frank c Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 My quest for the flattest riffle tray angle has brought me to a new prototype I will be testing at the basin this weekend.The best estimate I can make is this is just about 77 degrees off level. Thats darn flat !!A quality muslin is used on the tray and the bellows is durable urethane coated packcloth.A new design bellows system has been incorporated. Alot of UMPH is needed to move material at this angle without any power assist.Another addition is the wings on each side of the hopper to direct material when thrown from a distance.Heres a couple pics notice the angle on the riffle tray compared to the table top its sitting on the table is level.I'll catch up with this post after the trials this weekend.If this works I doubt anything of value will get over the trays end.Ol Jennie dawg is sniffin fer gold !!!Hapy Huntn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Frank, that is a very nice looking drywasher! Anxious to hear how it works out. Why are the riffle trays so short? I've noticed this on most drywashers, is it a weight thing?( No disrespect intended, just ignorance) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank c Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Greetings Dave, the tray is about 19 inches long and about 12 wide.In the puffer world of drywashers I have seen long and "short" trays.In reality I believe length is not an issue, recovery is.So what I'm saying is if the overall design and dimentions of all parts involved in the whole unit are good and work with each other you will find the recovery of most all "pickers" and nuggets fed into it will appear within the first 2 riffles and fines or flour in the whole tray.ADD the fact that the flatter the tray is sitting the more it will catch and retain.Removing the riffle tray and exposing the bellows compartment will reveal the "micron" gold that falls or passes thru the weave of the cloth mixed in with all the fine dust in the compartment.In wet recovery systems the longer the tray I believe the better the overall recovery because of the relentless constant pushing force of the water.But again design and setup are crucial especially with water powered systems the water power can work for or against you depending on all the variables of design and set up.In the powered drywashers that incorporate blower motors a longer tray is beneficial also with the constant air force created.The tray pictured is the same dimentions as the 1930's hand crank puffer I modeled it after and that machine didn't miss a trick.This is the way I understand the difference in lengths for units appears to be hope that helps.I'm no expert I'm learning all the time believe me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I'm new to drywashing, while i've been aware of it for a while, just not much call for it up here in AK. Everything is soggy! But my woman is finishing school in Prescott starting this fall, so i'm looking for ways to still prospect while there! Thanks for your answer, I had not considered the constant flow of water being a factor in length. I've been thinking of building my own( I do a bit of cabinet work on the side) but after doing a little research, I'll buy one from you! So many variations. Doubt i'll be able to bring enough tooling to do it anyway. Like I said in my previous post, beautiful work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps43 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Frank, is that a wiper motor pumping your bellows? Do you get enough rpm's at 12V or do you have to up the voltage to spin the motor faster?Gramps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DolanDave Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Frank, You sure do a great job on those dry washers !!!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawmill Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Frank One more addition and you wouldhave Grandpa Old Yeller.My tray runs at the same angle andis a little larger. The bellows onmine is bigger than Jim's was andhas a longer stroke. Mine has a pendulum angle finder on it with a mark for leveling. Itwas set by the builder,and he sureknew what he was doing. Now that you have found out thesecret,I must give you the warning. When you haul it you have to takethe riffle tray and put it in a box. If you don't,it will suck all thegold out of the borrow ditches onthe way home. Then you have to work all night panning cons. :yuk-yuk: :yuk-yuk: Well maybe not,but it will darn sure get the job done. :inocent: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilmore Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 They say your gold should stay behind the first three riffles..so if you have 5 riffles total why would it need to be longer ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank c Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Frank, is that a wiper motor pumping your bellows? Do you get enough rpm's at 12V or do you have to up the voltage to spin the motor faster?Gramps Gramps, As far as I know I haven't seen one of these in use for a wiper, not that it couldn't be in some auto somewhere.The original design of this was for a heavier application.It runs at a constant 150 RPM'sDraws 3.5 ampsI run them at 12 volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedrock Bob Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Mine has a pendulum angle finder on it with a mark for leveling. Itwas set by the builder,and he sureknew what he was doing. That is interesting. I have the same thing on my drywashers. I set them on a perfectly level floor and hang a plumb bob from a screw eye on the front of the hopper to get a reference mark. It tells you the angle of the creek bed, the angle of the table, and also keeps things from shifting from side to side. I had never seen this on any drywasher and thought I had invented something new.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank c Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 I had installed a couple of those for people that wanted them.A good quick reference when setting up to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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