Old Drywashers for sale on craigs list in So cal

[G-bone]

I thought I would post this here in case some one in the So cal area was interested.
I've been following this post for a while.
This person has 3 dyrwashers - all the same and I THINK they are old Becks style
I finally contacted the person and made an offer which they passed on.
But they contacted me this weekend and said I can have all 3 units for $100....but I don't have the time.

So I thought I would pass it on to some one here...I hope it's within the rules of this forum?
Gold Mining Equipment, vintage

The ad is asking $75 each, but if you contact them and pass on the info above they may pass the same offer to you (all 3 for $100).

Cheers

G

 

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[Hard Prospector]

I know some old timer hard scrabble desert miners out around Randsburg and Death Valley that likely used machines like that decades ago. It would be cool to have one on the back patio to look at while sipping a cold beer.

 

[Hoser John]

Pass on puffers...........

 

[Hard Prospector]

Pass on puffers...........

When processing dry, puffers are most efficient at fine gold recovery.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Those aren't Beck drywashers. Beck's were all wood and were always painted red. If you have the money and the patience you can still buy a new or used Beck drywasher from Russ Ford in Dewey, Arizona. In my opinion the Beck drywashers are the finest ever made. They aren't cheap but there are still dozens of them over 70 years old and still getting good gold.

Those look like decent drywashers but some parts are missing and they would have to be reconditioned before you could find out how well they work. Putting them back in working order would cost money probably on the $50 range each and probably several hours each.

Add in a few hours tuning if the design is good or a lot more time and money if you have to modify them to work. Three for $100 seems like a pretty good deal if you are willing to add time and money. If you haven't used drywashers before I would suggest you pass these by. Getting an unknown drywasher tuned might never happen without a lot of frustration for a newby.

I prefer puffers but blower types will move more material ...and dust ...and noise. A good Beck puffer drywasher and a strong back can almost keep up with a medium sized blower type. A Keene 151 will make three strong men weep by the end of a long day and move a hella lot of material if you keep it running. Those three strong men will be deaf, covered in dust, sore and tired and have a lot more gold when they quit for the evening.

It's all about what your goals are.

Heavy Pans

 

[Hard Prospector]

I have a Keene 151 and know all to well that end of the day feeling after feeding that thing for 10 hours. I renamed my 151; "The Punisher"

 

[southfork]

That's what I have out in the barn painted red and looks to be in perfect shape it has an extra set of smaller riffles . Old kick start gas engine maybe from a washing machine .

 

[Clay Diggins]

Here's a picture of a Beck southfork:



Look for a label stapled on the back. The side clips on the riffle tray are the giveaway from a distance. Notice how the legs meet at the top. Two riffle trays were standard equipment from several of the builders. I'm not sure if Russ Ford sold them with two trays but most of them I've seen had two.

The patented Beck has been made since 1937. I think Charlie Salwasser, in Randsburg, built most of the Becks you see today. The license is with Russ now but it would be nice to see someone pick up the rights and start building them again. Being handmade hardwood with some pretty close tolerances they would have to sell for quite a bit of money so I'm not sure how much demand there would be today.

Heavy Pans

 

[Hard Prospector]

Forced air drywashers are what most people want these days. I sure would like to have a Beck just as a novelty and history of it.

 

[southfork]

Here's a picture of a Beck southfork:

View attachment 1296063

Look for a label stapled on the back. The side clips on the riffle tray are the giveaway from a distance. Notice how the legs meet at the top. Two riffle trays were standard equipment from several of the builders. I'm not sure if Russ Ford sold them with two trays but most of them I've seen had two.

The patented Beck has been made since 1937. I think Charlie Salwasser, in Randsburg, built most of the Becks you see today. The license is with Russ now but it would be nice to see someone pick up the rights and start building them again. Being handmade hardwood with some pretty close tolerances they would have to sell for quite a bit of money so I'm not sure how much demand there would be today.

Heavy Pans

That's what I have the label or tag is missing but the paint is discolored where it was .