soil screener

Gary McCarthy

Chumono
Messages
548
Reaction score
717
Location
Buffalo/Rochester NY area
USDA Zone
6a
Over the winter months I screened my first bags of soil using the typical small hand held screens. It took me exactly one 40 lb bag to realize that was definitely NOT the way to go. So my second spring project was to make my own larger soil screener. I took advantage of the nice weather here in the northeast today to get that done. I thought it turned out pretty well. It measures 18" x 30" with 1/4", 1/8", 1/16" screens.
IMG_3909.JPGIMG_3910.JPG
 

PiñonJ

Omono
Messages
1,402
Reaction score
3,331
Location
New Mexico, AHS heat zone 5
USDA Zone
6b
Over the winter months I screened my first bags of soil using the typical small hand held screens. It took me exactly one 40 lb bag to realize that was definitely NOT the way to go. So my second spring project was to make my own larger soil screener. I took advantage of the nice weather here in the northeast today to get that done. I thought it turned out pretty well. It measures 18" x 30" with 1/4", 1/8", 1/16" screens.
View attachment 188624View attachment 188625
When I built mine, I used hardware cloth for the 1/4" and window screen for the 1/16" and called it a day (in my dry climate, I don't need to remove the 1/16"). Where did you get the 1/8"? Ordering from a wire mesh company is pretty pricey, since they require a minimum purchase and they deal in much larger quantities.
 

BonsaiMatt

Shohin
Messages
251
Reaction score
829
Location
Maryland
USDA Zone
7a
Nice job! Might want to add a few drawer handles to each tray for easy lifting and shaking...
I'm also interested in your source for 1/8 screen.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
Messages
32,908
Reaction score
45,579
Location
Berwyn, Il
USDA Zone
6.2
Any character I build ends up cussing me out!

Sorce
 

just.wing.it

Deadwood Head
Messages
12,141
Reaction score
17,546
Location
Just South of the Mason Dixon
USDA Zone
6B
Over the winter months I screened my first bags of soil using the typical small hand held screens. It took me exactly one 40 lb bag to realize that was definitely NOT the way to go. So my second spring project was to make my own larger soil screener. I took advantage of the nice weather here in the northeast today to get that done. I thought it turned out pretty well. It measures 18" x 30" with 1/4", 1/8", 1/16" screens.
View attachment 188624View attachment 188625
That's awesome!
 

theone420

Shohin
Messages
442
Reaction score
480
Location
Palm Springs, CA. (USDA Zone 9b/10a)
I liked yours so I built one as well.
Used handles on the top screen to help shake it($1.22 ea. On clearance at HD)
Smaller box on top I already had is 3/8
Next is a tad larger than 1/4
The next is about 3/16
And then screen mesh for the bottom approx 1/16
20180523_194117.jpg20180523_194126.jpg20180523_194133.jpg20180523_194243.jpg
 

Gary McCarthy

Chumono
Messages
548
Reaction score
717
Location
Buffalo/Rochester NY area
USDA Zone
6a

Gary McCarthy

Chumono
Messages
548
Reaction score
717
Location
Buffalo/Rochester NY area
USDA Zone
6a
For those of you that have a similar type sifter to what I built, what did you use for your 1/16" screen? I used window screen and I'm not finding it very sturdy. Is there a thicker type of wire screening that will hold up better when there's the weight of the soil on top of it?

Thanks.
 

arreaux

Yamadori
Messages
51
Reaction score
58
Location
Lodi, Ca
USDA Zone
9B
For those of you that have a similar type sifter to what I built, what did you use for your 1/16" screen? I used window screen and I'm not finding it very sturdy. Is there a thicker type of wire screening that will hold up better when there's the weight of the soil on top of it?

Thanks.
Might try putting a layer of the heavier mesh under the 1/16 mesh to help hold it up under the soil weight.?
 

mwbonsai

Seed
Messages
2
Reaction score
5
For those of you that have a similar type sifter to what I built, what did you use for your 1/16" screen? I used window screen and I'm not finding it very sturdy. Is there a thicker type of wire screening that will hold up better when there's the weight of the soil on top of it?

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the inspiration -- I just built a soil sifter modeled off of this post and others. I ordered my 1/16 galvanized steel wire cloth screen here:
Specifically, I ordered the 12 Mesh, which has an opening size very close to 1/16: https://www.mcmaster.com/9220T88

I built my box interiors to 18x24" due to the mesh sizes available above. I had looked at bwire.com and brown-campbell.com which carry a similar mesh, but it was going to be significantly more to get a custom cut of 18x30". The 1/16" mesh is fairly rigid, but I still used a crossbar on my 18x24 sifter for that and the 1/8" layer so that it will help support weight with a lot of soil. The 1/4" layer was so rigid it didn't need a crossbar, but I should have probably just ordered standard hardware cloth for that, as the larger sizes of wire mesh are somewhat difficult to work with (needed some strong wire cutters on the 3 mesh).

A few other modifications I made to your design were using some latches I found on Amazon to keep the layers connected and a hanging bike rack I found at Home Depot to act as the handles. I didn't plan ahead and the wheels ended up bumping into the handles, so anyone else who uses this idea should double-check that (I was able to cut some notches in the 2x4s at the bottom). Measuring out the latch positions to be the same on each box will allow you to remove the middle layer if desired. Putting the small hooks on the top box will help the latches lay down when disconnected, and be out of the way for smoother storage and connections. Using 3/4" self-drilling screws to attach the latches helped a lot. I ordered the 3" caster wheels from Amazon -- they have a lot of different options.

I also chose to encase the wire inside of the boxes as the stuff I ordered could cut really easily. I used some 1x2" wood. I don't like the loss of sifting area, but I do like not having huge metal cuts on my fingers (wear gloves when working with that wire mesh!). I'll probably add additional rails to the bottom of the 1/16" box to fully encase the wire mesh and avoid injury. The 7" height of each sifter is only because I had a lot of extra wood in that size laying around -- I wish they were each a couple inches shorter.

IMG_6757.jpg

IMG_6761.jpg

IMG_6758.jpg
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
Messages
14,002
Reaction score
16,911
Location
Michigan
USDA Zone
5-6
Beautiful bit of craftsmanship. Makes me want to make one.
 

eryk2kartman

Chumono
Messages
616
Reaction score
516
Location
Ireland
USDA Zone
8b
Sweet, all of them are really nice,
I was planning to build something similar based on Mirai one :) i know i know but in fairness this kinda a build is great idea.
However in Ireland i found extremaly difficult to locate mesh screen, maybe some knows where i can get it online ?
 

RJG2

Omono
Messages
1,400
Reaction score
3,926
Location
Southern Maine
USDA Zone
6a
They all just need a scrap motor with an off center weight attached!
 

leatherback

The Treedeemer
Messages
13,934
Reaction score
26,853
Location
Northern Germany
USDA Zone
7
However in Ireland i found extremaly difficult to locate mesh screen, maybe some knows where i can get it online ?


 
Top Bottom