A modified DFS sluice for cleanup work, Buck's modded sluice Options

[kgphoto]

Hey what about us loyal customers that bought your first one. Don't we get an opportunity to upgrade?

Narrowing the width down to clean up your cons when you do not have sufficient water volume is a legit use if the DFS. The speed of the water is irrelevant except for keeping the waste material moving and out of the unit. It's the speed of the heavy material that is slowed down while in contact with the slick plate that is most important. The flow must simply strip the material in layers according to specific gravity, leaving the heavies for last which will then get caught in the trap zone(s).

I built a smaller mini-DFS for myself that runs on one 700 GPM Walmart pump to process my cons. Works so darn well, I've never been able to pan a single fine from the tailings.

And yes, DFS stand for Damn Fine Sluice, because when you use it, you're constantly saying look at all those damn fines I was always missing before! I used to stand in my driveway saying just that, and when it came time to name the unit, I knew the internet filters (back then) would have some objection to the use of the word Damn, so I named it DFS instead.

I've since designed a better unit, but unlike the last one which everyone in the world is ripping off design wise. I'm not saying a darn thing except it works even better than the original and captures larger gold also with never a spec or nugget found in the tailings.

Phil

[russau]

i dont beleive Phil has these in production yet. but when it is, itll be a good one!

[Phil(NM)]

i dont beleive Phil has these in production yet. but when it is, itll be a good one!

Thanks Russ....
As far as upgrading the old one, sorry. You bought that unit from Alan who has since ripped me off big time. Doesn't make sense to upgrade something I didn't sell.
and even if I did, it would cost just as much to upgrade as to buy a new one by the time all the extra shipping, etc was done.
If I can find a metal shop that doesn't want to rip off my arm and leg for the parts I need made, I'll put them on the market. If greed keeps dominating the market, then IMHO, that makes the price way too high to sell them, and I won't do that. Aluminum has gone wayyyyyyy up. Steel has gone wayyyyyyy up. The matting has gone wayyyyyy up. Those 3 alone will raise the price to what I fell is too much for a fine gold sluice.
The "new" XXX (tm pending) will not only keep all the fine gold as efficiently as before, It will raise the bar on what sizes it captures. I'll be putting in my special traps and etc which so far have never failed to catch lead nuggets up to 3/4 ounce. Not bad for a design intended for use only in fine gold areas. basically what I've done is improve the unit for those once in a million occasions where a rare nugget, small or otherwise, comes out of a fine gold area.
In tests run shoveling actual river bed material where the gold is lighter than the black sands due to being pounded flat by traveling miles of the river, it even kept a small 1-1/2 inch steel toy cap gun some kid must have lost many years ago. It was very corroded and beat up, but the unit kept it!
I just don't get out much any more to be able to make it much better than that. maybe I should just sell the design for $20K to some existing manufacturer instead.

Phil

[Phil(NM)]

[yes the narrower the sluice. the less material you can feed and you need to feed slower also. has this cleared up my muddy interpratation??

Actually, in a real DFS, not a copy, variation, or knockoff, that doesn't ring true as it does with old school sluices. If you slow down the water, you clog the sluice and end up no better than a conventional sluice whose riffles are usually always packed and clogged. Yes there is a point where you have overoladed the unit and the material takes forever to process, the gold never hits the slick plate, etc... but what miner in his right mind (other than a newbie who hasn;t learned squat yet) would do that.
The directions I wrote up that were supposed to go out with every sluice apply whether you narrow it down, use a bigger shovel, smaller shovel, cons or raw river bed gravels.
1. place your material at the head of the slick plate unit, not the center. This give the gold the optimal chance to hit the slick plate and get caught.
2. NEVER add more material till the last load has completely cleared the end of the sluice.
3. Adjust your water flow so that the material takes a 5 Mississippi (minimum) count to completely clear.
4. If you ever get so much cons that the black sands are making the moss hard to see, stop and allow the water a few minutes to clean and concentrate what the unit has collected. The gold will sink the lighter black sands will wash out, and the unit will be back at maximum efficiency again. You should be able to see at least 1/2 way into the moss.
5. The only way to clog the unit to zero efficiency is to have so darn much gold trapped in the moss that the bottom turns yellow. If that happens, email me.... I'll be there to help you lift it up! I've only ever seen a sluice clogged with fine gold once in my life.... and that was a sight, for sure!
These rules are also going to apply to the new unit, if it ever hits the market....

This post has been edited by Phil(NM): Aug 29 2009, 10:01 AM

[russau]

thanks for the post Phil! yep prices of labor/material have sky rocketed!just when ive retired and was thinking of a little side job,the ecconomy,SB670 hit Cal. and everyone is in a withdrawl mode and holding onto their $$ tightly! i agree with your position of the new XXX and keeping it under wraps to prevent a occurance of what happened to the DFS. but then again, if people dont see it, they wont want it. a real dilima for sure. with the success of the DFS, youd think a manufactor would pick it up and manufactor it. but there again, ive heard about some manufactors and clubs that have had the oppertunity to veiw a product and turn it down only to change it a little and make it for themselves and sc*w the original designer of any $$$$$$$.i really like my DFS and would really like to see this new sluice in production.im sure you could use a few $$ in the ole pocket book! id sure like to get out to ole NM one of these days to say hi and maybe tip a few with you someday!

[kgphoto]

Thanks Russ....
As far as upgrading the old one, sorry. You bought that unit from Alan who has since ripped me off big time. Doesn't make sense to upgrade something I didn't sell.
and even if I did, it would cost just as much to upgrade as to buy a new one by the time all the extra shipping, etc was done.

Phil

Do you mean that A. Jaramillo at http://www.damnfinesluice.com/, isn't you or an authorized distributor? I bought my personal DFS from another miner in Azuza and it had a sticker on it that took me to the above sight. Where would one go to buy an original DFS sluice, or better yet an improved one?

Kg

[Coalbunny]

I'd love to buy a DFS from ya Phil, if ya got one to sell. Or one of your newer developments.

[Phil(NM)]

Do you mean that A. Jaramillo at http://www.damnfinesluice.com/, isn't you or an authorized distributor? I bought my personal DFS from another miner in Azuza and it had a sticker on it that took me to the above sight. Where would one go to buy an original DFS sluice, or better yet an improved one?

Kg

Exactly. That is not me. I am not currently building or selling them, and why should I? There are so many rip off's out there, there's no way to compete against my own design. The one you bought has a sticker that means it came from Alan? You have a early version then, and it's a good design. Use it and enjoy!

Phil

[kgphoto]

Exactly. That is not me. I am not currently building or selling them, and why should I? There are so many rip off's out there, there's no way to compete against my own design. The one you bought has a sticker that means it came from Alan? You have a early version then, and it's a good design. Use it and enjoy!

Phil

Thanks Phil. If you decide to re-enter the market, let us know. I haven't found any other people marketing this design. Pops and Sons just tell how to make something similar, but don't actually mfg. anything. So it may be a viable market afterall. The only thing I would change is a quick release and/or taller wing nuts with welded on washers, so they don't affect the water flow and you don't loose the parts when you do the clean up.

[russau]

when tightening down your wingnuts, make sure the "wings" on the wing nut is aligned with the flow of water to limit the turbulance they will cause if aligned against the flow of water.

[kgphoto]

when tightening down your wingnuts, make sure the "wings" on the wing nut is aligned with the flow of water to limit the turbulance they will cause if aligned against the flow of water.

Yeah I do that now, but am working on getting the taller ones mentioned.

[rich on western ...]

I made some changes to my DFS and have had great sucess with it. I took out the carpet on the bottom side and replaced it with the deep v mat. Also, took out the front green mat and replaced it with the standard blue miner's moss. I turn it upside down so the tightly woven mating is up. This makes a tighter seal under the expanded metal and creates less turbulence. It have been catching the bigger pickers up too. They usually get imbedded in the fibers pretty well. I left the green stuff in at the bottom as a safety net, but most everything appears to be getting caught in the upper half of the blue mm. The carpet it comes with works well but you can never get all the gold out of it!

[Phil(NM)]

Thanks Phil. If you decide to re-enter the market, let us know. I haven't found any other people marketing this design. Pops and Sons just tell how to make something similar, but don't actually mfg. anything. So it may be a viable market afterall. The only thing I would change is a quick release and/or taller wing nuts with welded on washers, so they don't affect the water flow and you don't loose the parts when you do the clean up.

Sorry, taller wing nuts not a good idea. While it makes it more convenient for the user, design wise it's a bad idea. It would interfere with the movement of the material thru the unit quickly and without clogs. Quick release? I don't trust them for the long haul. How much faster than 30 seconds (in the field) do you really need?

As far as loosing the parts, I always used to immediately put them back.... You're not trying to clean up while still in moving water I hope...

As far as re-entering the market, on my pension, I simply can't afford it. Things have gotten way to pricey. I wanted to have a mold made and then have them made from a heavy duty PVC like my 20 plus year old microsluice (still in good condition after all his time. No warping etc). When I saw the quote for just the molds and first 50 units, I knew it was out of reach for me to ever do. But I would have been able to sell the units at a very reasonable price, even at todays prices.

So... enjoy what you have, it's still the best all around sluice out there.

[kgphoto]

Sorry, taller wing nuts not a good idea. While it makes it more convenient for the user, design wise it's a bad idea. It would interfere with the movement of the material thru the unit quickly and without clogs. Quick release? I don't trust them for the long haul. How much faster than 30 seconds (in the field) do you really need?

As far as loosing the parts, I always used to immediately put them back.... You're not trying to clean up while still in moving water I hope...

As far as re-entering the market, on my pension, I simply can't afford it. Things have gotten way to pricey. I wanted to have a mold made and then have them made from a heavy duty PVC like my 20 plus year old microsluice (still in good condition after all his time. No warping etc). When I saw the quote for just the molds and first 50 units, I knew it was out of reach for me to ever do. But I would have been able to sell the units at a very reasonable price, even at todays prices.

So... enjoy what you have, it's still the best all around sluice out there.

By taller wing nuts I mean welding a washer to the bottom of a coupler ( hollow threaded tube) and welding a wing nut on top. This way the spread of the wing nut would be above and out of the water. This shouldn't affect the material at all. The rounded tube will disturb the water even less that the current wing nuts.

I often wear gloves and drop my wing nuts into the clean out tub. If they were a little bigger, they would be easier to hold on to. In the winter, my hands are even less dexterous, so I need all the help I can get.

[rich on western ...]

I'm going to use mine for a 2" suction dredge. Was thinking of putting some larger raised expanded metal on it. Making a header box so the material will be dumped out onto a wall at the very head of the sluice. Going to us a heavy damper flap and might have to valve the water intake down to keep the flow reasonable. Not sure if this will work since you are supposed to feed it slow. Will try and suck material up the same way you shovel in. Was also thinking about putting some kind of plastic matting that has holes in it under the intake area to catch any posible nuggets. Not many of them around my area but they do turn up sometimes. Would be a shame to loose them. Or I might just have the dfs dump tailings onto a conventional sluice. Will post pics once I get finished with the header box.