Question for making a hand dredge

ikesdad · Jan 5, 2015

I am starting to build a hand suction dredge and have a question...
What material is used for the piston ?
I see all kinds of videos and different types of material, some even stating that it is a secret.
So, what would be best to use for a piston ?

Jeff95531 · Jan 8, 2015

Will do Mike. Thanks for that tip and the update on Smith Creek Two.

Bejay · Jan 9, 2015

You know, I have been following discussions about the suction guns for many years now. I see all kinds of "this and that" ways of doing them. Curves, traps, neck downs, etc.

I have never had to neck mine down....as the suction is so great it will pull up anything my crevice tools will loosen.....and as deep as I can get them.

Having used one for the past 30 some years (originally getting sand shrimp for fishing bait), I am pretty good at it. I have even given lessons to those wanting to learn. Suck and shoot and be very quick about it. Don't make your lift to high. One needs about 1-2 inches of water overlying your spot. Have some good crevice tools. My Oregon mining partner has been making all mine (crevice tools) for the past 25 years.

Enjoy and get some gold. Easiest ...cheapest...method I know...and I have been doing this for a very long time.

Bejay

arizau · Jan 9, 2015

Bejay said:
You know, I have been following discussions about the suction guns for many years now. I see all kinds of "this and that" ways of doing them. Curves, traps, neck downs, etc.

I have never had to neck mine down....as the suction is so great it will pull up anything my crevice tools will loosen.....and as deep as I can get them.

Having used one for the past 30 some years (originally getting sand shrimp for fishing bait), I am pretty good at it. I have even given lessons to those wanting to learn. Suck and shoot and be very quick about it. Don't make your lift to high. One needs about 1-2 inches of water overlying your spot. Have some good crevice tools. My Oregon mining partner has been making all mine (crevice tools) for the past 25 years.

Enjoy and get some gold. Easiest ...cheapest...method I know...and I have been doing this for a very long time.

Bejay

An under water, weighted, low sided plastic container placed, down current to the crevice will keep your lifts short and reduce your loss of material during transfers.

As to leather, pump cup leathers are specifically made, and treated, for the sole purpose of pumping water and have been used for decades if not for centuries and are still available from pump part suppliers. I don't know what other media (rubber balls, etc.) that they may use for this same purpose. They are obviously a wear item but probably last for years of constant use as they are still widely used. In short. For hand dredges, they work.

What ever your choice, Gold to you!

PS I like the idea of the shrimp pumps too as they are ready made and apparently do the job.

Bejay · Jan 9, 2015

6 inch high "meat lug". Buy one and never have to buy another. When 1st placing in water (and empty) one can place a foot inside to hold it from drifting down current. Plus the "meat lug" fits a quad rack like a glove. And they stack, leaving a space between them for your crevice tools, gloves, etc

They make a 10 inch high one and a 6 inch high. I have both.

Bejay

Jeff95531 · Jan 9, 2015

Here's a very good video on building a shrimp pump. From Home Depot to completion. Once the link opens, Scroll down to "How to Make a Ghost Shrimp Pump (Yabby Pump)" 19:57

shrimp pump - Ask.com YouTube Search

meMiner · Jan 9, 2015

You guys just made my day. I learned something new (never heard of a shrimp gun) and am killing myself laughing with all of the innuendos.

Bejay · Jan 9, 2015

Jeff95531 said:
Here's a very good video on building a shrimp pump. From Home Depot to completion. Once the link opens, Scroll down to "How to Make a Ghost Shrimp Pump (Yabby Pump)" 19:57

shrimp pump - Ask.com YouTube Search

A number of: "No don't do this"

Don't need to glue the 2 inch end cap on. Leave it so you can un cap the tube and get to the end plug.

When you use the stainless bolt and nut on the small cap place some JB weld on the bolt head so it won't turn later when you want to tighten the plunger.

The main tube has no handle....it is nice to have 2 handles One to pull and one to hold onto the 2 inch tube. This requires a "T" that is a 2 inch by 1/2 PVC. This is placed at the upper end of the tube...and gives a handle to hold onto.

When you drill the 2 inch cap with the hole try to make it nice....not sloppy.

Bejay

Reed Lukens · Jan 10, 2015

I know that we all have our own opinions and I'm no different. I have used the ball style and it works but I made my own also from John Adam's design - You will probably have to hit "view all" on the old forum page.
Prospectors Cache Forum - Viewing topic #55041 - hand dredge / gold trapper

and it works great. I use pipe clamps to hold a regular car washing towel that you can buy in packages at any auto parts place or Wally world, etc. and I put it over foam rubber that I have wrapped around the pvc handle to make it seal. So in the ball style you have maybe ¼" of ball that is being used to make the seal. With mine because it is a 3" suction tube, it needs a great seal to be able to withstand the pressure of sucking an arms length worth of cobbles and water up and mine has an easy pull when empty but the seal is about 5" long. It truly is a great seal. Yes I have to check it out every other trip and make sure that it is still sealing good but man when you pull a load from the river, it takes everything you have to move this sucker full of water and material to the sluice. A lot of people laugh when they see me sitting in a chair in the river but what they are not seeing is that I am using my knees to balance the weight of the sucker when it is full. This video shows how I built mine at the end so fast forward to 27:00 and it starts around there. You can read in the listing the details on how to make the seal. If you want a great seal that can hold a lot of pressure then this is another good way to go.

YouTube screwed up everyone's .wmv videos last year and changed the aspect ratios to wide screen, I will reload it .mpeg again someday but it does work as is. I stopped making movies mostly because YouTube kept making it harder to work with them and after trying to contact them on their .wmv videos screw up and changing many of my older videos to wide screen on their own and never getting a response I was done with their style of making more work for me and I just basically stopped because it wasn't worth the hassle of putting hours into making and editing a video just to have them come back a year later and change their formats and destroy the work I had into a good video. Let alone the copyright issues that kept coming up... Someday I will reload these and start posting my new vids but they are on the back burner because my attitude towards YouTube went south when this happened...

meMiner · Jan 10, 2015

Reed. I love your setup. Only thing missing is a cold one on the cup holder and the rest of the 6 cooling in the creek. No wait, two cold ones as you have to keep your helper hydrated. ;-)

Reed Lukens · Jan 11, 2015

placergold said:
Reed. I love your setup. Only thing missing is a cold one on the cup holder and the rest of the 6 cooling in the creek. No wait, two cold ones as you have to keep your helper hydrated. ;-)

Actually the cold one's were in the cooler under the camera tripod :evil6:

ikesdad · Jan 11, 2015

Bejay said:
6 inch high "meat lug". Buy one and never have to buy another. When 1st placing in water (and empty) one can place a foot inside to hold it from drifting down current. Plus the "meat lug" fits a quad rack like a glove. And they stack, leaving a space between them for your crevice tools, gloves, etc

They make a 10 inch high one and a 6 inch high. I have both.

Bejay

What's a meat lug

Bejay · Jan 12, 2015

Meat lugs are used in meat markets to put trimmings and such in. When they grind hamburger they often place the grind in them. They are extremely made durable. Mine are probably 50 plus years old. Their size is exceptional for cleaning a sluice on a 4 inch dredge or smaller. They fit a quad rack like a glove and stack one on top of the other but leave a space for tools in between the bottoms. One can use bungies over them to hold them on a rack or fasten the hook onto the sides.

Go into any grocery store meat market and ask to see one. I suppose you could buy them on line....I got mine a long time ago out of a meat market when it closed down.

http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/upd-bb-7g.html

Bejay

The Gilded Lens · Jan 12, 2015

I used a rubber test plug for mine. So far it seems to work great!

russau · Jan 12, 2015

wow! the price for this is cheaper than for a mortor mixing tub from Home Depot and more durable.

Bejay · Jan 12, 2015

russau said:
wow! the price for this is cheaper than for a mortor mixing tub from Home Depot and more durable.

I would imagine if a vendor at one of the gold shows were to buy them in bulk for around $5.00 each they could sell them for $20.00 and no one would blink an eye. Mine are at least 50 years old.
When it comes to cleaning out a sluice they are "the cats meow". I have never been mining without a couple. But for shooting the material from your "suction gun" into a container to sluice or pan they can't be beat.
Plus when you strap one to your quad rack all kinds of stuff fits into them.

Bejay