Dip Boxes

Dip boxes are very useful, especially in areas that do not have a lot of water as well as in areas where sluice boxes cannot be used due to the terrain. Dip boxes are also convenient because they can be carried and can handle around the same amount of material as a rocker can. Building a dip box is not a complicated task either. The box is made out of the bottom part of a 12 inch wooden plank and on it one by six inch sides are nailed onto it as well as on the end as this will be useful as the head of the dip box. The other end has a nailed in piece that is around one inch in height. The bottom part of the dip box is covered in a canvas, burlap or thin carpet which will make sure to catch the gold. On top of this, around one foot under the back end of the box, a one by two feet strip heavy wire of screen of one quarter inch mesh is nailed on to it. The screen and fabric are held on by cleats on the side of the box. The total length could be around six to eight feet, however usually most of the gold becomes collected in the first three feet. The box is then positioned to where the back reaches waist level and the other side is around half to one foot lower. The material will just need to be shoveled and dumped into the taller end and washed. This is done by pouring water on top of it from a dipper, hose, bucket, pipe etc, until it goes through the box. Make sure to not pour the water through too hard as this will cause you to lose gold. After it has been washed, you will need to pick out the bigger stones and get rid of them, or you can use another screen box to divide them. There is also the option of adding on more riffles to the lower level of the box if it seems that gold is being lost. A dip box is like a sluice but it is shorter. A dip box can be made by nailing the sides of 1 inch by 12 inch floor, then nail another 1 inch x 6 inch board along one end in order to make a back for it. You can then coat the bottom of this channel with burlap or even with carpet in order for it to grab hold of the gold. Riffles are considered necessary in order to slow the runoff and allow the gold settle in. One simple way to make the riffles is by setting a sheet of wire mesh on the bottom five feet of the burlap or carpeted channel. Make a steep slope for the dip box by placing it on top of some trestles. In order to use the dip box, you can shovel some dirt into the top foot of the trough and wash it on top of the riffles with buckets of water. Evidently you do not want to pour the water too harshly on top of it or you will threaten washing absolutely the whole thing away. In some cases you will need to get rid of the larger rocks that will be on the trough with your hand in order for the box to function the right way.