How to Build a Portable Sluice
Panning for gold---sifting water beds in search of gold nuggets---is a fun old-fashioned pastime. In addition to being a relaxing way to spend an afternoon, panning can be a financially rewarding endeavor. Building your own sluice is a cheap alternative to purchasing a commercial one, and an easy craft to complete.
Things You'll Need
- Saw
- Wood beam, 6 feet long by 4 inches wide by 1 inch tall
- Wood plank, 38 inches long by 12 inches wide by 1 inch tall
- Nails
- Hammer
- Ribbed matting, 12 inches wide by 18 inches long
- Gator glue
Instructions
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1
Cut the wood down to size. Cut the beam in half to make two 3-foot-long pieces. Cut the plank into two pieces: a 3-foot-long section and a 2-inch-long section.
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2
Glue the ribbed matting to the top of the 3-foot-long plank, starting at one end so that the matting covers half the surface.
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3
Create the riffles. Riffles are the parallel grooves that will catch the gold as you feed silt through the sluice. These grooves should extend across the full width of the plank. Approximately 2 inches from the end of the rubber matting, make a 1/2-inch-deep, 1/4-inch-wide groove. Make a larger groove---1/2-inch deep and 1-inch wide---approximately 2 inches in from the end of the plank not covered with the matting.
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4
Between these two grooves, cut three or four more riffles in the plank. All grooves should be 1/2-inch deep; they should gradually grow in width from the 1/4-inch groove to the 1-inch groove.
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5
Place the plank on a flat surface, matting and riffles facing up. Nail the beams to the long sides of the plank so that the 4-inch sides of the beams extend above the grooves and matting.
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6
To create a handle for your sluice, nail the leftover 2-inch-long piece of plank between the side beams. Measure roughly 1 foot in from one end of the plank and nail the handle to the top of the 4-inch sides.
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