The bellows machine was created around the 1700's. A couple of miners had been watching the Indians do what is called winnowing; to winnow it takes four people and a blanket, one person to a corner. Dirt is deposited by shovel to the center and the dirt is tossed into the air by which the wind removes the dust and dirt. After awhile, if the dirt and gravel is gold-bearing, the gold becomes visible and is removed and the process begins again.

Well, being the lazy souls they were, they figured out an easier way. The bellows machine has a hopper that holds several shovels full of dirt, which is put through a screen to remove gravel and large rocks. As the machine pumps air through another screen that is positioned below the hopper with riffles placed at certain spaces, the dirt begins to travel down across the screen over the riffles. Dirt, having a specific gravity of one to ten, is blown over the riffles and eventually out of the machine. The gold, having a specific gravity of 19.3 is trapped behind the riffles and removed at a later time.

In the old days, naturally the machine was pumped by hand and was very crude, but still collected gold. Today the bellows machine is built to very scientifically tested standards and is motor driven, so as to process 100 times more material than its ancestor. The bellows machine works without water, the drier the better. Water is only used to pan the gold from the concentrates developed during the process.

Brewer Bellows Machine Construction

The materials used in making the Brewer's Bellows Machine are of necessity rather than desire. The machine cycles 120 times per minute, causing the machine to vibrate, which causes the dirt to flow out of the hopper onto the riffle board that separates the gold from the dirt and gravel. The machine has to thump and move and flex to work properly. So wood is used for the frame. Most of the wood used is #1 grade. Special cloth and screen is used on the riffle board and special canvas is used to make the bellows. This material must flex thousands of times during the lifetime of the machine, and I still have machines working after 10 years.

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Specs

Weight: Approx 30 lbs.

Price: $990. plus tax, discount available (Cash! Save the tax.)

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Parts

With only two exceptions - the drive wheel, which never wears out and the riffle board, which costs $200 - all parts can be purchased at any hardware store close to where one is staying, and the machine is readily repaired in the field with a minimum of skill and tools. Several dealers have access to parts, such as the Randsburg General Store or can get parts delivered overnight at a minimal cost (freight cost.)

I have over 200 drywashers out there. All one needs to do is see one working and strike up a conversation with the owner.

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Gold Mining Club

The club name is yet to be determined, and a charter has to be outlined, but the way it works is persons who have purchased a Brewer Bellows machine forgo the initial fee to join. Memberships for persons wishing to join on their own are $100 each. All persons belonging to the club pay $16 per month. The club supplies claims to work that are only available to members. Members do not have to prospect the claim; all prospecting is done for them, and if we are notified beforehand of a memberﾕs impending visit, flags will be placed with a special color known only to the member showing them where to process material. Whatever gold is found hopefully will be reported, but it is not required, and all gold found belongs to the member. On my last six claims, (approx. 160 acres per claim) members reported recovering approximately $50 - $100 per visit. Not bad for a vacation. Gold pays for gas and soda. All claims are controlled and paid for by the club. At a cost of $125 per claim per year and maintained by club management.

Outings are conducted several times per year involving all claims. During these outings, members combine their efforts in a common dig, paying $50 to $100 per person, depending on how long the dig is. At the end of the dig all gold is weighed and split between payers.

General meetings are held. Officers are voted in or out. Future plans and directions are calculated. Members vote as to the direction in which they wish their club to go: in or out, new claims, old claims, officers, outings, meetings.

The club, while controlled by members is a for-profit organization, and monies paid monthly and monies paid in the common dig go to the designer and club organizer. All commercial equipment used in the common dig - such as backhoes and large commercial drywashers - are paid for by the owner's of the club. The gold goes to the members. There are no time restraints on staying on claims and no user fees. Claims range from drywashing claims on the desert to river claims for dredging. A minimum of three dry and three wet will be kept unless voted against by members, but at least six claims will always be onboard, wet or dry. People change as do claims.

Chuck Brewer, 2003: Call Me: 661-302-5173