miller table question

[Au dave]

been doing some research on miller tables .. different materials are used for the "bed" and most plans call for a smooth flat surface to start with then coated with rubber, cutting mats or blackboard paint ect ect ,so my question is would it be feasible using a sheet of glass coated with blackboard paint for a "bed" as i have quite a few sheets lying around. thx all

 

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[arizau]

i had the same thoughts with material size ...unfortunately the classifiers are Au $68 a piece ...even on ebuy .looks like the missus is gonna be missing a fine sieve from the kitchen ...lol

I found this site (Classifiers, Screens, and Sieves) for large fairly inexpensive sieves and you may find others with shops local to you. Also you may be able to find sites that sell the screen material and make your own.

Good luck.

 

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[Capt Nemo]

Capt depending on the tip of the table and the water pressure of the source the bigger gold will do as you say BUT the finer gold will move down the table and result in you needing to rerun the material at a different tip of the table and or less water. always rerun your material with different tilt and water speed.

I've run dead flat and the flats and logs still fly down the table. Certain shapes just won't lay down. Could raise the dam a little more to kill the head pressure, but then the black sand will just sit still. So far I've only encountered 6 pieces that wouldn't lay down, and 3 of those were silver wires.

But for everything else ~1 degree and penny height on the dam seems to work best.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

I found this site (Classifiers, Screens, and Sieves) for large fairly inexpensive sieves and you may find others with shops local to you. Also you may be able to find sites that sell the screen material and make your own.

Good luck.

Thriftstores have tons of screens. They're mesh trash cans, office paper holders, kitchen colanders. Then there's 1/2, 3/8, 1/4 hardware mesh(cloth) and window screen.

Utopia Tools has a 5 sieve set for $66. I have their 9 piece set for $11 more.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thriftstores have tons of screens. They're mesh trash cans, office paper holders, kitchen colanders. Then there's 1/2, 3/8, 1/4 hardware mesh(cloth) and window screen.

Utopia Tools has a 5 sieve set for $66. I have their 9 piece set for $11 more.

That 9 pan set is a GREAT deal for the newer prospector!

 

[bobw53]

That 9 pan set is a GREAT deal for the newer prospector!

And they have the crappy little 10" pans I like for $2.24 without having to buy 50 or 100 of them...
I'm all over that. And only $1.87 if you can stomach blue.

 

[ohiochris]

I used the back of an old mirror to make my table. The coating on the back was already near perfect since it had a slate feel to it but I sprayed it with chalkboard paint anyway so it would be black and easy to see the small gold on it. I glued the mirror face down on a piece of 2x12 lumber with liquid nails glue. No problems for a while but I eventually got a small crack in the glass , I guess from the lumber expanding and contracting due to moisture. The mirror was also much longer than it needed to be , if it wasnt so long I dont think it would have cracked anywhere. Something thick and stout without flexibility other than lumber would have been better but the table still works well. Frosted glass sprayed with chalkboard paint should work fine , you just need to put it on something that wont flex or sag. I used a statuary pump from Lowes to pump the water and made a reservoir at the top with a gate I can raise or lower to control the water flow with some poreous material under the gate to further slow and smooth out the water flow. It works good , probably as good as any water table I could have bought. What I use to classify the sand before putting it on the table is a large "splash guard " type of thing I got at a kitchen supplies store. The mesh is a little finer than most window screen and definately finer than any collander Ive seen. Its slightly bigger around than a 5 gallon bucket and bowl shaped , so I can sit it on top of the bucket ( filled with water ) and classify large amounts at a time.