Golden Legends Tales of Buried Treasure

Found a very impressive video on how to make a "Focus Pan". This fella's invention, which is also commercially sold now, combines the action of panning with something similar to a liquification trap. It really is quite compelling. The video is well-done by the inventor and the plan requires materials that only cost a few cents if that. The pan is supposed to yield much more than a sluice in an equivalent amount of time. I'm going to build one. Hope you find this useful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ALGgP1KeVGc

Cool idea. Never saw one before. You'll like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fw25MdZbWh4

the article has step by step instructions on how to fashion a gold panning pan from a cake pan.  Very good instructions and very affordable. I hope you enjoy the ideas. http://www.ehow.com/how_8050911_make-gold-separator-cake-pan.html

I like Joe Boxer. For where to get the cheapest gloves, see  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_could_one_find_the_cheapest_pair_of_gloves

I do not smelt any metal. But I often hear prospectors asking about the process for gold. I found a pretty good explanation. I recommend reading the Tips and Warnings at the end of the article first! Acid must be used carefully. Acid mixed produces fumes that can be caustic. Be extremely careful if you proceed. http://www.ehow.com/how_4826998_refine-gold-smelt.html

This is a site mentioned before that is good. In this forum comment a contributor named NeoTokyo suggests how to make an underwater snuffer bottle. It isn't completely clear, but some of you with better imaginations will probably understand what he is saying. Then, scroll down to the 15th entry, again by NeoTokyo, and you will get a good description of how to make a mouth suction device. Good instructions. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/panning-gold/320078-snuffer-bottles.html

Commercial places have an assortment of good products for classifying - there are hundreds. But I recall my first classifier that worked ok. I was shoveling dirt from a rather high bank which had a lot of embedded rock. The stuff had been gathering from forceful flash floods down the large arroyo where I was working. It was probably my second trip out prospecting. I had a trash basket made of heavy plastic that I had found in the desert - somebody evidently forgot it. There was no way to find an owner so I took it. Being frugal and not ready to buy a lot of commercial equipment (and that is the way everybody should look at it at first) I decided to use an old barbecue grill made of pretty heavy steel that I had saved from my last old barbecue that had its bottom worn away. Thought it might be useful, and it was. I placed the grill on top of the basket and proceeded to shovel, clear, and shovel again. Even though some of the material was a bit courser than I would have liked,...