Crevicing tools and the sdc

I went out for a couple of hours this morning with the intention of searching a surfaced reef and bedrock with the sdc. The gold above shows that it has potential and the sdc was picking up signals from the crevices and rock hollows quite regularly.
My problem was i only had my scoop and pick with me and i just couldn't get some of the dirt etc out of the narrower slits etc and into my scoop for sorting. I'll go back next time with a screw driver etc but i'd like to know what to use to get out those pieces of dirt etc from the areas you can't get the pick, scoop or my fingers into? Is there some method to pick up those last few bits where the gold is holding? I had to leave three clear signals this morning because i just couldn't pick up the fine stuff at the bottom.
Thanks in advance all.

You need one of these:


Ask for a Dyson Portable at your nearest Harvey Norman.

Got one of them at home, wonder if it would be missed :lol: :lol:

Hi scrounger I use this can get them from bunnings for under $5 brick joint raker great for crevices

Ah, cool max power, that could be the go. I was thinking even a long handle small spoon. I just need something that can get in under (or scrape out) the last lot of soil that is holding at the bottom of the small depressions in the bedrock mostly. Thanks mate, i'll check them out. I reckon there's a fait bit of gold where i'm searching so it should be worth the effort.

+1 for the Spears & Jackson brick joint raker. I also use a 12" screwdriver, a metal garden hand spade and a patio weeding tool.

I might have to get a cart to carry everything :lol: :lol: :lol: I like the look of that weapon above mdv.

All of the above and a small pinch bar to help break the edges off or move a stubborn rock.

If I was to take one, it would be a robust long handled flat screwdriver as I could use my pick as a hammer if a bit of chiselling was required.

A couple of those pieces above needed the reef broken and opened a bit with my pick to get to Wal. Trouble is i was concerned i was going to send the gold flying off into the scrub somewhere. I didn't have the tools to use a bit more finesse unfortunately. By the signals i'm getting i know what i was pinging was gold, so it's doubly hard just walking away from them
There must be a fair bit of gold there i reckon because the above all came from an area about three metres square, and there's a lot of reef still left to go over.

Ahhhhh, sounds like you are on a great spot and need a portable jackhammer.

If you add a bit of water and scrape the fines into a ball with the screwdriver you shouldn't loose it. You might also find that the clay in the crevice produces more weight in gold than the nuggets you extract. Time to get a bucket and a pan or carry a poly bag to bring a bit home to test.

I have a long triangle shaped bit of tin folded into a v that works well scooping up the fines but it has seen better days. I think I will go out and buy a couple of those brick joint rakes and cut one end into a long triangular point.

SCROUNGER said:

Is there some method to pick up those last few bits where the gold is holding? I had to leave three clear signals this morning because i just couldn't pick up the fine stuff at the bottom.

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Hi Scrounger,

I do a fair bit of detecting/crevicing on slate-bottomed creeks. I carry a Hart wrecking bar. It is very lightweight and strong, and great as a crevice buster. I combine this with a few sharpened screwdrivers and some tools that came from Ebay that look like dentist's picks with a screwdriver handle: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ABN-9-Pi...nd-Pick-Set-/351385659889?hash=item51d037a9f1

A very narrow plastic scoop from Fiskar is also useful.

This is the wrecking bar:



Hope this helps!

Thanks mfdes. The problem isn't so much breaking up the reef itself, i can do that with my pick, mostly by breaking it away with leverage. Its that the reef is vertically jagged and the gold keeps dropping further down into crevices if i break it away. If i break the reef (which is shale like) up and i clear the gold away from the reef area itself then i can detect it in the soil with the sdc as i normally would which is fine.
The real problem area is hard, smoothish bedrock near the reef proper, which doesn't break away unless given a real bashing, this area has numerous smooth, small ledges and narrow depressions that the gold and dirt just sit in, and it's these that are the biggest problem because if i hit them with the pick everything goes flying everywhere, it's like concrete.
I might do what Wal suggested and buy one or two of those brick joint rakes and file one end to a point so i can place it into the narrow depressions and sweep the soil/gold out with some sort of brush or other tool.

Here is my ever-expanding kit, I always take it in the car but it is rarely with me when I need it. This thread has reminded me that I need to put a screwdriver and a bag in my hydration pack.



looks like my lump hammer is on a rock in a hard to get to place - darn

Bloody hell, i might go back to detecting away from the reef areas!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Wally69 said:

Here is my ever-expanding kit, I always take it in the car but it is rarely with me when I need it. This thread has reminded me that I need to put a screwdriver and a bag in my hydration pack.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1916/1435217109_image.jpg

looks like my lump hammer is on a rock in a hard to get to place - darn

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No paltridge in a pear tree Wally? Lol

Something like this pocket dredge might be good to get loose material at the bottom if you have a bottle of water on hand, I've just made one with a bigger container but haven't had the chance to try it yet.
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJY5Io-o4E[/video]

G'day Scrounger,
I have a few bits and pieces but never used them in anger

Mjb posted these one but maybe a bit on the expensive side!!

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12357

Have you tried a google search to get some ideas?

Sounds like a great spot though and please let us know how you go!

Cheers,
Billy.

Wally69 said:

looks like my lump hammer is on a rock in a hard to get to place - darn

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Likewise, the older I get, the more gear I leave behind. Have all too often left my sniffer bottle lying on a rock. One time I found it again 3 months later and several km further down the creek.

Chewy said:

Wally69 said:

Here is my ever-expanding kit, I always take it in the car but it is rarely with me when I need it. This thread has reminded me that I need to put a screwdriver and a bag in my hydration pack.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1916/1435217109_image.jpg

looks like my lump hammer is on a rock in a hard to get to place - darn

Click to expand...

No paltridge in a pear tree Wally? Lol

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Sure have, I collected 25 in December last year.

I always thought that breaking up a crevice was the final option not the first, to me it's like slaying the goose that laid the golden eggs.
Those little gold traps just sit there without needing any attention rain hail or shine holding onto the good stuff year after year. Sure you risk losing out if someone else comes along but I look at it like giving back to fellow prospectors.
Two great crevicing places I used to go are smashed to pieces, ironically I had already got to the bottom before so I can confidently say there's was little to achieve, and now no gold traps for anyone. Take the crowbar for big loose boulders, half the fun is devising a plan to get the pay dirt out!
My tools come from the metal yard, brass and copper odds and ends tend to tick the boxes, lightweight, malleable and strong.