Making a Miller Table

[Sackett]

I've been reading up on a Miller Table, and have decided to make one...I've studied on the different types of material to make the top out of...I plan to make a slate one in the future, but a trip to town yesterday did not result in me finding exactly what I was looking for...I had read where some people have used various materials, such as tempered glass painted on the underside, vehicle floor mats, stainless steel, even wood, ect...Well, while I was in Wal-Mart I saw a hard plastic "boot-mat" 29.5 inches long by about 18 inches with checkered mat design (like on a toolbox), So I bought it for less than $4.00. What the heck if it don't work it was only $4.00, right? Anyway I plan to start work on it today,,,I cut the end out of one side for the bottom portion of the table, and glued it down FLAT on a piece of metal...Waiting for that to cure and then I'm gonna put it on a stand....I've got some questions as to the angle I'm gonna use? I've seen them on an adjustable stand from 5-17 degrees...The maker of that table explained that he usually uses 5 degrees... I've not been able to find a "set" degree for a Miller Table,,,,Is there a recommended degreeAll I've read is "flatter the better",,,,or is this just something to play around with and see what works best, due to the difference in surface material used? Thanks in advance and I'll get a picture up here when I finish with the project, also started a mini sluice, 5 foot long yesterday out of a piece of guttering, with strips of perforated metal... Can't wait to try them both out,,,,I've got a lot of cons with fine-fine gold in it I gotta get out,,,I've used a buddies blue bowl, but it's sooo slowww, and I was not real pleased with the results,,,from what I've been reading a good Miller Table is better,,,but you know how it is...

 

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[Gravelwasher]

Ya I know how slow it is to use the bowl but if you sift down to 30 mesh then just run it all, almost to the top of the bowl it goes a lot faster. Yes the grass always appears greener on the other side..lol. good luck and keep us posted of your progress!!! Lets see some pics of that fine gold too!! Gravelwasher

 

[russau]

good luck on your table. im just now trying to put the finishing touchs on mine! i have slate for my bed. i tried the blackboard paint and while it worked, i wasnt impressed by its performance. AND the slate (29x48) was free. id strat with those angles given, then decrease that angle and rerun the leftovers to see if theres any smaller gold. remember only a thin sheet of water.no bubbles,or rippels in the water stream and slowly add your cons. and definitly screen your cons and run these cuts seperatly. i use my simple autofeeder to make everything more consistant.id post some pictures of it but ill have to figure how to do it again.

 

[Sackett]

Thanks a lot for confirming those angles...I finished the one with the boot mat that I described,,,I got a few specks out, but it ain't what I want! But it helped me learn for what I want for the slate when I find exactly what I want...I found a piece but it was real light colored and I want a dark color...I took 4 of my grandkids out today for a couple of hours and I used my hand dredge and let them run the sluice box for a while,,,they had fun until CJ fell in the creek,,,then the fun ended, as Hannie threw a fit!!! I tried to tell her boys will be boys and CJ is just like his Pops!!!

 

[russau]

years back i made a aluminum beachbox (42 x48) that had the black ribbed rubber matting and it cleaned out the fine gold that was in the sand.but the slate is one step beyond the beachbox.and preferably youll want to remove all magnetics before you run the cons over your Miller table.every small thing you do to your cons makes your recovery more consistant. and we like consistancy!im my estimation, the finer the gold,the slower you need every action. water,feed.i dont know if its needed but i was thinking of setting up a vibration for the table, like tapping on the edge of your gold pan to see if the gold would drop out faster and help the unwanted waste sands to move off faster?i may goof up here but i want to do a test of this someday.wont know untill i do a test with a weighted amout of fine gold.

 

[Sackett]

You said that you may mess up here by adding vibration...Well if there is not any significant "damage/changes" to the tabletop itself, I would think that there would little damage, except to your pocketbook.lol...as you can always not turn the vibration on...Then you'd still have the old table!! Are you thinking of a wave type table? I saw that one on "Gold Rush Alaska", but I think that was operator era?? I believe that the design would work,,,what were your ideas on "adding" one You got me thinkin' NOW!

 

[grzbear]

air bubbles --how do you guy,s control them ?

 

[russau]

Sackett the vibration was just a aftr thought. yep, if any problems wouls arise from it, id just turn it off. grzbear the bubbles are eliminated by controlling the water flow to a minimum and the water thats supplied to the table is through a "spray bar' thats aimed straight up and the water flow is lowered to acheive a (maybe) 1/8 inch deep (sheet of glass). bubbels and waves of any sort disturb the fine gold that has already droped out of suspension by specific gravity.the finer the gold specks the slower the water or the less of a angle of the Miller table itself or a combination of both.and id also condition any slate that i would use for this by scrubbing it to hopefully remove any dirt,oils(finger prints) or excess chalk.my system is in a closed loop and i add jet dry and Clay Gone to my water tub.and before i run any cons over this i let the conditioned water run over it to help condition the table.i wanted to bring this Millertable with me to Douglas Creek Wyoming this summer but i may not have enough room.i usually bring everything youll possibly need.and thats a lot of stuff!!but you never know if your going to need it, and its a long drive back home!

 

[grzbear]

Thank,s russau the spray bar pointing up should do the trick---i have changed the flow rate and angle many times trying to get it right..

 

[riverrunner814]

Harbour frt. has some good matting they sell toolbox shelve mats works good for the small gold.

 

[russau]

Harbour frt. has some good matting they sell toolbox shelve mats works good for the small gold.

and they have a current sale going on also!

 

[bootybay]

My hubby is just now starting to make a miller table for us as well.. once its done, will post it.. we thought about rubber for the one part instead of slate, so whats your opinion on rubber?

 

[russau]

i used black ribbed rubber mat for my beach box and it worked good but it also trapped lots of black sand that had to get cleaned up. the slate will allow the gold to stay at the head of the table (somewhat) and allow the black sand to wash off the gold if the material has been screened,has been pre-wetted,the water flow is correct (no bubbles or wave forms) and not fed to fast.

 

[Gravelwasher]

Any pics of the progress? Hows it coming along? I have a lot of black slate in my area and I am thinking it might make a good slick plate.

 

[russau]

the snow,rain,sleet,and cold weather is slowing me down a bit. i have a problem knowing how to post pictures.

 

[Snarkie]

When gluing mats and such, you might want to look at using contact cement; not spray-on hobby adhesive in a can, but real contact cement. I worked in a cabinet shop for seven years, and the stuff is great. What you need is commercial grade; not waterbased stuff. Apply it to both surfaces with a short napped roller. When it dries, put the two pieces together, and press firmly. The water won't dissolve the glue, and if you need to get them apart, just squirt a little solvent in there as you peel them apart. An empty soda bottle with a nail hole in the cap is what we used to use.

 

[russau]

if you glue your matts down itll be a pain to remove the fine gold from the mat!

 

[russau]

ive noticed that on my slate Miller table ,it was recommended that the tailings edge of the table be raidused to help the tailings not bunch up . i did this to my slate top and it still bunches up at the edge.oh well!

 

[ohiochris]

air bubbles --how do you guy,s control them ?

Make your table with a gate at the top , it works as a baffle and also lets the water pool up behind it , you can control the water flow by slightly raising or lowering the gate. I took it a step further and put a piece of poreous material under the gate and it further smooths out the water flow.

 

[ohiochris]

Look for an old thick mirror at a garage sale , the coating on the back is already almost a chalkboard surface which is preferable for a miller table , and it makes a good primer to hold chalkboard paint if you want to take it a step further like I did. They are perfectly straight , flat , and can be glued down to a piece of lumber for support. If its not as good as slate its the next best thing. Mine works great.

For what angle to set it at , thats just gonna take some trial and error and experimenting. Generally you dont want much , but its good to start around 1 inch slope per foot of table and then zero in on the best angle from there plus or minus....usually minus.