :icon_thumleft:

In the meantime I'll be looking for a good claim out west that we can work together.

It just wont be in California the way things are going.

GG~

GrayCloud · Aug 12, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

You are on the right track there Buddy. :thumbsup:

russau · Aug 13, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GG ill be at primitive campsite #3 just down from you. ill be there from Aug.18 untill late Sunday 21st.

Goodyguy · Aug 21, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Sorry I didn't make it to Sugar Creek, Russau.
I just couldn't tear myself away from the Central Indiana GPAA outing near Greensburg IN.

Nice little creek with decent flour gold up to picker size. I had a great camping spot all to myself, as all the dredgers camped upstream from me. That area was already full when I arrived early Friday am and I had to go downstream to find a spot. So glad I did because the spot I camped at had nice exposed bedrock just waiting to be pried up and creviced. :icon_thumleft:

First Day, I shoveled paydirt into the trommel all day. :tongue3:

By Sat. I was pretty tired of shoveling so I rigged up my suction nozzle to my combination, dredge high banker hopper, and mounted it to the hopper of the trommel and dredged all around the bedrock and sand bar.

I used my A52 Keene sluice with Clarkson riffles set to 3" per foot drop and then ran it into a 14'' x 4' sluice with vortex matting just to be sure no flour gold could get away.

Had lots of great comments on my homemade trommel and a serious offer by the president of the chapter to purchase it for club use.
He offered a half oz. of gold and I may just take him up on it!

Sunday morning 6:30 am I took my sluice upstream from where the dredgers were working and found an ancient stream bed that the present creek had cut through exposing gravel higher up the bank. Wore myself out using a pick axe, shovel, and bucket and then classifying down to 1/4" and then running the material through my sluice. Not used to prospecting three days in a row so I wussed out and left for home about 1:00 pm. :tongue3:

With suction nozzle attached.....Sure beats shoveling

Go for the gold :icon_thumleft:

GG~

russau · Aug 21, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

hahaha,yep GG, i noticed you didnt get there or i just didnt see you! we had fun all except for my back! yep i wussed out myself but i got 5 hours of testing out my dredge and fixed the improvements i needed todo while i pampered my back.i sucked down a nice hole, but i didnt get much gold, i wasnt really worried about that.i was really just testing out different things. we had 20 people from our club show up and the guy that rode with me did the best with his homade plastic sluice.he was persistant and just keep at it.i also saw some of my other friends from Indiana there and had a good sitdown with them!

Goodyguy · Aug 21, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

The guy with the most gold that I saw this weekend was using the Janitor Technique :laughing7:

I swear all he had was a screwdriver, a dust pan, and a scrub brush!

He would use the screw driver to pry up the bedrock and then use the scrub brush to sweep the material into the dust pan and then use the dust pan to pan it out!!! He was getting color with nearly every pan!!! And he was so fast with it too. He used the plunger from a diabetic syringe to pick up the gold and put it in his vial. Just by touching the rubber end to the gold it would stick to the rubber and then fall off in the vial when it was submerged in the water. I use that too, works like a charm in case you never tried it. Especially good when your flakes are scattered all around in the pan, it's cleaner than the sucker bottle because you don't pick up stray black sand as much.

Next time though, I'm taking a scrub brush and dust pan :tongue3:

I wish I had a video of him, very impressive.

Haven't run my concentrates yet, but I had gold in some that I test panned, so I just don't know how much I will end up with.

GG~

mcscs · Aug 21, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

nice !!!

GrayCloud · Aug 22, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GG, Pan it out and show us the shine. :thumbsup:

Goodyguy · Aug 23, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GrayCloud said:
GG, Pan it out and show us the shine.

Good ol' Indiana Gold!

Fine dust up to picker size :icon_thumleft:

GrayCloud · Aug 23, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GG, That is not bad at all. That is some really pretty rich color gold. :thumbsup:

Have you weighed it yet?

Goodyguy · Aug 23, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GrayCloud said:
GG, That is not bad at all. That is some really pretty rich color gold. Have you weighed it yet?

The photo was with my macro setting for close up. Therefore it looks like more gold than it really is.
Wt. .5 gram or 1/2 gram. at today's rate worth about $30 :icon_thumleft:

jog · Aug 23, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Nice color...

russau · Aug 24, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

thats really good for your first time out with the trommel! thats got to make you feel good!

Goodyguy · Aug 24, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

russau said:
thats really good for your first time out with the trommel! thats got to make you feel good!

Thanks Russ,
Actually that was the second time out with it. First time out I got skunked :tongue3:

Yep a little shine always makes you feel good :icon_thumleft:

GG~

GrayCloud · Aug 24, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Least ways you know your engineering works. :thumbsup:

kuger · Aug 25, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

Very impressive!!Bring that baby out here,I will put ya on some gold!

Goodyguy · Aug 25, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

kuger said:
Very impressive!!Bring that baby out here,I will put ya on some gold!

Cool I'll be right out...............
All I need now is $500.00 gas money and that is just to get there :help:

Guess I better find some more Indiana gold first :tongue3:

Maybe next year :icon_thumleft:

GG~

kuger · Aug 25, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

GoodyGuy said:
kuger said:

Very impressive!!Bring that baby out here,I will put ya on some gold!

Click to expand...

Cool I'll be right out...............
All I need now is $500.00 gas money and that is just to get there

Guess I better find some more Indiana gold first
Maybe next year

GG~

1 ounce pays fer the gas!

Goodyguy · Aug 25, 2011

Re: My DIY 15" Trommel Project

kuger said:
1 ounce pays fer the gas!

It took me three days to get half a gram so I may be awhile :laughing7:

My DIY 15" Trommel Project

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