sifting screens?

if you use one, please post some pics/descriptions.

That is a great topic. If you post that subject in the fossil forum you should get many to respond. Thanks, rock
 

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Here it is. You'll need pool floaties, a hoola hoop, wire, a rubber hose, duct tape, maybe a plastic stake, and 1/2" steel screen. Use the hoola hoop inside the floaties to make a frame, (you can make it as large as you like) and then cut screen to lap over floaties. Tie the custom cut screen around the floaties with wire (I also used an old rubber hose split to cover the pointy, sharp wire edges). I saw this design on arrowheadology a guy out in texas was using. After you put it into a deep enough area in flowing water and anchor it so that it stays put, it floats and you can shovel in gravel/sand bars and the flow of water quickly removes all small stuff and you're left hopefully with something nice occasionly. There are many others on this forum that have much more experience and success with creek/river searching who probably use something much better. You need to know the laws in your state. I think they differ from state to state. The creek I search runs through the middle of my property.
 

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To dark to go outside and gather them up for photos, but I have all types from a wooden frame of 2x2 wood stock 1ft sq. to a 5gal bucket with a screen for a bottom. The bucket works well in water all you have to do is place a inner tube for a kids bike around it and it floats and the wire is bolted to the bottom. Use your head and think out of the box and you will find one that works for you and your type of hunting. I am working on building me a large rocking type screen for moving a lot of dirt.
 

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Here it is. You'll need pool floaties, a hoola hoop, wire, a rubber hose, duct tape, maybe a plastic stake, and 1/2" steel screen. Use the hoola hoop inside the floaties to make a frame, (you can make it as large as you like) and then cut screen to lap over floaties. Tie the custom cut screen around the floaties with wire (I also used an old rubber hose split to cover the pointy, sharp wire edges). I saw this design on arrowheadology a guy out in texas was using. After you put it into a deep enough area in flowing water and anchor it so that it stays put, it floats and you can shovel in gravel/sand bars and the flow of water quickly removes all small stuff and you're left hopefully with something nice occasionly. There are many others on this forum that have much more experience and success with creek/river searching who probably use something much better. You need to know the laws in your state. I think they differ from state to state. The creek I search runs through the middle of my property.

You can also make your frame out of PVC pipe, glue it together and it floats.
 

Do you all remember the guy in Texas that had the large shaker on a trailer and filled it with a loader? Big red or something like that. In the link I posted is a river or creek bucket sifter Monster Rack. The tri pod shaker sifters are nice if you do not have to haul them far. Archeology supply will give you a good idea how they are made. Sifters come and go over the years :) I have abandoned many at old sites thinking I would go back and never did.
 

I have a home made sifter I use in the water when I go metal detecting, but would like to have some ideas or plans for a light weight tripod to use with my sifter on land. After seeing a small sifter Charles Garrett was using in one of his books, I'd like to make one up with different size screens and something to hold them in place and remove easily like a wing nut or something. The one he was using was on land and looked very light in weight. Probably back packed it in and I wonder if you could put some curved bottom rails and rock it back and forth instead of lugging a tripod around. The guy who wrote the urban treasure hunter book had a nice sifter detail you could build.
 

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