Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Merkitch Sifter. Photo submitted by Joe D. |
I also mentioned a Merkitch siftter. The Merkitch sifter is a different kind of sifter. It is pulled through dry sand. Joe D. found a picture of one of those somewhere.
The Merkitch sifter was made by a fellow with the last name of Merkitch. As I recall, he published a paperback book that gave plans for building the sifter and instructions for using it. I once had that book, but no longer do.
Here is my simplified illustration of such a sifter.
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| Diagram of Merkitch-Like Sifter |
The sifter I made was not exactly like the one shown at the top of the page, although it was very similar.
There are several things that are very important about this type of sifter. The angle of the box, the wheels, and angle of the handle are all very important. So was the size or gauge of screen.
When you pulled the sifter, you wanted the lip of the sifter to reach a few inches under the surface of the sand. If the lip was too deep, it was difficult to pull, and if was not deep enough, you would just be skimming the first inch or so of sand.
The angle of the handle was important. If it was off, the sifter would be hard to pull and the sifter would not extend into the sand the right amount.
The wheels were also important. Remember they had to be pulled over sand. I would think that the wheels on the sifter shown at the top of the page would not work very well in loose sand. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I'd probably either put bigger and wider wheels on the sifter or use something more like a skid or sled rather than wheels.
Like a sand scoop, the size of the holes is important. The screen should allow sand to pass through as easily as possible without letting valuables to slip through.
This kind of sifter can be used to good advantage where there is lot of junk.. Since you can see what is left in the box after the sand goes though, you can quickly pick out the good objects and dump the junk.
You don't miss much that is in those first few inches of sand if the gauge of screen is right. Small chains and non-metallic targets get caught.
Another good thing is that you can use it where you are not allowed to detect.
The big problem is how much effort it takes.
Another problem is that it can only skim a few inches of sand. If it sifts too deep, it becomes difficult to pull. It can take some tweaking before to get the sifter working just right.
You can not use it in wet sand.
I'm always thinking of other ways to find objects besides metal detecting. For me, metal detecting is not the objective - finding things is the objective and there are sometimes other ways of doing that. Sifting is one good alternative.
The Merkitch sifter is good when there is a high density of shallow targets in dry sand. For some situations it is much more efficient than detecting and recovering individual targets one by one. Multiple targets can be picked up as quickly as a single target. It is not a good choice when targets are deep or very scarce.
Yesterday's post showed how one reader used a stationary sifter to find some nice old coins and marbles. Stationary sifters are good for junky areas where the targets are masked or deeper than your detector will reach. I expect to be posting a detailed report on that reader's sifting experiences in the near future.
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Here is an article entitled The Science of Shipwrecks by the North Carolina Coastwatch.
https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2013-2/winter-2013/the-science-of-shipwrecks/
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In proper storybook style, in a disintegrating cardboard box shoved to the very back of a drawer, in a castle where every nook and cranny is still stuffed with the possessions of generations of hoarding owners, a cache of valuable antique coins, some extremely rare, has been discovered...
Here is the link for more about that.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/nov/03/cache-of-antique-coins-found-in-drawer-at-scotney-castle
Thats all for now.
Happyhunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
