How to Make a Gold Sluice Box

A gold sluice box works by providing a textured surface to filter out the heavier gold and rinsing a sand mixture with water. Sluice boxes may be constructed from a variety of materials. These instructions give you the basics for a wood sluice box with rivets made from corrugated pipe, so no metalworking is required. More experience and practice will help you tweak your sluice box design to better fit your personal needs.

Things You'll Need

• Plywood, 16 inches wide by 4 feet long
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Saw
• 2, 1-by-4 boards each 4 feet long
• Wood screws
• Electric drill/screw driver
• 3-foot length of corrugated plastic drain pipe
• Bucket of dirt diggings

Instructions

1. Measure and mark 4 inches in from each side on one end of the plywood section. At the opposite end of the section, measure 8 inches down from the top. Then, make another set of marks 4 inches in from each side. Connect the marks with vertical lines using a tape measure to trace a straight line. Taper in the wide top (16 inches) to meet the narrow lines you marked at 8 inches down. Cut off the outside pieces to leave a piece of plywood 8 inches wide at one end with a taper to 16 inches wide at the top.

2. Trim 8 inches off the length of each board. Predrill holes along the long, narrow edges of the plywood 1/2 inch in from the sides. Stand a board on its 1-inch-wide edge to line along the edge of the plywood starting at the narrow end. Screw wood screws through the predrilled holes in the plywood into the edge of the board. Repeat with a board on the other side.

3. Cut through one side of the corrugated pipe down the length. Unroll the pipe to form a piece of corrugated plastic. Lay the plastic on the narrow section of the wooden trough stopping at the flared section. Screw along the edges, top and bottom of the plastic to secure it to the wood.

4. Place the gold sluice box at an angle on the river or lake bank with the widest portion at the top. You may have to mold dirt and sand to support the sluice trough at a better angle. Place your bucket of dirt diggings at the top of the gold sluice box. Shovel a small amount of dirt into the widest part of the sluice. Pour water into the widest part and let it carry the dirt down and over the corrugated pipe.

5. Continue pouring water into the sluice and adding more dirt. The water will carry the lighter dirt and minerals down the pipe back into the river. The heavier gold will be trapped in the rivets in the pipe. For the best results, remove the sludge in the rivets and pan it to further separate the gold from other heavy minerals and particles.

Tips & Warnings

• The wood frame will soak up the water as you use it, so it will be heavier after sluicing than it was dry.