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[Chile_legacy]

Hello everyone my name is chile I'm a retired marine corps veteran and I just got started on prospecting about two years ago. I'm a rookie so I don't know much. All I know I been learning g my self and books. I like to pan and just started to sluice but don't know how to sluice yet. I do the east fork in the Los Angeles forest In azuza if anyone ever has any advice or is on their way up to the river hit me up and I would like to learn more from a person with knoledge. I will be up there tomorrow. Thanks

 

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[Fullpan]

Welcome to the forum - There are quite a few members here that do the East Fork, i'm sure you will hookup if you mention tnet tomorrow. Let us know how it goes, and pics are always welcome - good hunting!

 

[Chile_legacy]

I been collecting all of my flakes I promised my wife to make her a ring with the gold I find but the way it's going its going to be in about 10 years lol.

 

[vpnavy]

1st - I noticed this is your very first post. So, welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania (USA).

2nd - You didn't list your state (or country) - but you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting your state for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country).

 

[63bkpkr]

Chile, welcome and you've started down the right path panning first then sluicing. I think the sluicebox angle formula is 1" of drop for every foot of length of the sluice and then adjust for local conditions:low water flow, high water flow, legs or no legs on the sluice and of course classifying the sample before putting it into the sluicebox

I purchased my first sluice in 2010 and had it set up all wrong though the good folks here on Tnet got me informed up so I've mended my ways thanks to their sharing! What box do you have? Classifying down to 1/2" or 1/4" is very helpful as it keeps the large rocks out of the sluice and that keeps them from dislodging gold that may go out of the box. I watched a really nice 1/4" nugget blow right out of my sluice as I had the angle way wrong as well as had the box way deep in the water, the water should just go over the top of the riffles, that bad setup cost me.

Yes saving one's nuggets can take awhile but just keep at it as it will happen one day and your wife will be quite thrilled!

Thank you for your service to this country and its citizens! Have a great time..........................63bkpkr

 

[Chile_legacy]

Thanks for the info. I will apply it I'm alway open for advice.

 

[Fullpan]

I been collecting all of my flakes I promised my wife to make her a ring with the gold I find but the way it's going its going to be in about 10 years lol.

It might take awhile, but several of us have done it - here's my ring, on the left:

 

[Chile_legacy]

That's cool Fullpan. Thanks for the encouragement. She is really supportive about all I do. When I need to get away and thinking about my brothers that did not make it I just get my dog tank and my gear. I go as much as possible it's the best thing I ever done besides fishing. I help out allot of veteran brothers that suffer from PTSD. I been trying to take them out here. I love panning and I also like the people that I meet doing it. I hope to learn as much as I can so i can one day start my own Lil veteran group to help them out.

 

[Fullpan]

Yeah, us old fart vets are doing relatively ok, but the kids coming back can use some help. When I got out I wasted ten years
bummin' around and dodging serious trouble. Then I found prospecting and dredging, - best thing ever happened to me.

 

[Chile_legacy]

I help all my vet brothers cause when I got back no person or VA would help and I was 40% disabled from gunshot. The VA have me crap and I did not return till 8 years later just cause I found some good brothers that said I might have PTSD and that I should go back and get my full benefits and here I am now 100% disabled from different things but now I made a promise to my self to help out any vet brother with their benefits. If you don't have any benefits I can always give u some help or advise how to go about it. Thanks again.

 

[Alex Burke]

I help all my vet brothers cause when I got back no person or VA would help and I was 40% disabled from gunshot. The VA have me crap and I did not return till 8 years later just cause I found some good brothers that said I might have PTSD and that I should go back and get my full benefits and here I am now 100% disabled from different things but now I made a promise to my self to help out any vet brother with their benefits. If you don't have any benefits I can always give u some help or advise how to go about it. Thanks again.

Welcome and thank you for your service, I'm sorry you had to go through so much with the VA and it's great that you make the effort to help other vet's.

 

[Drawman]

I help all my vet brothers cause when I got back no person or VA would help and I was 40% disabled from gunshot. The VA have me crap and I did not return till 8 years later just cause I found some good brothers that said I might have PTSD and that I should go back and get my full benefits and here I am now 100% disabled from different things but now I made a promise to my self to help out any vet brother with their benefits. If you don't have any benefits I can always give u some help or advise how to go about it. Thanks again.

First, thank you for your service, second welcome to the site. I have learned so much in the short time I have been here, and you will too. Never be afraid to ask questions!!

 

[TheNewCatfish]

You'll want to build your own sluice. Namebrand sluices offered on the internet are pricy and loaded with gimmicks that work poorely. Forget about riffle bars and miner's moss. Riffle bars simply interfere with a good clean waterflow. Miner's moss is equally counter productive. The 45 minutes you take breaking down your sluice and cleaning the miner's moss isn't worth the time you spent. You could'a been digging more material during that time and running it through your sluice. All you need is some "Razor Hog" rubber mat. I've used this stuff and it WORKS. As for the sluice itself, it doesn't matter what it's made of. Wood is lighter, but do you really want something lightweight ? Takes alot of big rocks to weigh down a wooden sluice so it doesn't float away in the current. Steel is better than aluminum if you don't like chasing your sluicebox down the creek. My steel sluice box cost me $10 dollars. The Razor Hog mats cost about another $60 dollars. Took about 15 minutes to cut the mats and glue them in the sluice with waterproof shoe glue. About $9 dollars. That's a way better deal than giving Keen $250 or $300 dollars of your hard earned money.

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

Welcome to the Site! Ex-ARMY here. I just started this year with building my own Sluice that turned into a highbanker and now I am looking at building a trommel... I think the fabrication is my addiction and the gold is the reward. See my videos by clicking this link Gold sluicebox progression - YouTube and maybe there will be some help somewhere in there.

 

[Chile_legacy]

Ok thanks for the advice.