General rule for sluice sidewall height??

mofugly13 · Mar 9, 2017

I scored a 6 foot piece of 6" aluminum channel that I am going to make into a sluice for processing beach sands. The side walls are currently 9" tall and I.want to cut them down. What should I cut them down to? I'm thinking 2" is fine, but would like to hear some input before I get all choppy with it.

Goodyguy · Mar 9, 2017

Nice score :icon_thumright:

A little narrow for production but makes up for it in length.
You just need to get the angle, flow, and feed rate matched with your mat for maximum recovery.

I would go with at least 3-1/2". One inch shorter than on a Keene A-52 (you can always cut more off later if desired)
What type of mat are you going with?

Is the sluice for use directly in a stream or as a high banker? If in a stream you will need to add a flair.
If as a highbanker are you feeding into a hopper or directly into the channel?
Also what size pump are you going with?

Is it for use in a recirculating system?

Sorry for all the questions, just curious how you planned to use it.
If you intend to use it more like a miller table then 2" sides would be ok. Anything else and you need taller.

GG~

Goldwasher · Mar 10, 2017

like a pump, more than you need is good.

I wouldn't go less than three inches. With length you can run faster water at less grade. Thats a good thing.

nice score.

Goldfleks · Mar 10, 2017

Long and flat for the beach! Are you able to run a motor or is this going to lay in one of the river channels draining into the ocean?

Duckshot · Mar 10, 2017

Wait a minute.

Can't you cut the 6" side of the channel in half, join the two pieces back together with an inch overlap on the 9" sides, and have a 17" x 3" x 6' sluice box?

Goldfleks · Mar 10, 2017

Duckshot said:
Wait a minute.

Can't you cut the 6" side of the channel in half, join the two pieces back together with an inch overlap on the 9" sides, and have a 17" x 3" x 6' sluice box?

Thinking outside the box. Assuming he has the tools/time to cut/weld/grind but that looks like an interesting way to min/max the value from that box. Especially if it's going to go on the beach. Maybe trim the width of the box to match whatever width roll of matting he buys.

N-Lionberger · Mar 10, 2017

For a beach box the wider the better. I did a little beach mining in san francisco a few years ago, found a little bit, most of the good spots are off limits, but we did it anyways. the kids get away with digging holes and collecting rocks lol.

mofugly13 · Mar 10, 2017

This will be for use on a recirculating system in the back yard with a 1600 gph pump. I am going to set it up with gold hog matting. It won't be traveling to the beach as, I believe, mining at the beach is off limits. However, I couldn't find any regulation about taking home a gallon of sand at a time....

There is gold at Ocean Beach. I get 6-13 of the most minuscule specks out of each quart of sand. The sand is super fine, and the gold specks smaller than the smallest grains of black sand. I figure I might be able to fill a vial in 20 years or so....

Right now I run the sand over a 6"x24" sluice I made of some leftover ABS with v-matting. But I'm sure I'm losing gold. Anyway, this is all for fun, it's to keep the fever in check until I can get back out to the claim. And my 6yo girl thinks it's awesome that we are 'mining' the beach.

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Duckshot · Mar 10, 2017

If you are thinking of using Goldhog mats, they are 36" xx 6". Cut it 9" wide four equal pieces and you would get a 24" x 9" mat.

Contact cement works swell on aluminum. A 3" x 9 x 3" channel would give a 50% increase in width over a six inch wide sluice. Two pieces of hog mat for a total of four feet in the sluice and a piece of v mat in front. That'd be one way to do it, only one cut with your worm drive circular saw too. Better cut straight though!

Last time I had to rip a piece like that I used a pair of clamps to the shoe of the saw along with a block for a fence. Worked good for me but your worm drives have that real narrow shoe.

N-Lionberger · Mar 12, 2017

That sand from ocean beach is crazy stuff.

agolddigger · Mar 18, 2017

N-Lionberger said:
That sand from ocean beach is crazy stuff.

Would've never guessed there's gold on that beach. Lived in SF for 5 years, only gold I thought about was what i could get if I rented a metal detector and picked up rings the tourists dropped.

N-Lionberger · Mar 18, 2017

I heard a story about when they were building the court house in SF that they were getting stone from a quarry somewhere in south SF and that half way through the job workers at the quarry struck a vein of gold in quartz and quit producing stone blocks in favor of grinding it up. Now that I think about it I'm not sure if this was the old court house which was destroyed in 1906 earthquake or the new one.

Ragnor · Mar 24, 2017

I like them about 4 1/2", but the height of your riffles would play into that also.

russau · Apr 3, 2017

Duckshot said:
If you are thinking of using Goldhog mats, they are 36" xx 6". Cut it 9" wide four equal pieces and you would get a 24" x 9" mat.

Contact cement works swell on aluminum. A 3" x 9 x 3" channel would give a 50% increase in width over a six inch wide sluice. Two pieces of hog mat for a total of four feet in the sluice and a piece of v mat in front. That'd be one way to do it, only one cut with your worm drive circular saw too. Better cut straight though!

Last time I had to rip a piece like that I used a pair of clamps to the shoe of the saw along with a block for a fence. Worked good for me but your worm drives have that real narrow shoe.

If a person would glue the G.H. mats down to the sluice..........how would you clean them out

? with all the crevices made into that mat of Doc's it's got to be rolled to clean all the fine gold out ! watch Doc's videos about it!

Duckshot · Apr 5, 2017

russau said:
If a person would glue the G.H. mats down to the sluice..........how would you clean them out? with all the crevices made into that mat of Doc's it's got to be rolled to clean all the fine gold out ! watch Doc's videos about it!

That's not what I said. I said glue the 3x9 angles cut from the 9x6x9 channel together on the nine inch side. This would give a nine inch wide by three inch high sluice which would work quite nicely with two prices of GoldHog mat.

Nobody said anything about gluing the mat to the sluice. What I mean is that laminating the 9" by 6' bottom together with contact cement should hold up. No need to weld anything. : )

mofugly13 · Apr 5, 2017

That is a good idea Duckshot. I decided to stick with 6" wide, and cut the walls to 3". I lined it with gold hog matting and have yet to test it. The first run will be 3 gallons of sand I already ran in my short sluice. Then I'll get some more beach sand to try.

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