Dryblower riffle tray Fabric???

[Wazza78]

Ran about 100litres dirt today (about rubbish bin type size) but still managed to get 10 or so table spoons of dirt into the bellows. I used reeds keene replacement cloth which has a very fine mesh so not sure what else might stop the fines. Maybe im just unlucky!

Cheers waz

 

[Moneybox]

Ran about 100litres dirt today (about rubbish bin type size) but still managed to get 10 or so table spoons of dirt into the bellows. I used reeds keene replacement cloth which has a very fine mesh so not sure what else might stop the fines. Maybe im just unlucky!

Cheers waz

Wazza, if you're using a bellows type to supply the air you need to have a reid valve to prevent the bellows sucking dust back through the mesh.

 

[Wazza78]

Hi moneybox.

I should probably explain my setup........

I have an old gold wizard dryblower. GCAUSE poster pics of one he was restoring years ago. Night jar has been helping me on this too.

I have come to believe the gold wizard is unique is has a lower bellows chamber and then an upper air chamber then the riffle box is clipped on top. It had a lower air hole with an internal peg wood flap to draw air. Then it had 5 holes cut through the upper riffle line of the upper chamber again with a peg wood flap on the inside. So basically you would hear a flap flap noise with each up and down stroke of the leather bellows (bottom flap closes pushes air up...then top flap closes and bottom one draws air in).

However between either the non breathable cloth and/or this air system there was hardly any air coming out above any riffles.

So i made the following mods

* removed upper air chamber flap and drilled more rows of round holes in line with each riffle.

* rebuilt tray (rotted) and added new keens cloth.

I havr tried a few cloths (muslin, reeds) and they all draw some fines into the upper air chamber and some of it falls through to the bellows chamber which is a cow to remove (vacuum). The reeds cloth generates significantly less dirt.

Nightjar suggested the bottom air flap may need a mod too now but its almost impossible to get at because of the upper chamber board.

Given my cloth cant get much finer than reeds i need to look at the valve or air flap now? Obviously removing the top flap and drilling more holes has altered the system but it does actually work beautifully now in that above each riffle the air comes through beautifully and i am finding gold of all sizes!

My worry is after 30 mins of dryblowing in the bush she will be full!

I am thinking maybe i could put light rubber flaps over the upper chamber holes maybe? Which would be a better seal for the bellows chamber and would stop air falling in? Again Nightjar thought this

Cheers guys help needed!

C

 

[Nightjar]

Waz,
Email me the size and how many holes you have in the top layer (board below riffle box) and I'll cut out some rubber insert flaps for you to stop the fines dropping into the bellows below.
Looks like you still have some work to do to find the real bellows type dry blower cloth. (Had my doubts with the Reeds cloth which is for Keene's constant air which is designed to have fines/gold drop through the cloth???)

I realise it would be a pain, but maybe you should silastic the holes in the original cloth and refit, then you would see how your Wizard should work. (Minimal to no dust/fines dropping through the cloth.)

Cheers
Peter

 

[G0lddigg@]

hey Waz here's the photos i promised, this material has been sitting outside in the rain and heat behind my shed in QLD for two years and the fabric is still nice and tight, that what i found is important in a fabric you don't want it sagging and getting clumpy when it gets wet, this way you can hose it down and let it dry to make it last alot longer. hopefully the last photo shows how the open weave is breathing.
the riffles were all experimental variants,hope this helps mate. keep us in the loop

 

[malri_au]

the fact it deals with weathering UV is a bonus for sure,cheers for posting that up,you said there was like 10 different ones though?

heck of a lot cheaper at spotlight? :Y:

 

[G0lddigg@]

yeah i dont have photos of the 10, most of them ended up in the bags or rags in my mrs sowing box. that blue cloth was the best, before that i used the more similar cloth which did sag and had to be pulled from the hiding i gave it this blue cloth is rock solid its what i would use again

 

[malri_au]

The UV factor has me interested,coz most stuff falls apart! :Y:

 

[G0lddigg@]

for sure thats why i recommend a synthetic blend, I've seen this cloth type used on the back of photos to preserve them it seems to last a long time. plus i liked this colour it reminded me of the tattered eureka flag

 

[limpalot]

Have a look at , www billandlindaprospecting.com/folding-DWhtml ; has plans for a machine.

 

[Keitzy]

I used old bond singlets for mine .. worked a treat.

 

[G0lddigg@]

aussie ingenuity right there

 

[Wazza78]

Hi all. I managed to get things working well with my old gold wizard. Much thanks to nightjar too.

Basically the old girl needed correctly weighted flaps in the upper chamber to pressurise the bellows downstroke....plus it seems this machine needs a heavy tight weave riffle cloth which is what it came with originally. This again must help pressurise on the downstroke better.

I had a successful match at spotlight being remo weather proof canvas works a beauty.

The keenes cloth in my machine was obviously not tight weaved enough for my air system.

Cheers wazza

 

[malri_au]

aussie ingenuity right there

mine wasn't bonds so I get's no love.

 

[Nightjar]

Hi Wazza,
Happy to see you have your "old girl" up and running and making dust off the riffles and not being sucked into the lower chamber.
Good find locating the Spotlight canvas, going to get a sheet to renew my 12V bellows dry blower riffle screen.

 

[Nightjar]

Hi Golddig,
Your cloth looks very course you must have had a lot of fines fall through (Wazzas problem) if you blower is the bellows type. Looking forward to seeing how his goes with the canvas he found at Spotlight.

 

[warbler21]

hey guys very late on here ,but for the next people was just reading another fourm and they were saying ...sunberella fabric perfect: as it has good tensile and is uv protected ..peace out n happy hunting

 

[Dave63]

I used 100 mesh screen print material from a craft shop. Works very well and strong. Stop a lot of the dust falling into the main box to. Even caught mercury in mine, not that you want that!