2021....

[nucopia]

Great news !
Lets hope this settle and get back to normal in a few weeks :heart:

 

[Dihusky]

Wonderful news Phil, please PM me with your address and I'll get things organised, don't worry about postage, just happy to provide something to keep Sandra occupied and challenged while she is recuperating.

 

[Nirvanadirt]

Great news!! Folks that are country tough are just that TOUGH!!!

 

[Moneybox]

Mrs M couldn't avoid a quick look for some relics while in Meekatharra.

She only lasted about 20 minutes but she found an unbroken glass stopper so was happy to head for home. I didn't get any work done that day. A drive to Meekatharra and back is enough for one day.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and got started on the riffles. I've been putting this job off for weeks partly because it's not easy and secondly because I'm unsure about the layout but it's done now.

I folded the trays out of 2mm aluminium so that part was easy but cutting the holes was tiresome. I started using my son's plasma cutter but it was just a messy cut and difficult to clean up. I ended cutting them all out with the 5" grinder and 0.8mm cut-off discs.

The next job is to sandwich the cloth between the riffles and the tray. I'm just pondering over what sealant to use because I want to be able to disassemble it if I have to change the cloth for any reason. I wanted to use straight silicone but when I checked there's not enough left. I have some urethane sealant but I doubt it will ever come apart again. I have some foam tape but perhaps not enough for the whole job. I think I'll settle on the thick polymer paint I used lining the pond. It'll seal well and it's water soluble so easier to clean up if I get some on the cloth.

I'm a bit concerned that it's a bit too open weave for a bellows type drywasher but I've got it now and it's all I've got so we'll soon know if it works

 

[Nightjar]

Hope Mrs M is continuing to recover MB?
Once again you are to be congratulated on your build.
Looking at your latest build it does appear the weave is much too open.
See you have a roll of the cloth, if this doesn't work OK double/triple the layers rather than waste what you have.

Another suggestion to prolong cloth life is to fit a layer of mesh under the cloth (flywire) to absorb some of the dirt load.

Sealant - there is a one sided stick on strip (good old Bunnings) that lasts for yonks.

 

[Moneybox]

Hope Mrs M is continuing to recover MB?
Once again you are to be congratulated on your build.
Looking at your latest build it does appear the weave is much too open.
See you have a roll of the cloth, if this doesn't work OK double/triple the layers rather than waste what you have.

Another suggestion to prolong cloth life is to fit a layer of mesh under the cloth (flywire) to absorb some of the dirt load.

Sealant - there is a one sided stick on strip (good old Bunnings) that lasts for yonks.

Mrs M bounces back very quickly although any injury takes time. She's getting her exercise in front of the Big Bash tonight, well verbal exercise anyway

The cloth is very open but I have an extra set of one-way valves in the airflow. I have the rubber flaps to get air into the bellows and another set on the output under the riffle trays to prevent return airflow. That should allow me a bit wider weave but we won't know until it gets out there.

I worked my but off today. The weather was a bit better and this part of the job I could do in the shed.

They are all done now so there's not going to be any change before testing

 

[Tathradj]

The mesh if needed is the one used on flyscreens to stop your cat or dog from
wrecking it when they scratch to get out.

I put some on our doors 20 years ago and it was still going strong like new when
we left.

Bit exxy but it is tough stuff.

Used to be called Paw Gaurd.

 

[Moneybox]

The mesh if needed is the one used on flyscreens to stop your cat or dog from
wrecking it when they scratch to get out.

I put some on our doors 20 years ago and it was still going strong like new when
we left.

Bit exxy but it is tough stuff.

Used to be called Paw Gaurd.

If I don't find any gold I'll need poor guard :lol:

 

[Tathradj]

:lol: :lol:

 

[Moneybox]

I put these flaps on this morning. They are above the bellows and below the riffles. Hopefully they will prevent backflow through the cloth. These are not present on puffers like the Keens.

 

[Nightjar]

MB,
You maybe onto a winner with this idea of blocking air from the riffles when the bellows take a breath. Have never seen it used before, look forward to results.
Sure save having to vacuum the bellows chamber if cloth lets fines through.

Cheers Peter

 

[Jaros]

AM i right you are not using plans for this construction.??

 

[Moneybox]

AM i right you are not using plans for this construction.??

Plans, aren't they for building houses?

No but I've been ducking out and looking at other machines. Mine's different in many ways just because I think I can make some improvements where others seem to have troubles but I'm flying blind without prior experience with dryblowers. We have a little Keens puffer but there's very little to compare to a full sized machine.

I started out by measuring the frame and bin on a working machine. When I sketched it out in CAD I made some changes just to use full sheets and full lengths of sheets of steel. Then I just used my drawing as a guide, mainly to keep the angle of the classifier and the angle of the riffles similar to the working machine. They used a Subaru diff and drive shaft, I did the same (reversed) but all the rest of my mechanical fittings are different. They used an electric motor, reduction box and chain drive with rockers to operate most things. I used a Honda 10hp (actually 8.5hp) with electric start and a 6:1 reduction and belt drive to spindles and crank shafts. I have a lot less moving parts.

I've made the conveyor belt sliding on HDPE instead of running on rollers. This was a cost cutting exercise but should also reduce maintenance. Time will tell if I've stuffed up on all the changes but I don't know enough about this game to be sure or even confident that all will work as well as I'd like it to.

I used a smaller classifier mesh because most of the gold left here is very fine and I think it will flow better without the stones going down the riffles. The guys that have seen it both said I've gone too small in the mesh and a 2g nugget will be discarded. I asked how many 2g nuggets they get and they both said they rarely see one so moot point I think

 

[Mackka]

I think this is without a doubt the best adventure on the entire forum. Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Moneybox.
Cant wait for the next instalment.
Mackka

 

[goody2shoes]

Agree with Mackka :Y:

 

[Nightjar]

And another here.
BTW, MB did Mrs M break her right clavicle now or in the past, looks to be distorted?

 

[Stingray]

I am not sure of the relative size and position of things, but if the new flaps you just put on can hit the bottom of the cloth where the gaps are, the sandwiching effect when it is loaded with dirt at the top and hit from below with the flap might cause some additional abrasion of the cloth at those spots.

 

[Moneybox]

I am not sure of the relative size and position of things, but if the new flaps you just put on can hit the bottom of the cloth where the gaps are, the sandwiching effect when it is loaded with dirt at the top and hit from below with the flap might cause some additional abrasion of the cloth at those spots.

There's a small chamber that sits in there creating space. You'll see it turn up shortly. I've made them up but have to add some corners so that the draft seal pinch mould rubber goes around the corners without flattening out. We've just bolted in the eight tiny 8mm flange mounted bearings that the bellows swing off. The other guys are using house door hinges and piano hinge but they are not designed for three cycles a second and soon fall apart.

 

[Moneybox]

And another here.
BTW, MB did Mrs M break her right clavicle now or in the past, looks to be distorted?

Rolled the car 6 times ending on the railway line at Eneabba sometime back about 1977. It was already set in the wrong place by the time she got medical assistance. Just one of those crazy things we did when we were young and are still paying for

 

[Jaros]

AM i right you are not using plans for this construction.??

Plans, aren't they for building houses?

No but I've been ducking out and looking at other machines. Mine's different in many ways just because I think I can make some improvements where others seem to have troubles but I'm flying blind without prior experience with dryblowers. We have a little Keens puffer but there's very little to compare to a full sized machine.

I started out by measuring the frame and bin on a working machine. When I sketched it out in CAD I made some changes just to use full sheets and full lengths of sheets of steel. Then I just used my drawing as a guide, mainly to keep the angle of the classifier and the angle of the riffles similar to the working machine. They used a Subaru diff and drive shaft, I did the same (reversed) but all the rest of my mechanical fittings are different. They used an electric motor, reduction box and chain drive with rockers to operate most things. I used a Honda 10hp (actually 8.5hp) with electric start and a 6:1 reduction and belt drive to spindles and crank shafts. I have a lot less moving parts.

I've made the conveyor belt sliding on HDPE instead of running on rollers. This was a cost cutting exercise but should also reduce maintenance. Time will tell if I've stuffed up on all the changes but I don't know enough about this game to be sure or even confident that all will work as well as I'd like it to.

I used a smaller classifier mesh because most of the gold left here is very fine and I think it will flow better without the stones going down the riffles. The guys that have seen it both said I've gone too small in the mesh and a 2g nugget will be discarded. I asked how many 2g nuggets they get and they both said they rarely see one so moot point I think

I just vaguely remember somewhere in 190 odd posts you were'nt using plans--well done.