Camping table sieve stand

[Lefty]

Taking inspiration from Fullerton's back-saving shaker table, I stripped the busted top off my old folding camping table and replaced with 50mm x 75mm steel mesh. The thing used to murder my back whenever I spent any amount of time preparing food on it - it's just too low. Added another 400mm in height to the legs so that it sits about my belly button height, a perfect working height. Just needs a few bits added - a covering for the cut-off ends of the mesh and maybe a bit more strengthening seeing as it's now a lot taller. Just position the washtub a few paces behind it and you shake out the fines with the sieve resting on the table, give it a scrub in the tub then back on the table to go through it. It'll get a run in a few weeks time when I go out to the claim.

[MakkyBrown]

Good idea Lefty  Made my workshop benches about 110cm to stop the back/neck pain.

[Lefty]

Yeah, you definately need a different height for a table or bench that you're going to work at while standing as opposed to one that you're going to sit at. Otherwise you find yourself leaning slightly forward and the weight of your whole upper body is hanging on your lower back. Ok for a short while but not so good after a few hours.

[ObsidianMan]

What a nifty idea food for thought.

[Fullerton]

Looks great Lefty, look forward to hearing how it goes 

[Jamo]

Well done Lefty! I'm all for labor saving devices. It means we can fossick for longer.

[Lefty]

Well done Lefty! I'm all for labor saving devices. It means we can fossick for longer.

That's it Jamo - manual labour is hard work! Once I can use the jackhammer, trommel and pulsator things'll be sweet (but it's still not manual work-free, though quite a lot faster) but while I'm restricted to hand tools, I want to make sure the work is as easy as it can be made - like you say, the longer you can do it without getting stuffed, the more dirt you can go through.


It weighs next to nothing and still folds up so it should be good as part of a portable set-up as well, which I'll take with me on trips up far north QLD when I visit the in-laws - Moonstone hill and O'Briens creek sound good

[Lefty]

Some more budget fossicking gear - two good-sized sieves with 6mm mesh made from the ends of a 44-gallon drum. Have covered the ends of the mesh around the rim with super-hard construction adhesive and was going to put garden hose around the top of the rim but didn't get round to it - just took the sharp burrs off with a grinder and emery tape...




And a stand for the little sieves made from an old pole tennis set and some large L-brackets from a shelf set. I'll cut the brackets a bit lower and bring them in a bit so that the 330mm diameter sieves fit fairly neatly in. I tried for a couple of hours to use the spring that came with it but I ended up having to concede that it was just too soft to hold a sieve full of dirt. So I'll just have to push it through by hand or rock it - gently, don't want to break where the pole attached to the bottom - back and forth. The main thing is - I'm not standing there holding up the weight all day long.

[Bucket]

Lefty, not sure if you've tried it or not but what about an old car spring on a steel post?  Looks like you're handy with a welder and I'm pretty sure the car spring would take the weight alright.  I reckon you might need something like that with your home made sieves, being larger they'll be very heavy when full.

[Lefty]

Lefty, not sure if you've tried it or not but what about an old car spring on a steel post?  Looks like you're handy with a welder and I'm pretty sure the car spring would take the weight alright.  I reckon you might need something like that with your home made sieves, being larger they'll be very heavy when full.

That'll probably be my next project Bucket You do see some ingenuity on the field, prospecting equipment cobbled together from whatever is on hand.

The big sieves will sit on that table - it's just the smaller one I need the stand for. But yeah - a car spring or pretty much any spring stronger than the one that came with the pole tennis set should be fine.