Gravel Sieve

[Digger145]

Hi all,
wasn't sure which forum to post this one in :beatsme

Anyway, we need a gravel sieve for small scale usage on our farm. There is a nice little "stone roll" in a hill side we have been taking gravel from for our roads etc, but we need some way of separating the top coat out of the quarry. Size wise, about 20mm or 3/4" down to dust is what we want.

I was thinking of a meshed "A" frame sitting in the tip truck tray. The fines would go straight through into the tray and the larger rocks spilling off the sides. Dig it straight out, sieved and loaded it one go.
I didn't want to go too mad on building a complicated thing (like a trommel), as we only have 1.5Km of roads to top coat and grade all the time. Long enough to be expensive to buy top coat, not long enough to make $$$ equipment just for the one job.

Any ideas / experience - pics of this sort of thing?
Thanks!

 

[Northart]

Screening Gravel

I would rent a screening plant . Something like a Read, on a day basis. Do it all at once, stockpile enough for the entire job or for future years use.

 

[humboldt deere]

Hi guys this is my first post. I agree with northart, do it once and be done with it, but I have seen some bucket screens for skidsteers or skiploader that would would work good for occasional use. You could probably build one yourself with an old bucket, some screen and a hydraulic motor running an eccentric weight.

 

[Digger145]

Thanks fellas.

Northart, we can't rent anything like that down here... <sob> It's Tasmania after all - locals have two heads and all that. LoL
I'm friendly with the local quarry owners, but they don't have anything small enough.

Anybody had experience with sieve buckets? Do they clog up easily?
http://www.ozbuckets.com.au/images/seivebig.jpg
I could make one of those, I spose.

 

[Squizzy246B]

There is a few pics of our rake buckets here, one on the mini-ex and one for the loader.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=2759&highlight=Rake&page=2

I have some for my skid steer somewhere but I can't find it:

here is a few close up

 

[Squizzy246B]

Try these:

 

[Squizzy246B]

Bending high tensile bars is not cheap. The same rake can be made with flat bar cutout on a profile machine.

Why not build a static Grizzly?

 

[Digger145]

Bending high tensile bars is not cheap. The same rake can be made with flat bar cutout on a profile machine.

Hey thanks Squizzy, they are some great pics showing the construction. I could make one of those for the Bobcat or the digger.

A couple of questions.... Does it have to be HT bar, or would mild do if I put in cross bars do you think?
Are the bars in the pics about 25mm / 1" thick?

Why not build a static Grizzly?

I guess that's what I was trying to describe in my first post, I just didn't know what it was called. </dumb>
It would be more steel / $$$ to build a static Grizzly than a sieve bucket from what I can see.
http://www.rocksystems.com/machinery/screening-separating/static-screens-grizzlies

 

[Squizzy246B]

I'll get back to you shortly....its Muddle Headed Wombat time for the nippers

 

[Squizzy246B]

Most of the rake buckets built here are just 42mm+ bar stock, no cutting edge, just the tips of the bars. They are heavy and next to useless in anything other than dry sand.

Using smaller bars and a cutting edge reduces the weight and makes the rake much more useful for levelling.

The trick is to kick the belly of the bucket forward as the first pic shows. You can't go filling the bucket up in one bite. You take a bit at the front and toss it to the back and than go again. Takes a bit to get used to. We use 25mm bar with 55mm gaps. The gap size should be spaced to what you work with most. The bigger the gap the better it works but of course more goes through. We find 55mm good because bricks wont go through but it gets most sticks and pavers that way. Don't make your bars too tight because in winter (when the soil is wetter) you will literally have to shake the daylights out of your machine to get it to work

A Grizzly can be as basic as you like with just a bunch of bars, mesh, angle, pipe (whatever) set at about a 30 deg angle to make a grating. You drop a bucket full over the grating and the dirt falls through and crap rolls down the bars, dirt underneath and crap on the otherside.

The best Grizzlies are raised up some on a stand with a division plate to keep the material separate. The frame is normally built to take a set of forks so the Grizzly can be moved around and loaded onto trucks. More to follow.

 

[Squizzy246B]

To be honest the real money spinner is the rake/demo bucket on the mini. It is just so handy and does such a neat job around houses and such. Any demolition contractor will tell you a similar story when it comes to mixed rubble. Why pay waste rates for dumping dirt?

When it comes to removing driveways, old paving, garden walls, bushes etc I can put my operator and coupla skips on site and get him to cleanup so all the trash goes at a known fixed price. Then any excess soil can be loaded into my truck, I can tip for free, take to another site or...it means that I may not have to bring in new soil because I can use that on site....its clean.

Saves me some serious $$$ and means I'm very competitive compared to a guy who is just coming in with a skid steer and a 6 wheeler to load out. I estimate, that on an average job (for us) it reduces what we pay $$ for at the tip by about 40 to 60%. That is, if the estimate is for 60m3 to go away, I normally will only send 20m3 at full rate away. I use skips, even though they cost a little more, it still saves me money and frees up an operator and truck.

Here is a good designed demo type one:

 

[Squizzy246B]

Also, with a rake for skid or loader make it about 6" wider than your normal bucket so it fits inside, like this:

Geez I just love thios new photo resizer

The bottom pic is one of the same site I posted above with all the bloody rubbish, after the cleanup. Two loads away instead of 4 or 5.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Just a couple more:

 

[Squizzy246B]

Lastly, you don't have to use HT round bar. However, the stronger the bar, the smaller in diameter you can go, this improves the performance and reduces the weight. The 4140 bars for my skid cost about $38 each (material and bend).

As I said you can use flat bar (profile cut plate) on edge, square bar etc, just so long as its designed and constructed properly. The cutting edge needs to be very strong. I can bend the plate and bolt on edge on my mini. The stress points are the corners of the bucket, they may need axtra re-inforcing. I used old grader cutting edge on one rake I built.

You also need to find someone to build it who does what you say and not just what they think. I sketch up a design and give it to my guy, telling him the critical areas I want done MY way and the other stuff he can address himself. That might sound strange but with some guys that build buckets, "their" way, may not be the best for you, and just because they did it their way for 10 years doesn't mean its right.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums humboldt deere! :drinkup

 

[Digger145]

Squizzy, what no cad file, cut list and offer of free steel??? LoL

Seriously though, thank-you very much for the great photos / replies; very helpfull. :notworthy

Now to get back to rebuilding my system after a bad beta bios flash - yes, I should know better.

 

[637slayer]

good pics squizz, pretty handy thread.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Digger, It seems in our part of the world its not often we can buy something off the shelf that actually works in our conditions. Most of my equipment is customised to some degree. Some of the little things you learn along the road really should be documented better...or at least passed on to someone else, otherwise that experience is lost. For the life of me I could not buy a decent rake bucket off the shelf in Australia....so I had one built addressing the short comings the existing models displayed. I'm not sure I got it right but:beatsme.

I will tell you about a "Rolls Royce" Grizzly we made out at a mine site once. But right now but back is killing me and I need to lie down.....the missus has been whippin me all day in the backyard. Well it was only a bit over 4 years ago that I started the project.......seems like the right time to get a bit more done......and there is a bottle of top shelf whiskey in that kitchen that keeps whispering in my ear.......