Thats brilliant. Yours is the best sieve on YT. I already bought some similar planks and mesh today, but you had the recipe to make it all work. Many thanks Jeff.
I made this for $12 and some old lumber and it works great. I can move the sifter with one hand its so easy. I love that the wheel guides are on the inner side because it keeps more dirt out of the wheel path. This is a BIG improvement over the ones with boards on the outside of the sifter box. Highly recommend. Thanks!!
I really love this idea. I'm cleaning out all of the rock that is in my backyard, as the majority of it has sunk under the soil due to water erosion. I'll be going to Home Depot to pick up what I need to make one of these for my home. It will also be good for seiving mulch. I'm not sure if you thought of it, but you could put another wheelbarrow/cart under the sieve to carry away the clean soil.
I like your concept, i figured I could make the bottom sieve long enough so I could get another wheel barrel underneath to catch the compost. Thank you for sharing,
Thanks Rusty. I've had someone mention that and it makes sense if your goal is to catch the soil for sure. I was focused on cleaning the rock but in any case a wider frame would definitely allow you to catch soil as you want. Good luck!
Jeff, Best sifter design I have seen so far. I'm going to use your design to build myself one since your video demonstrates it works great and easy to build and $cheap$. Thanks!
You raise a good point and I tried a non rolling angled version prior to this model which worked great for really dry dirt with no clods but when the soil was a little moist, many of the dirt clods remained with the rocks. When I added the rollers, I found the back and forth movement broke up most of the clods and kept the rocks cleaner. I agree, it does mean a little more work but I felt it was worth the end result. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Jeff, I made my first sifter according to your instructions. I only made a few addition for example . Added 4 26 inch legs. reinforced a little more then your piece. Point however is thank you for showing your construction .It made it very easy for me to make one as well. Very much appreciated !! I know its not like your building the Empire State Building ,but it does give you some confidence by the time your finished. !!!!!!!!!! Thank you again!
Thank you for making your video. Browsed several videos on making a rock/dirt sifter and will take one idea from all that I've seen to apply to yours. your landscaping project is exactly what I'm doing. Was getting in good shape by lifting the basket full of rocks and dirt and shaking it out. But it eventually wore me out. Will be making this today Again thanks
just wanted you to know, I built this in about an hour and a half today and it works like a charm, the only change I would make is make the carriage longer so I could fit a wheel barrow under the sifter (between the sawhorses) for the falling dirt. As it is I put my flat dolly and a garbage can under it so I do collect most of the dirt for transport somewhere else. Thanks!
This is exactly what I was looking for. I need to clean white rocks in my backyard. They've been overcome with weeds. I'm going to start this project tomorrow. Thanks Jeff!!!
Love it Jeff! Looked at many ideas and your's seemed to be the best. I'm buying the casters this morning and will use old lumber I have to make the rest. Thanks for the great video!!
From one Jeff to another: I thought to make something like this (maybe minus the wheels) to do the exact same thing, so this is a very useful video...concise & to the point as well ! Thx :)
AWESOME!!! I have found using a hose and colander works really well-our silt just blows away when dry. This is perfect to just rinsing it all on through and giving her a shake-thanks!
Brilliant! And as I watched you shake the sifter it occurred to me that I can put some dry cow dung in with the rocks to help crumble them up. I spend way too much time hand-crumbling them and it's always a chore even when I soak it over night. I'll have to experiment with that. Also, I'll be thinking of an easy and practical way to change the sizes of the screens to try my luck at separating worms from vermicompost. Thanks for sharing!
I had to dig a 40 foot trench to lay some 4 inch drainage pipe. The soil is so rocky it's brutal. After picking out the rocks the size of grapefruits, I'm left with a bunch of rocks about golf ball size. I'd like to get them out to use the dirst to help fill back in the tench. This video helps a lot. Guess I'll be hitting the hardware store.
I have a sieve about that size that I was using by hand, literally shacking it bent over, very back breaking, I built a large one that is slopped, it works a lot better but still a lot of work, I might customise my original smaller one like this and see it it works for me, I mainly sieve compost.
Hey RJC, I started out doing the manual shake. It really should be called the "Shake & Back Break". Hope this helps you out. The better you align the furring strips underneath, the better it will keep the wheel tracks clean from the compost. Thanks!
Hey Jeff, not trying to take your idea away ,but i had the same thing in mind....the only difference would have been making a track so that the wheels stay in place and instead of stapling the mesh I would have nailed a strip of wood on each side to keep the mesh in place. i am glad i saw your video. Did not like all the other suggestions.....i. e. using a rep. saw or some kind of frankenstein concoction. Thanks !!!!
mundl kalli, thanks for the comment. The firing strips definitely keep the wheels in place (side to side) so it stays in place very well. I thought about the side mesh pieces and have seen others use metal strips as well but I found it really was not needed. Thanks again and good luck!!
Hi and thanks for the comment. The firing strips keep the wheels tracking so the sieve cannot fall out of the tracks and if installed at the right height it will help keep dirt from getting on the tracks also.
That's a great design but I just have one question and like a quarter of a million the other viewers in this world would like to know. What is your dimensions on the top box with the gauge wire for the unit
Hi!! The top box is a simple 2x3 foot box that I made with old 2x6 lumber. I used 1/2" wire screen found in the fencing section of Home Depot, but you can also use 1/4" screen if your dealing with smaller rock sizes. The wire screen comes in a roll that is 2x5 feet so it works out well. Not sure of the actual gauge of wire used, but there is only one choice in Home depot so should be easy to find. Thanks for the comment and question!!
Hi Looks like a good idea Have a load to do .Was going to build a cement mixer version but expensive and time consuming and a one off use. This looks just the job Thanks
I think you nailed it. If you did this day after day as part of your job etc, the power rolling type might be a good option but for individual projects this has been the perfect option. Thanks!
Hi, I used spare wood I had so the box with the screen is made of 2x6. The base is made of 2x6 on bottom and 2x4 where the wheels roll and 1x3 fir strips as wheel guides. I believe this could also be made with just 2x4's and fir strips but the box would just be a bit shallower. Thanks for asking.
Mine is 45"' but another post suggested making is a little longer if you desire to put a wheelbarrow under the sieve to catch the dirt. I was more focused on getting clean rock. Hope this helps and thanks for the question!!
@@jeffkusman2179 thank you for replying Jeff. Out of all the sifters I've seen this is the one I want a copy. I have a huge Rock garden that needs to be cleaned out. After 20 years too much debris has fallen in between the cracks creating compost and weeds. The only reason it lasted twenty years was because when I first did it I put plastic down as a barrier. Thanks again
You bet Russell. This will be perfect. I had 1 1/2'" rock so the 1/2" screen was great but if someone has smaller sized rock Home Depot sells a smaller screen also!!
www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-in-Soft-Rubber-Rigid-Caster-with-90-lbs-Load-Rating-49481/203661068 I think these are the current wheels at HD. The price was less when I made the unit originally.
@@jeffkusman2179 Thank you so much. I am going to build it a little lighter. I am 69 years old and need to be able to use it once I make it. Thanks again.
I am designing a lower to the ground one. Keeping the higher end only 2.5' from ground level,, tobsave on having to lift each shovel load up so high, because that's the part that Kills me aching, the repetitive lifting part, I am carrying too much belly blubber, my poor back. Thx for the info and inspiration.
Wow, so sorry you feel so put out by my simple homemade item. I hope your day gets better. Maybe you could paste a link to one of the cheap quality units you are referring to so others can benefit. I have not come across any that have the size, rolling or ease I've experienced using this. Thanks again.
