Hi Folks.
Well a lot of it is indeed true. And it was written in 2000. we did build the table and it performed as described.
Believe it or not.
Quite a few years back when I first started chasing that fine sea
beach gold I saw in a book a Vibrating shaker table design. It looked
quite good and me and my mate, thought right lets build one.
Basically
the design was like a highbanker mounted on four steel legs, the
steel
legs were single leaf springs off a car. A motor was mounted
underneath and this drove via a belt an eccentric cam which rested
against one of the steel spring legs.
The idea was that the cam would force the spring leg back and forward
etc, thus creating a back and forward movement of the entire rig, the
rejects would vibrate off the grizzly and the gold would vibrate to
the bottom of the riffles. Well it looked good on paper, so we
thought
right lets build one. Took a couple of days, but cost nothing, as
most
of the stuff we had.
Came the big day and we took it down to the beach we wanted to work.
This beach was gravelly in nature and that is why we neeeded to
screen
down. We knew the motor would go as we had tested it. It was an old
3hp Briggs and Stratton. It didn't have a kill switch. To stop it, it
had a lever you pushed down on the top of the spark plug to short
circuit the plug. This motor also didn't like starting unless the
throttle was turned full on.
We got everything set up, Rig on flat ground, water pump going to
supply water via grizzly, throttle full on, fuel on. Pull the Starter
rope, ahah first problem, nothing ever works first time. As there was
no clutch we were virtually trying to make it vibrate by hand. The
cam
was designed to be in constant contact with the spring leg. No
problems, a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and we wedged the leg back with a
piece of wood. Idea being start motor, then knock wedge out.
Right second attempt, pull starter cord and my gawd it roars into
action, throttle back to just above idle and with eager anticipation,
knock wedge out. Bruummph motor stalls, not enough power to drive cam
against leg.
Oh well third time lucky. Pull cord, motor roars, leave at full
power.
With much anticipation I lean forward and knock pin out. It works, it
works I cry, as the rig starts to vibrate, faster and faster and
faster. Shaking and vibrating just as the design said it would. But
it
keeps getting faster and the springs really start doing their work.
Back and forward they go faster than the eye can see. And then the
grease melts off he cam and she starts to smoke. Turn it of, turn it
off I cry. But before we can do that it starts to jump up and down
whilst still vibrating. Higher and higher it jumps in its own cloud
of
smoke. How do we turn this monster off I cry to my mate, its out of
control. He says bugger that you do it.
By this time there are bits of steel flying off and other assorted
debris. And then it plays its last trick on us, it starts to move,
slowly at first but as it gather momenteum it gets faster and faster.
Bolt for it I cry, its after us. And sure enough like some
prehistoric
dragon, bellowing fire and smoke it starts to jump in our direction
and we bolt for it. By this time the grease on the cam had completely
gone and the smoke had turned into flames. Clack clack clack went the
cam in an earsplitting crescendo as the rig built up more momenteum.
By this time its getting along the beach at a good clip with us in
hot
pursuit, but keeping a safe distance. What if it gets on the road I
cry, it will run someone over and we will get the blame. Lets just
bugger off and leave it, says my mate. We will find it when it runs
out of fuel. Yeh I say but it could be miles away by then. What if
there is a familly having a picnic further down the beach and it
attacks them. The headlines flash through my head. Woman attacked by
Vibrator on beach. This monster we have created has to be stopped
before it kills. Lets push it over says my mate, bugger you I says,
it'll chop your arm off. Well get a pole then. So off he runs back
down the beach where there was a bit of dfift wood.
Arriving back with a lengthy pole, I say lets try and turn it off
first.
But alas everytime we approached it seemed to sense our presence and
would burst into renewed vigour, hopping away out of reach. Well we
had built it well, I'll give you that. It just didn't want to die.
Oh well push it over I said, it will probably ruin the motor but we
have to do it in, its either it or us. So sneaking up with the pole I
give it a mighty shove. Got ya I cry as it topples over onto its side.
Now die you eveil thing we created. But alas all is not over, like
some form of giant land crab it adopts another series of movements
and
now scuttles more than jumps. Will this nightmare ever end. Oh hell
fuel is leaking out of the tank, run for it, she's going to self
destruct. Never thought of that when I pushed it over, silly me. Red
hot metal, petrol.
Small Column. Westport News August 1986
The Charleston Fire Brigade were called to the Nine Mile Beach at
3.00pm yesterday. A local farmer reported hearing a small explosion
and seeing a plume of smoke coming from the beach area. On arrival
the
Brigade found the twisted remains of some mechanical device. There
was
no-one present. The Chief Officer said that it appeared to be some
form of fishing device that launched the line similar to a cannon.
The
barrel was missing and it is assummed that the owner had overloaded
it and it had blown apart The device had a motor attached to the
bottom part with a belt and it was believed that this was for
retrieving the long line after it had been in the sea a while. As no
bodies or body parts were found, it appears the culprits ran off
before the arrival of the Brigade and local Police.
Cheers Trev aka " The Hatter"
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