Hi, Bob: Sure do enjoy your articles! We have an old gold mining cradle made by my husband's great grandfather, and passed down to the eldest son. It still operates just fine when we take it to the river (So Fork of the Yuba River). Haven't taken it out in a couple of years. It sure is heavy, teak wood, we think. Got some very old "pans" that still find gold once in a while, too! Heavy rain years (like this one was in the spring) bring down lots of gold into the streams surrounding us. Thanks, Patricia [email protected] wrote: > Howdy, > Before rejoining 49er Harold C. GARDINER at Horse Shoe Bar on the North > Fork of the American River for a little gold mining, I CAUTION you folks of a > little overlap with my prior post, "49er Enos CHRISTMAN"s Birthing a Cradle in > 1850." May I suggest that those with little interest in mining-cradle > construction or its operation > <snipped>