Best way to sift various materials for soil mix?

[Jhilliard6]

Hello everyone, I have come to the point now where I am fairly tired of manually sifting all of the materials for my soil mix.

What does everyone do for this, for larger amounts of materials?
Has anyone automated it and can explain or even post pictures?
I see there are vibratory motors you can buy online which is a viable option (although a bit expensive depending on the size you want), and I’ve also seen that some people use a reciprocating saw screwed to a suspended sifting frame, but I could easily see the saw burning up before long and the constant braking of saw blades would becomes expensive in itself.

Thoughts?

Thank you.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Well, you don't exactly need saw blades if you're not using the saw as a saw..
Any other piece of strong metal would do. And those saws can come cheap, second hand even. The thrift shop sells them for less than 10 bucks. If that saves you 3 hours of sifting, you've saved quite the hourly wage ;-)

Just because I like to have alternative routes on the table:
If you're going industrial anyways, why sift it in the first place, and not grind/blend it to the desired size? Pour it on a mesh that allows smaller particles to fall through and the good stuff will stay on the mesh.

 

[Gary McCarthy]

Here's what I did - https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/soil-screener.33317/#post-564457

 

[Bonsai Nut]

 

[Walter Pall]

I recycle my substrate and mix whatever I get in a big box. It cotains lots of dust and smaller particles and also lots of semi-decmposed old peat or coconut fibers.. One day I take a bucket, fill it half with the recycled substrate, fill the bucket with water and stir it. Then I pour the dirty water and fill with new water. At one point the water does not get dirty anymore. Then I have 'sieved' my substrate and can use it. Costs nothing, everything is in most gardens.

 

[moke]

View attachment 208465

What and where did you find this marvelous machine?

 

[Jhilliard6]

That larger automated machine is literally badass.
Various grits too? Looks expensive..

I do, however, like your idea quite a bit Gary, that’s a solid/cheap sifter. I’m assuming your simply rocking it back and forth on the wheels there, and that it’s pretty easy to sift maybe an entire 25-40lb bag at once?
(I’m not sure how to include his actual account name so that he gets a notification).

I’m not sure I follow Walter Pall’s method, how do I remove smaller particles by essentially washing the material? I may have misunderstood.

 

[Jhilliard6]

That’s a good point too about the saw.. I could likely make something which would work well, though I’m not sure how long it would last.
It’s just a pain due the width of the slot where you would normally insert a blade.

 

[Gary McCarthy]

I’m assuming your simply rocking it back and forth on the wheels there, and that it’s pretty easy to sift maybe an entire 25-40lb bag at once?.

Yes, that's correct.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

What and where did you find this marvelous machine?

It is at Taisho-En Bonsai in Japan:

https://bonsai-japan.com/taisho-en-shizuoka/

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Unless you have a coukoe hundred plants you don’t really need a mechanized sieve. I built two large wooden tray frames and on one I stalped 1/4” hardware cloth and on the other 1/8” aluminum window screen both from Lowes. I dump a bunch of pumice or whatever in the 1/4” tray and ot over a wheelbarrow. I dump the stuff that doesn’t go through into a bucket for crushing later. As for the stuff that made it through I shake it through the 1/8” sieve and am done. I can usually do all I need a for a couple dozen trees in a Saturday afternoon in the driveway.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I also just found these.... which look like they could work well as long as you are ok with the mesh sizes. Still have a fair amount of manual labor, but you could screen three sizes at once:

Stacking soil sieves

 

[Tiki]

It is at Taisho-En Bonsai in Japan:

https://bonsai-japan.com/taisho-en-shizuoka/

What an awsome link! Thank you!!

 

[markyscott]

This is how I do it.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/a-better-way-to-sieve.12697/

 

[M. Frary]

I dont really sift a thing.
I use 2 different size particles too.

 

[Gary McCarthy]

This is how I do it.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/a-better-way-to-sieve.12697/

This was the "inspiration" for mine

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I also just found these.... which look like they could work well as long as you are ok with the mesh sizes. Still have a fair amount of manual labor, but you could screen three sizes at once:

Stacking soil sieves

Good find. I may toss my wooden ones and order a set of these. I only need two sizes to get a 1/8-1/4” size fraction, but I store that in 5 gal buckets so it fits well with my scheme.

 

[Gary McCarthy]

I also just found these.... which look like they could work well as long as you are ok with the mesh sizes. Still have a fair amount of manual labor, but you could screen three sizes at once:

Stacking soil sieves

I have these as well and they are REALLY nice if you're just sifting a small amount of soil. But, for a 40 lb bag it's time consuming.

 

[Farwest]

I hear you. I started with the hand seives; then progressed to 5-gal buckets with screened bottoms in a twisting motion which works better. I’ve now settled into a series of stacked buckets, screened on bottom (1/2, 1/4, 1/8) that I bungee into a cement mixer. Noisier, but effective. I can seive about 30 gals./hour.

Also, if you are like me, your mind will wander for hours if you search “trommel” on youtube. They’re widely used by hobby goldminers as classifiers and would also work for our use.

 

[elroy]

I use these sieves. They fit perfectly on a 5 gallon bucket. You just rock the bucket around.

Elroy

I also just found these.... which look like they could work well as long as you are ok with the mesh sizes. Still have a fair amount of manual labor, but you could screen three sizes at once:

Stacking soil sieves