How to Make a Homemade Shaker Table for Gold Recovery
Well now, if you’re like me and don’t got the money to go out and buy a fancy shaker table for gold recovery, don’t worry none. I’ve been thinkin’ and doin’ a bit of research, and I reckon you can make one of them shaker tables yourself at home. It ain’t too hard, and it’ll save ya a lot of money in the end. Let me tell you how you can get started on makin’ your own homemade shaker table.
Now, first thing you need to know is that shaker tables are mainly used to recover gold from rocks and ores. They help separate the gold from all the dirt and sand and stuff. The table shakes, and that helps the gold settle down and get trapped in the little riffles—those are like grooves that are carved into the table. The heavier gold stays in the riffles, and the lighter stuff gets washed away. That’s how they do it in the big mines, and you can do the same thing in your own backyard.
Step 1: Gather Your Materials
Before you get started, you need to get yourself some materials. Now, I ain’t talkin’ about anything fancy, just what you can find around the house or at your local hardware store. Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
- Wooden board for the table surface
- Some metal pieces for the riffles (you can use scrap metal)
- Rubber or some kind of soft material for the surface underneath the table
- Vibration motor or a hand crank (either one works, but the motor might be easier)
- Screws, nails, and glue for construction
- Water pump (if you wanna make a water flow system to wash the material down the table)
Once you got all this together, you’re ready to start makin’ your shaker table!
Step 2: Build the Table Base
You’re gonna need a good solid base for the table. I recommend using a sturdy wooden board for the table top. You don’t want it wobblin’ around too much, so make sure it’s level. If you don’t got a level spot, you can always use some wooden blocks to prop it up and make it flat.
Now, for the legs of the table, you can use some more wood or metal pipes if you got ‘em. Just make sure the table stands at a comfortable height for you, and that it’s sturdy enough to hold everything you’re gonna put on it. Once the base is built, you can go ahead and start workin’ on the table surface.
Step 3: Install the Riffles
The riffles are the most important part of the shaker table. These little grooves help trap the gold while letting the lighter dirt and gravel wash away. You can make the riffles from scrap metal or even some old angle iron if you’ve got it laying around. Make sure they’re spaced out evenly across the table, and screw ‘em down tight so they don’t move.
The riffles should be set at a slight slope. Some folks like a steeper slope, but from what I’ve read, a little slope works best for a homemade table. Too steep, and the gold might slide right off; too shallow, and the gold might not get trapped. Play around with it, see what works for ya.
Step 4: Add the Vibration Mechanism
Now comes the fun part—the shaking! The whole point of a shaker table is to shake the gold and dirt apart, so you need some sort of vibration to make it work. You can buy a vibration motor, or you can get creative and use something like a car’s windshield wiper motor. Attach it to the underside of the table with some brackets so it’ll shake the table back and forth. Make sure it’s sturdy, ‘cause you don’t want that motor falling off when you get it goin’!
Once you got the motor in place, you might need to fiddle with the speed of the shaking. Too fast, and it’ll just fling everything off the table; too slow, and it won’t work right. Start slow and work your way up to see what works best for the material you’re tryin’ to recover.
Step 5: Create a Water Flow System
If you want to make your homemade shaker table really work like the ones the pros use, you might want to add a water flow system. This helps wash the dirt and other material off the table while the gold gets trapped in the riffles. You can use a simple water pump to run water over the surface, or you can even use a hose if you’ve got a good pressure. Just make sure the water doesn’t wash away the gold too—keep an eye on it as you go.
Step 6: Test and Tweak
Once you got your shaker table built and all hooked up, it’s time to test it out. Start by puttin’ some gravel or dirt on the table and turnin’ on the motor. Watch how it shakes, and see if the gold starts gettin’ trapped in the riffles. If the table’s too steep or too shallow, you might need to adjust it a bit. It’ll take a little tinkerin’ to get it just right, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll be recoverin’ that gold like a pro.
Conclusión
Building a homemade shaker table for gold recovery ain’t all that hard, and it can save you a lot of money. Just be patient, use what you got around the house, and keep playin’ around with it until it works for ya. Before you know it, you’ll be recoverin’ that gold like the pros do, and all with a homemade table you made yourself. Good luck, and happy gold huntin’!
Tags:[DIY gold recovery, homemade shaker table, gold recovery, build shaker table, gold mining table, riffles table, gold shaker, gold recovery system]