Question About Legs for GGT Explorer

[BenArmstrong]

Hi all,
The creeks I'm trying to sluice in has no larger rocks so I need to build a leg system for my GGT Explorer to set in the creek. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas or plans for a DIY set of legs. I'm not a great engineer lol, and the few ideas I've tinkered around with make me nervous about affecting the structural integrity of the sluice walls. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

 

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[SRP_KBell]

Ben -

We have a stand that fits a GGT - We are in process of restocking our new aluminum version.
Should be finally in stock by June 15th

 

[arizau]

Your situation is not entirely clear but it sounds like you are wanting to set up your GGT in a flat water creek and that also suggests not much stream speed. If that is the case then using a stand may not be of much benefit (?) since stream speed is probably the main key to getting a fluid bed to operate properly. I'm thinking that your trap will just quickly fill up and, with not enough flow from the tubes to make the bed active enough to do much gravity sorting, new feed will mostly just wash out the exit. Testing will tell the tale though. In any case, good luck.

 

[BenArmstrong]

Thanks for the replies so far. I will check out the stand when it's back in stock.
As far as the situation. It is a flat creek with lots of smaller gravel (probably about 3 - 4 inch rocks on down), however there is actually pretty decent flow on the creek, so speed should be OK . . . I think (still very new to this). It was pushing against me pretty hard when I was walking through the creek. The main issue is that there are no larger rocks to wedge and anchor my GGT and prevent it from floating down river or set it up correctly. I have never run one before so hopefully I'm not setting myself up for failure on all of this. Also testing will be kind of difficult as here in WI the gold is all EXTREMELY small flour gold. I guess this is all part of the fun lol.

 

[Buckshotnc]

Have you thought about carrying a few bricks or cinder blocks with you ?

 

[RTR]

Have you thought about carrying a few bricks or cinder blocks with you ?

Ditto on that .And ,or,using rocks from the creek

 

[BenArmstrong]

I did think about some cinder blocks, but I'm not a big guy and carrying those plus the other gear down the creek seems like a pretty rough time. I would love to be able to use rocks from the creek, but the spot I'm on has all smaller rocks and gravel. Short of buying a stand, I think I have a plan that might work. I have a metal sluice with built in legs that my GGT explorer actually fits in. So this might be problem solved. Now to try and get that elusive and rare WI gold!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Instead of hauling cinder blocks, carry empty buckets. Fill them on site to use to secure the sluice in place..

 

[BenArmstrong]

Thanks Kevin! That's a great idea! Hopefully I'll be able to post some gold pics before too long!

 

[russau]

Back when I dry washed , I carried 30 plus 5 gallon plastic buckets If nothing else , someone always had a seat!

 

[Tahoegold]

How about this? I made one for my 24" Bazooka Gold Trap Sniper and it fits 2 other sluices too. I made a bigger one for my alluvial sluice that happens to fit the Motherload Grizzly Gold trap I have. It breaks down and the legs slip in. Works great!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Cool! Maybe add thumbscrews to the leg grippers though. Otherwise they will get loose over time.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

You can also buy sandbags cheap at hardware stores and carry a roll in your pack for wing dams or whatever. They weigh almost nothing and take up little room.

 

[Tahoegold]

The fittings for the legs are nice and snug.The whole thing only has 2 pins. My concern was dropping a tiny part and not being able to use it. I think the fittings are so inexpensive that it would be worth it to replace them as they are screwed together not glued. Glue just didn't give me time to line up the parts. The crossmembers had to have the slope built in but but it doesn't prevent making some angle adjustments. And I can take the sluice out. I just tie the legs down and put a rock on them in fast water. Regular stream water won't make them move when without the sluice.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sounds like you have a winner then

 

[Tahoegold]

Thx K, I am always looking for a better way. Thank you for the suggestion! Yes, I have used this design now for about a year. When the water changes it's easy to grab the cross member, twist the leg and it adjusts. It's too difficult to just try to pull through without the twist. The legs don't seem to move when I shovel dirt or pour from a bucket. Sometimes it settles into the stream gravels. Probably just like any other stand. The OP was concerned about attaching someting to the sidewalls, as was I. This actually supports the side walls as it uses the wedge design to keep it in place. Also, the underneith is supported as well. Not that I'm an engineer, it just came together as an idea for a light weight solution and for speed as I wanted a "stand" instead of bolt on legs so I wouldn't have to disturb the setting. Well, theres my suggestion! By the way, my motherload works really well. I had it in a spot that was not flowing enough to flow over the Grizzlies. I'd say it only made it half way. I ran it anyway because I had no other options. It ran just fine. Sure I cleared some rocks. But I processed more material than I could have with my alluvial sluice. Only minor rock clearing. And, just poured from a bucket. Kept the capture chamber level as I was after sub 50 gold. It caught everything and I was impressed to find out I didnt need full over the grizzlies water to make it work.

 

[akflyer]

Cool! Maybe add thumbscrews to the leg grippers though. Otherwise they will get loose over time.

A couple hose clamps would keep anything from moving and you can toss in a few extra for almost no weight penalty.

 

[SunshineMiner]

A couple hose clamps would keep anything from moving and you can toss in a few extra for almost no weight penalty.

OOoooooh! Good call!! Take a small torque screw driver and lanyard it to the legs so you always have a tool for moving/tightening the hose clamps. Home depot here I come!

 

[Tahoegold]

Lol, hey, you guys are thinking the same thing I thought. So, when I made this I had 4 hose clamps. 1 for each leg and one of those 4 in 1 screwdrivers without the bit as the inside is the size of the hex nut. It was a great idea. Except, when I had to loosen the clamp AND twist the legs even things out then tighten the clam again times 4!!! I said to heck with that. What's the point of running a fluid bed sluice if it takes 15 min each time ya need to level things out! It turns out, those slip through fittings I have on there are very tight. They don't slip. It's kinda hard to twist them even. So,I dumped the clamps and now it's quick and easy. Twist move done. So, that experiment has been done. Just so ya know.