Making a Soil Sieve to Screen Compost

After many years of hard use, I needed to make a new soil sieve. My old one (shown above) was badly rotted at the corners. Even pressure treated lumber doesn't last forever. Note that the galvanized hardware cloth lasted longer than the lumber. Always clean your sieve after using it.

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Supplies and resources needed to make a new soil sieve:

1. PT lumber (2"x4"). Lumber from recycled plastic would have been better, but I could not find it in 2"x4"
   
2. Hardware cloth (1/4"). Other sizes would work, too. I like 1/4".
   
3. Framing corners and staples (shown later). I used galvanized everything to prevent corrosion from using dissimilar metals.
4. Total cost is ~$25
5. Time to complete ~60 minutes
   

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First step is to measure my old one and cut the lumber. I then laid out the cut pieces to make sure they fit together and are square. You want to size it so that it fits over your wheelbarrow to make sieving an easy chore.

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Then square up the corners (using a framing square) and attach using framing corner to hold shape securely. I used galvanized nails with these galvanized corners.

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Now comes the tricky part-- attaching the hardware cloth. Flip the frame over so you have only wood (no framing corners) and attach the cut-to-fit hardware cloth to the frame using galvanized double pointed staples.

Two tips: 1) cut hardware cloth as close to inside as possible and mount so it doesn't come outside the wood-- this prevents snagging it on your clothes when carrying. 2) Hold staples with needle-nose pliers when nailing to save your fingers.

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You did it! Your finished soil sieve should look like this (bottom is shown on left and top on right). Notice that it fits my wheelbarrow nicely.

This one is build better than my old one. I'm thinking it will last for more than 30 years. That means I'll get to pass it to the next generation.

Cheers!
Mark