DIY acrylic sluice box

[Dallasb84]

Saw a couple other build in here and decided to bite the bullet and commit. I figure a sluice will help with the fines and speed up my system when I find a spot.

Went to Home Depot and bought all of this. View attachment 1324286

Total cost was $120 bucks. (I'm also the going to make a miller table and my own version of a hooper fed gold cube). Will build those later.

Found this stuff. Guess it's noodle mat? Really cheap and will work (I hope). View attachment 1324287

Laid out 6" flanges and a 12" throat. I bought one of these hoping to save some mess and time. It's a plexiglass cutter tool. Super cheap. View attachment 1324288

Cut my drop overall 24" View attachment 1324289

This is 1/8" thick. I score 5 times..... Better go with 10 I'd you don't have band aids.

Busted out the heat gun and started bending. I clamped on my coffee table at just above the bend line to account for setback and bend radius. Worked ends then middle. Ends the final bend. Worked out great!


So after that I made a bunch of riffles. I decided to keep it simple and drill and tap the expanded metal for attachment with 6/32 machine screws.

I bent up a double joggle hinging mechanism and bonded a rubber seal to help direct future water over the first ripple

Came out very well. Here is the bed.

Drilled the hinge pivot and installed the fasteners. I'm using just a dab of sealant to lock the nut

I bent up a simple stiffener for the end and affixed it with sealant



Well For a sluice it is done... I can use for the time being until I progress with the rest of the project.

Lessons learned.... I could have made this in 20 minutes with a shear and box and pan.... Acrylic is fine for this one.... Next go around... I'll use aluminum.

 

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[Dallasb84]

Here is a shot of the hinge bed. And a close up of the double joggle hinge mechanism.


All in all was pretty easy. I laid it out and treated the sluice as it was metal. Going to fab up a quick shelf stiffener to set a heavy rock on. I am after all 6 beers deep and taking a quick break. Thank gosh I'm not cleaning this mess up.... Better half went to sleep early tonight.... Snooze ya lose!!! Ha ha ha

 

[Dallasb84]

Got the ballast tray fabbed up and installed.... Just a small flanged pan.

Pretty much done.

Yep

 

[Dallasb84]

Oops!!!! Almost forgot the most important part!!! I now introduce you to the "Raptor Trapper 1" lol

 

[russau]

I guess you cant beat this sluice even with a 9 iron!

 

[kcm]

Looks good, and should be very lightweight.

 

[johnedoe]

I think you have the expanded metal incorrectly oriented......... the long axes of the diamond should be perpendicular to the flow...
Or am I missing something in your design plan?

 

[kcm]

Good eye John!

 

[johnedoe]

Plus it is flat expanded instead of raised........ Which depending on the sub layer may or may not make a difference.
But I am sure Dallasb84 has a plan.......

 

[Dallasb84]

Well I took it for a test run today and am gonna make some adjustments. I think you are right about the perpendicular diamonds. Didn't really know any better to be honest. I dont really think changing the orientation will matter u less I switch to a raised expanded metal... But... I am gonn have to use wing nuts to hold the expanded metal flat... It was getting chock full of small pebble and lifting the riffles and expanded metal. All in all it really worked well to catch fine non gold stuff. I ran about 15 small buckets through it. Cleaned the mat twice which left me two big pans full of fine dirt. I'm gonna try and rig up a classifier this week and start on the diy gold cube.... And... I did find a few specs of gold!!!

 

[Dallasb84]

Couple questions.... How far behind the ruffle do you want sand and pebbles to sit. I notice they will lay still. I was making the water flow enough to get them jumping around. Not sure if that is correct.

 

[johnedoe]

Couple questions.... How far behind the ruffle do you want sand and pebbles to sit. I notice they will lay still. I was making the water flow enough to get them jumping around. Not sure if that is correct.

Another little problem is with the riffles on top of your expanded metal...... Lay that on a table and it should become immediately obvious..... all kinds of gaps that fine gold can sneak under and out of your sluice.

 

[Dallasb84]

Yeah I know what you mean. I plan on fastening the metal tight to the matting next go around. At that point I should be good right? My riffles have around an inch flange on the bottom. I did it that way to kind of seal it if you know what I mean. I'll get there with your guys help i am sure! I got a lead on where to go from a few guy riding atvs as well. They saw my dog and stopped to complement him. They said they saw some guys mining a waterfall and a few others digging hole far up the mountain... Getting closer I suppose!

 

[utah mason]

Did you make it back to A.F. canyon?

 

[G-bone]

Very Nice!!
I had ideas of doing the same thing, but with ABS and just installing Goldhog mats.

Great work!!

 

[Dallasb84]

At Utah mason. Yes I did. I worked the gravel beds on the bottom. I'm gonna look higher up next time!

 

[utah mason]

Glad you found tibble fork.

 

[Dallasb84]

I'm gonna explore higher up next!

 

[utah mason]

I've never tried the gravel beds at bottom. They look quite promising. I think there are probably some really good spots there. Especially once you get past the overburden. Here's my cleanup from 2 weekends ago. a little closer to Mary Ellen's gulch. The gold on the left is what I got from my cleanups in the field. The gold on the right is what was left after I classified it. Notice the small pile of ultra fines in right bottom of tray.

 

[Dallasb84]

Nice man!!! I just gotta locate some good dirt. I'm going to try and finish this setup soon.