DIY Gold Rat sluice clones

[auriphile]

I have a 6" Gold Rat river sluice that I like so much I copied it.

Materials:- Scrap aluminium angle, scrap plywood, Linseed oil, screws, rivets, co-polymer silicone (or liquid nails)
Note: I used Dream mats, the only bit I fabricated was the actual sluice boxes. Many coats of linseed oil were needed - allow a day or two between coats for it to polymerize (harden - it doesn't "dry"). I haven't fitted the bolts and wingnuts to the 12" sluice yet. The bar that holds the mats down was made from sections of aluminium I cut from the scrap angle and bent up in the vise. The heads of the bolts that secure the mat bar protrude from the bottom of the sluice just like the bought version - I could have countersunk them but I use them for my recirculating sluice rig.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Apropos of little - that's my driveway, not a creek bed. It's from an old creek workings nearby!

 

[Mackka]

Nice. Linseed oil dries with the addition of Terebene and turps. It will go black with mould if left damp. Cheers

 

[auriphile]

Nice. Linseed oil dries with the addition of Terebene and turps. It will go black with mould if left damp. Cheers

Yeah nah (pedantic chemist). It doesn't "dry" - it "polymerises" (like sunflower oil in a cast iron frypan). It's not hard to test - it weighs the same when the oil is applied as it does several days later. (fuller explanation further down)
There's two basic types:- raw linseed oil, and "boiled" linseed oil (some are boiled, others have accelerants like Terbine added instead). Raw linseed is best, but it requires a long time between coats to polymerise. Put it on warm wood, wait until it soaks in, wipe it dry, leave it in the sun for a few days before the next coat. Boiled Linseed oil has additives - some much more toxic than what currently constitutes Terbine (which the result of mixing sulphuric acid and turps with a few alkaline metals). Fortunately Lead Naphthanate is no longer a standard additive. Boiled linseed polymerises fast. So fast it starts fires when people leave cloth soaked in it to polymerise (it's an exothermic reaction).

I've never seen it mould, but I don't leave things treated with it underwater when not in use. I've been using it for decades to protect timber and steel. My shovel is retreated with it every year and has never rusted.

Beeswax and tree turps with a little lemon oil would work too - but I'm cheap So would polyurethane - but that's toxic as hell. Cheers.

More detail: Linseed oil is a mixture of different fatty acids - mainly double and triple saturated linoleic acids. In the presence of oxygen α-linolenic acid polymerises (autoxidizes). It's what used to be the binder in paint before petrochemicals. Pure linseed oil tends to penetrate further, and polymerises slower (at a lower temperature).

 

[sand surfer]

blacksmith's nightmare
treat some steel with boiled linseed oil ,throw the rag in the corner ,no shop in the morning it has burnt down over night
boiled linseed oil is highly combustible

 

[auriphile]

blacksmith's nightmare
treat some steel with boiled linseed oil ,throw the rag in the corner ,no shop in the morning it has burnt down over night
boiled linseed oil is highly combustible

You want the boiled linseed oil for that, gets hot fast as it polymerises (raw linseed oil should be treated with respect too). I either spread the rag over a bit of metal to spread the heat - or wrap it in a wet rag and throw it in a metal bin where it won't matter if it does get too hot. My father was an insurance investigator - he had a manual for investigating fires and it mentioned boiled linseed oil soaked into cotton wadding (mattress) as an arsonist's trick.

 

[Moneybox]

I have a 6" Gold Rat river sluice that I like so much I copied it.

Materials:- Scrap aluminium angle, scrap plywood, Linseed oil, screws, rivets, co-polymer silicone (or liquid nails)
Note: I used Dream mats, the only bit I fabricated was the actual sluice boxes. Many coats of linseed oil were needed - allow a day or two between coats for it to polymerize (harden - it doesn't "dry"). I haven't fitted the bolts and wingnuts to the 12" sluice yet. The bar that holds the mats down was made from sections of aluminium I cut from the scrap angle and bent up in the vise. The heads of the bolts that secure the mat bar protrude from the bottom of the sluice just like the bought version - I could have countersunk them but I use them for my recirculating sluice rig.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Apropos of little - that's my driveway, not a creek bed. It's from an old creek workings nearby!

I like your work, plywood is very light and durable.