"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...
If you build such a screener, you can use 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware cloth
wire depending on how fine you want to screen the dirt. I have used
expanded wire (stucco or plaster) lath and found the sharp edges help to
clean the material. Don't build a square that you have to shake by hand,
build it on a slope and long enough so that a wheelbarrow can fit under it
to catch the bulk of the good soil. The screen on a slope, about a 45
degree angle, will allow you to shovel the material onto the top area and
allow gravity to pull in down the screen cleaning the material with the
gravel dropping off the bottom. If the material is sticky you may need to
shovel it back over the screen a few times to get it cleaner.

Shaking a sieve or screen by hand is backbreaking and very slow.
Shovelling on a slanted screen is easy especially if a wheelbarrow can
catch much of the good soil. You will be able to much more work with less
effort.

I have used one for hundreds of wheelbarrow loads cleaning old junk, rocks
and roots from good soil for my gardens.


The back of a straight metal rake works well, too.