sorry guys excuse my ignorance but how do they work, i think i get the concept, put the gravels in, swing up and down on the handle and water separates the goods?
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DIY Willoughby
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Moneybox said:
Yeah but iv got a few projects in the works first... I need this concept for a spot we go searching for crystals in tailing piles would smash through product!
Great build! I really enjoy home projects'
jamie said:
Yep spot on gets rid of anything worthless when chasing gems and saves your back heaps!!!
that is pretty clever, even tho i still think i would look at them and think old river worn broken glass and throw them over the shoulder, i am hopeless like that
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
If you are well practised and know what you are doing you can work the sieve to bring all the gemstones to the centre. The technique takes a bit of getting used to but for me my coordination is lousy so I have difficulty getting it to rotate and jiggle up and down at the same time. Sometimes I get it sometimes I dont.
The willoughby does away with the problem. Gently jiggling it up and down on the surface of the water does the same thing. The heavies end up in the middle at the bottom and that makes sorting your gemstones easy. Just flip the sieve over and this is what you hope to see.
The willoughby does away with the problem. Gently jiggling it up and down on the surface of the water does the same thing. The heavies end up in the middle at the bottom and that makes sorting your gemstones easy. Just flip the sieve over and this is what you hope to see.
I use the same method when checking my sieved concentrates for specimen gold. Great trying to flip it over without disturbing the sort
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
We gave the willoughby a quick shake this afternoon on a little gravel from the Brunswick river.
We know there's no gold or gemstones here but the test showed the ironstone centred when the sieve is inverted.
We know there's no gold or gemstones here but the test showed the ironstone centred when the sieve is inverted.
i dont think i would know what i am looking for with gems or where to find them but i think i am going to have a go at making a willougby because i like making things, cheers for the inspiration guys
awesome thanks guys gunna knock one of these up before my next trip to glen innes.
made an aluminium one myself today. not sure if the spring is strong enough but it was the biggest bunnings had. might need one from a trampoline.
Awesome. Mate i have a box of trampoline springs somewhere if i can find them ill pop one in the post for you
Nice work 
I might have to hit the shed and upgrade now all these works of art are being produced.
Spring looks fine to me. I used some lighter guage springs recently and it worked fine. I am guessing a larger spring would help move the heavies to the centre as it would tend to snap up at the bottom of the stroke more effectively
Looking forward to see a photo of those shiny stones it produces. 8)
I might have to hit the shed and upgrade now all these works of art are being produced.Spring looks fine to me. I used some lighter guage springs recently and it worked fine. I am guessing a larger spring would help move the heavies to the centre as it would tend to snap up at the bottom of the stroke more effectively
Looking forward to see a photo of those shiny stones it produces. 8)
Is there such a thing as a multi tier / mesh willoughby?
It sort of already is AR, the seives fit into each other, could add a larger 1/2" seive if you wanted to I reckon, or were you thinking something else entirely?
Along the lines as similar design. Just wondering how well it would work. Will make my own too
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Greetings from the US. I'm looking into building something close to a Willoughby to use in finding diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas. The Willoughby technique is very close to what I do with my classifying screens and saruca. One thing I haven't seen described so far is how strong the spring should be. Does it support the whole weight of the screen and gravel, or just assist? Or does it work okay either way. One other thing I haven't seen described is what happens during the washing. Does the arm hit a hard stop at either the bottom or top of movement, or is it a soft stop wherever the person running it decides to go the other way? This inquiring mind would like to know a bit more about the specifics before I take a day to build something, and then a day and a half to drive to where I'll use it.
I saw someone say they have problems flipping the gravel. If you watch one of the youtube videos about using a saruca (including mine) you'll see how we've learned to flip the screen so the gravel doesn't get thrown all over the place. It's a simple technique and gives good results once you try it.
Best of luck to all, and please share any info you can about the spring and the movement.
Thank you.
I saw someone say they have problems flipping the gravel. If you watch one of the youtube videos about using a saruca (including mine) you'll see how we've learned to flip the screen so the gravel doesn't get thrown all over the place. It's a simple technique and gives good results once you try it.
Best of luck to all, and please share any info you can about the spring and the movement.
Thank you.
Welcome to the forum Mr Bob, hopefully one of our experience willoughby users/makers can help you out. :Y:
try this.. https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/175/1422448133_buildingwilloughby.pdf
the willoughbys i have used are very similar to the link, it didnt have a hard stop you just wash as deep/shallow as you like using your arm as the stop, the spring also had enough tension to hold the screen just out of the water when full with gravel but not enough tension to where it was difficult to work the arm, when we chose the spring we bought about 5 different springs from the hardware and tested them out at home and returned the ones that didnt work. it would depend on the size of the seive, the length of the arm etc and would likely need to be trial and error for your exact setup.
good luck with it, i would love to see it when your finished.
Cheers,
the willoughbys i have used are very similar to the link, it didnt have a hard stop you just wash as deep/shallow as you like using your arm as the stop, the spring also had enough tension to hold the screen just out of the water when full with gravel but not enough tension to where it was difficult to work the arm, when we chose the spring we bought about 5 different springs from the hardware and tested them out at home and returned the ones that didnt work. it would depend on the size of the seive, the length of the arm etc and would likely need to be trial and error for your exact setup.
good luck with it, i would love to see it when your finished.
Cheers,
