"An old-timer could build damn near everything he needed out of a scrap pile and a good idea. Nothing's changed but the price of the pipe."
Every tool in here gets the same treatment: a real build plan with real dimensions — copied off the commercial units so you're not guessing — a full parts list with honest costs, the technique for using it right, the pitfalls that'll bite you, and an honest buy-vs-build call. Then, if it's worth buying, we point you at gear made by folks who actually prospect.
We're not about corporations and feeding big box stores. When we spend money on prospecting gear, it goes to the people who get in the creek. That's the rule, and here's how it works out in practice:
WE LINK:
WE DON'T LINK:
If you're new and building out a kit from nothing, here's the order that makes sense. This is aimed at Northeast prospecting — fine glacial gold in PA and NY, fine flakes and small pickers in Vermont.
| # | Build This | Why Now | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snuffer Bottle (×2) | Cheapest, fastest, and the highest-impact tool you can own. Make one for the creek and one for the camp table. Without it you'll lose the fine gold you worked all day for. | ~$4 |
| 2 | Crevice tool (hoof pick) | A horse hoof-cleaning pick from a farm supply store, a few dollars, perfect crevice scraper. Get a bright handle so the creek can't hide it. Covered in the sniper dredge guide. | ~$4 |
| 3 | Underwater viewer | Free from scrap PVC and a bit of plexiglass. Lets you actually see the bedrock through broken water. Build plan is in the sniper dredge guide. | ~$0-5 |
| 4 | Sniper Dredge | 1½" build. Light, precise, fits our tight Northeast crevices. This is where sniping gets serious and genuinely fun. | ~$15 |
| 5 | Hand Dredge | Build the 2" version once you're finding productive wide crevices and thinking "I need to move more material out of this hole." | ~$25 |
When a tool is worth buying rather than building, these are the outfits we'll send you to. Every one of them is prospector-founded, family-owned, or American-made. We check.
Based in Georgia, 100% of equipment made in the USA across three facilities. Their EPDM rubber sluice mats run from 200°F to -20°F with a 10+ year expected lifespan. The name to know for fine gold recovery. goldhog.com
One of the world's leading manufacturers of portable mining and prospecting equipment, still family-owned after seven decades. Where you go when you outgrow hand tools. keeneeng.com
Founded by Mike Kuykendall — over three decades mining and developing products. "Born out of a need for durable prospecting and small scale alluvial mining products." prolinemining.com
Genuinely small Kansas family shop. Their hand dredges say it right on the label: "Made by gold prospectors for gold prospectors." Good folks for snuffers, vials, and classifiers too. highplainsprospectors.com
Years of manufacturing effective, low-cost, ergonomic and environmentally safe prospecting tools. The Quick Sniper hand dredge is purpose-built for deep crevice work. gold-n-sand.com
The Gold Prospectors Association of America maintains claims its members can work — including several chapters right here in PA. Their snuffer bottle beats pricier competitors according to the prospectors using them. gpaastore.com
Motherlode Outfitters publishes a huge free library of technique articles and reader-submitted DIY equipment plans — several of which informed the guides in this very Toolshed. Outfits that share knowledge deserve support. goldfeverprospecting.com
Written by a Mackay School of Mines-trained mining engineer and ICMJ Mining Journal columnist who built his own dredge. Free plans for pans, dredges, sluices, and more. nevada-outback-gems.com
The shed's just getting stocked. Here's what's on the bench for future builds: