Amazing Gold trap find!!!

[Goodyguy]

Was exploring the loft in my brothers barn and discovered a fluid bed gold trap that he designed in 1988!!!
Even Howard Schmidt's design wasn't patented until 1995.

Of course to me it needs further tweaking to be up to today's standards but I was totally caught off guard when he told me just how long ago he built it and how closely it resembles the production models of today.

Don't worry Bazooka he is not even thinking about contesting any patents because like me he is all about going for the gold and tinkering to find a better capture method. Due to his fabrication business taking off he has not even been actively prospecting since the early 1990's so all his equipment has just been in the loft of his barn collecting dust for the last 25 years!

Anyway I just thought I would share the story and some photos before and after I washed the dust off it.
Guess since it is 48" long and has 4 fluidizing tubes it could have been the original miner.

I didn't know until I washed it off that the trap had a plexiglass cover over it.
The rest of it is made out of galvanized sheet metal. weighs a ton and with no handle is very awkward to carry and the way it's designed with a slick plate after the trap clean up would be awkward too

The other problem I told him is that the trap is too deep and he only had holes at the bottom of the tubes and none on the sides so it really wouldn't have fluidized properly in my estimation, but then he added that it was just a prototype and hadn't been fully tested.

He said I could have it and I thought.... do I really want to mess with this heavy contraption? Oh well it's at my house now and I thought I would share this story with all you fb heads out there in case you are interested, before I take it back to his barn.

Before washing...................




After washing....................



GG~

 

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[triple d]

Thanks for sharing G.G. I like the plexiglass idea to see into the trap.

 

[Campngolf]

Awesome find Gg. Maybe if your brother's fab business hadn't done so well, he'd be in the sluice business. I bet a guy could get a good workout haulin' that thing around.

 

[Portadrillmini]

nice!

 

[3xflyfisher]

That's cool! Nice Samurai too!

 

[425jesse]

That is one awesome build. Thank you for sharing!!

 

[Hangtowndiggins]

Wow too cool Gg! Funny how your brothers build looks much more similar to the Bazooka than Schmidt's black magic sluice trap design did.. Awesome barn find thanks for the share

 

[Goodyguy]

Wow too cool Gg! Funny how your brothers build looks much more similar to the Bazooka than Schmidt's black magic sluice trap design did.. Awesome barn find thanks for the share

When I first saw it I thought maybe it was an early Schmidt model that he had purchased, then after I pulled it off the shelf I could tell it was unique and there was no manufacturers name on it so later when I had finished exploring (had to quit because my flashlight was getting too dim) I asked him for some details and that's when I found out that it was his own idea and what year he designed it (1988) so I knew that was several years ahead of the Schmidt patent which he had no knowledge of because he was done with prospecting before Schmidt's design ever hit the market. In fact he was surprised when I told him how similar his design was to one being commercially produced today.

When I take the sluice back I'll take a better light and maybe get some photos of the packed to the walls from floor to ceiling barn loft where his equipment is stored. And I thought I had a lot of stuff, there is at least three dredges up there and highbankers, gold wheels, etc.

He also has a diamond jig mounted on another dredge that is stored in another part of the barn along with other inventions such as solar and wind energy devices.

GG~

 

[KevinInColorado]

What a genius! Very impressive.

 

[rodoconnor]

GG : What genetics . Are you guys related to T A Edison?

 

[Duckwalk]

that's when I found out that it was his own idea and what year he designed it (1988)

Errr i was born in 88 LOL

 

[Herby D]

Great story GG...don't be tempted..put it on Craigslist and get back to the best treasure hunt story of the year..Your Bro's barn...