Time to begin building my dredge

[jsurddy]

You dont have any youtube videos of this thing in action, do you?

 

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[njcommercialdiver]

ive run into the "minimum flotation" a couple times as my dredges "somehow" got more stuff added to them over the years untill about 3 years ago, i made a set of aluminum pontoons (out of .100 sheet)for my 4" that are built to withstand even the abuse i put them thru and it has been "extensively" tested the last couple years even dragged it thru a couple sets of rapids with my 4 wheeler to get to the next pool above it . the only maintenance was a fresh coat of "tiger stripe" camo for the new year. it also provides enough flotation to support my 5" motor and sluicebox and me standing on it

pic to show the pontoons, in this pic, they have a years abuse on them aready

pic to show the paint scheme for 2016

pic to show how it drafts running


another idea to get it out of the water a little more would be to make a second outer framework that bolts onto your existing frame to add a second set of flotation along the sides. i did that with my 3" keene with the yellow pontoons around 2009 when i made it a micro 4 with t-80 and big 3" in and out pacer pump, it was just a rectangle framework (i used the round tubing bed side rails from a kids bed that keep them from rolling out ) with a second set of pontoons that i just bungied and ratchet strapped around the existing frame and pontoons of the main dredge. ill see if i have any pics of mine. it raised the free board about 4 inches

 

[russau]

Work smarter , NOT harder! Good idea on the lift for the dredge!!

 

[njcommercialdiver]

Russau,
usually its just me and my wife so i had to come up with a way to launch and recover it without disassembling the dredge into 100 pieces and carry it up the bank.

i built the trailer and winch to get into and out of tight spots, it turns alot tighter than my quad can, so i can jackknife it a spot, theres a couple places where i dredge in NC that have 5 or 6 ft straight up banks, i can back the trailer to the edge and lower it away or pick it out

i also built it so i can tilt the trailer deck. if you look at the pic with the dredge on it, on the front, theres 2 handle pins that i can pull out and it will tilt the deck up till the back touches the ground

the deck breaks down into 2 pieces widthwise so i dont have to make room in my trailer for a 6ft by 6ft deck. the sides and toolbox come off, the next frame down comes apart from the last piece (the axles and toungue)

 

[njcommercialdiver]

i made the A frame so it would swing the dredge totally over the back of the deck to lower it vertically down the stream bank

it actually rides nicely when stowed

 

[Vance in AK]

I too really like the lift!

 

[mendoAu]

Finally got around to do something about my 5 inch nozzle. Ya gotta love welding in the rain...HA!





Picked up a couple ideas for the next one, like a better hinge. I've got another nozzle stored but needs a good sandblasting before it see's any welding. I almost didn't remember that altho yellow paint is real easy to spot underwater that those little paint chips give you a false sense of getting gold....I'll stick to black BBQ paint. Just a tip right before you use BBQ can, heat the piece with a propane torch...helps the paint to stick better and comes out with a really flat finish.

 

[blichney]

Not yet js, but this summer I'd like to make a few underwater dredge videos. There is one video on you tube where I'm shown briefly at last summers gold rush days at the swank claim in ohio. I'll see if I can post the link.
I'm @ 25:10 on the right underwater chucking cobbles.

 

[blichney]

NJ l like those pontoons and lift too awesome idea. If I had a mig with a spool gun I'd love to make them outta aluminum, the whole dredge frame too if I could afford it. I'm a big fan a light weight!

 

[blichney]

Mendoau is that a swivel nozzle you made?

 

[njcommercialdiver]

Blichney,
those pontoons are 2 1/2 spools of wire worth of weld, i think it was something like 27 or 29 ft of weld on each pontoon, as it was welded inside and out except for the top piece, which is of course only welded on top

i had a 2" round aluminum tubing dredge frame on my smaller 4 inch a couple years back, it was really light but it broke while in NC when a big tree branch fell on it during an afternoon storm 4 days before i was to come home (hit right at bottom of motor upright angle support right before it meets the pontoon), really sucked trying to jerry rig it in the water, i ended up using a round tube handle from a comealong and beating it into tubing so it covered both sides of the break and used a pair of small ratchet straps to hold it together. that really made up my mind to stay with the steel square tube, its taken 3 years of abuse and only needs a fresh coat of paint at beginning of season. it might not have broken if it was square tube but i really dont need it to be lighter since i have the trailer to lift it and it stays in the river for the 3 or 4 weeks im am down there, except maybe to move to a different spot in the river if i cant drag it with the four wheeler

we have a "scrap " yard near us that sells traded in steel, aluminum and stainless steel tubing, angle, sheet, you name it (alot of it still banded from the steel supplier) . i was there 3 weeks ago, steel was selling for 40 cents a pound and aluminum was 1.65 a pound, also got a 3ft x 6ft piece of 1/8 punchplate for classifier plates on a new high banker im building, it was 75 cents a pound, it cost me $15.00 and i will have enough for a lifetime. a couple years back, i scored a piece of the heavy woven square screen like is used on keene dredges and am still cutting pieces off it. you never know what they will have in stock


how did you do at the swank claim? is that the east or west one? ive been itching to give it a try some weekend, i passed it a couple times when my son was at college in Lima and he wants to go see some of his buddys from school, so i might have to make sure one of my dredges is packed when we go

 

[njcommercialdiver]

MendoAU,
nice idea, they only thing i would suggest on the next one is move the flap behind the bend on the straight section behind the handle, your design wont let you clear the angle area when the dredge is running if its jammed there, it will let the suction off the nozzle intake but not the angle section. a couple times, ive had to use a piece of rebar and a sledge to beat a wedged rock out of the angle area

 

[mendoAu]

Yes, it's a swivel nozzle but stock from Keene. If I built my own it would have sealed ball bearings.
I'll ponder the position of the flap but I kinda like the idea of having it close to the end. I'm thinking that this nozzle will slow the flow to fan slowly and see what is going up without having to get out and slow the engines down. With that necked down nozzle end I don't tend to plug ... more a problem with those "almost" sized round cobbles that stick like glue at the stepdown ring. If I get a plug these days I just end-for-end the hose and by reversing the flow usually unplugs everything no matter where it's jambing. I'll probably have to rethink/improve that little bungie but maybe the suction itself will be strong enough to keep it closed.

 

[blichney]

Sounds like a heck of a good deal to me! Never know what ya might find at the yard. That was the swank west claim. Never tried at the east claim yet, looks really good as lots more bigger cobbles, but access was a bit more challenging last time I checked it out. Had a lot of fun, mostly flour gold.