1840s homestead gives up some brass, silvers, and a pic of my new sifter

[bonepicker]

With the rain coming at noon on Saturday I didn't have much time, so I decided to go attempt to work the iron and see if I can scrape up a few keepers.
Ended up with some small brass items I was able to squeak out from the trash.
Unsure about the first item, the second is a really neat drawer knob that I thought might be a button "i love this design", the third is a nail or rivet with a star on the head, the fourth and fifth item is a damaged brass cufflink that I was fortunate enough to find both pieces of, and the sixth item looks like a brass cap.

Also including a couple pics of some silvers I dug at this site last week that I never got around to posting.
A #12 smashed thimble, and a very small and thin unmarked ring that I'm pretty sure is silver.

And finally my first attempt to build a relic sifter/shaker. Pretty excited about using this. Been wanting to build one for a long time now. When it finally started raining yesterday I went to the lumber store and spent the rest of the afternoon in my workshop. Hopefully next week I will get a chance to try sifting.

 

[digging440yrs]

Looks like a nice shaker ! Just wondering, what's the measurements and weight. Building one is on my to do list this spring

 

[DirtStalker]

Well you haven't stopped either.Like that sitter but Can you design and build one that fills and shakes itself while I nap under a shade tree?

 

[bonepicker]

Looks like a nice shaker ! Just wondering, what's the measurements and weight. Building one is on my to do list this spring

Not sure about the weight, but I used 3 treated 1x4x8's to build it. It will get lighter when the boards dry out.
The screen is 24"x24"x1/4". The total length of the handle portion is 37". The legs are 36". I used almost all of the wood.
It cost right under $30 to build. I had to buy a 10' roll of screen and that is where most of the money went.
I watched nuggetnoggins video on youtube, and kind of copied his design.

 

[bonepicker]

Can you design and build one that fills and shakes itself while I nap under a shade tree?

Now that would be nice. A gas powered, pulley driven sifter on wheels, and then trick a neighborhood kid into loading it.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice stuff, good job on the sifter.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Very nice finds - love the little ring! Shaker looks great, good luck with it!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

You made some very nice finds. I guess if I had to choose my bucket list item, it would be a silver thimble. I know I'd love a gold coin, but I want a silver thimble! Your patience and work paid off!

Edit: Oh, and thank you for the fundamentals on the shaker!

 

[Garrett424]

Nice finds. I would bet the ring is silver too.
Based on the age of everything else and the shininess of the ring I seriously doubt it's anything but.

 

[bonepicker]

Very nice stuff, good job on the sifter.

Thanks Prof. Cant wait to get her dirty.

Very nice finds - love the little ring! Shaker looks great, good luck with it!

Thanks Terry. Id like to think that this ring goes back to the 1840's. Really unsure, but most of the finds date late 1700's to around 1910.
Definitely have high hopes for the sifter. There are a few patches loaded with oyster shells, iron, pottery, etc. that i can wait to try it on.

You made some very nice finds. I guess if I had to choose my bucket list item, it would be a silver thimble. I know I'd love a gold coin, but I want a silver thimble! Your patience and work paid off!

Edit: Oh, and thank you for the fundamentals on the shaker!

Thanks ADS. Ive dug several thimbles, but this is my second silver one, and probably the oldest silver one. Too bad its smashed, but my first one wasnt.

No prob, on the shaker specs. Cant wait to try it out.

Nice finds. I would bet the ring is silver too.
Based on the age of everything else and the shininess of the ring I seriously doubt it's anything but.

Thanks 424. The ring had that chalky grey smoke look to it, like a dug silver coin would have. I cleaned it up a little.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on some nice finds and good job on sifter

 

[DownNDirty]

Nice job building that sifter. Once you use it you will really appreciate that you built the rocker type-easy and the back and you can go through a lot of dirt in a relatively short period of time.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Your first item is the end to a clip like this or from a dog chain.I like your shaker better than mine I think I'm adding some legs and handles to mine, it is just a square that I hand shake.

 

[Kurios1]

Wonderful relics, silver items, and a way cool shaker. That shaker has my gears spinning. I am working an iron infested dump sight that needs sifting. Difficult to latch onto any non-ferrous targets for all the iron littered around. Sifting might be the way to go. Thanks for sharing your creation. I am subscribed to nuggetnoggins on the tube. He's a very decent young man. I've taken a few tips from him as well. He's a real treasure hunter for sure. Peace.

 

[wagbert]

Nice finds, and you did such a great job building your sifter I would bet you could sell something like that to those of us who are less skillful. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you sift out some treasures with your new tool.

 

[cjon455]

Great finds, and the sifter is pretty sweet too!

 

[bonepicker]

Nice job building that sifter. Once you use it you will really appreciate that you built the rocker type-easy and the back and you can go through a lot of dirt in a relatively short period of time.

Thanks Dnd. I couldnt imagine using one that didnt require rocking/shaking. Been wanting to go try after work, but should probably wait til the weekend. I think i will need more daylight for the preparation and clean-up. I have 2 spots in the cow pasture that have a lot of oystershell, iron, and pottery. Im hoping there is some good stuff in there.

Your first item is the end to a clip like this or from a dog chain.I like your shaker better than mine I think I'm adding some legs and handles to mine, it is just a square that I hand shake.

Thanks B o t B. I was thinking some sort of swivel attachment on the brass item, just wasnt sure what it was for. I think the legs will make it much more effective, and less labor intensive. At least i hope it will.

Wonderful relics, silver items, and a way cool shaker. That shaker has my gears spinning. I am working an iron infested dump sight that needs sifting. Difficult to latch onto any non-ferrous targets for all the iron littered around. Sifting might be the way to go. Thanks for sharing your creation. I am subscribed to nuggetnoggins on the tube. He's a very decent young man. I've taken a few tips from him as well. He's a real treasure hunter for sure. Peace.

Thanks Kurios. I have seen where other t-netters have found some really nice relics, coins, and pottery while using a sifter. I hope my experiences will be rewarding as well.
I friend of mine suggested i watch noggins video on how to build a sifter like a year ago, guess im just finally getting around to it.
Probably also due, to most of my permissions petering out, and not having any new places to go. Im pretty certain there is a lot of stuff in the ground that is masked by iron, that we cannot see with a detector. I have been to this homestead site over 25 times, and i still occasionally pull coins, brass, and lead out from the iron.

Nice finds, and you did such a great job building your sifter I would bet you could sell something like that to those of us who are less skillful. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you sift out some treasures with your new tool.

Thanks Wag. Will definitely be posting my finds and experience from my first trip when it happens, probably this Saturday.
Would be neat to sell the sifters online, but my biggest worry would be shipping costs.

Great finds, and the sifter is pretty sweet too!

Thanks Cjon. Cant wait to use it.

 

[weregolf]

Nice