Gold-N-Sand

10/09/2026

Did you know you can order replacement parts for your Gold-N-Sand X-Stream right from our website? 👀⛏️

We’re spending some time in the shop today making valve diaphragms, so we figured this would be a good opportunity to remind everyone that you don’t have to replace your entire X-Stream just because a part gets worn out!

We offer several replacement parts on our website, including Valve Sets, Diaphragm Sets, and Leather Cup Sets.

Let’s face it, prospecting equipment gets put through some pretty tough conditions. Between sand, gravel, rocks, and all those hard-to-reach bedrock cracks, things are eventually going to wear out. That’s just part of putting your equipment to work!

One of the things we love about the X-Stream is that you can replace these parts and keep your equipment working instead of having to buy an entirely new setup.

So whether you’re getting ready for your next prospecting adventure or you’ve noticed your trusty X-Stream could use a little TLC, we’ve got you covered!

You can find replacement parts at GOLD-N-SAND.COM.

Now, back to making diaphragms! Apparently these things aren’t going to assemble themselves. 😂⛏️

Leave No Gold Behind!

~Dave

10/08/2026

Let’s talk about the Gold-N-Sand X-Stream! ⛏️👀

We get quite a few questions about the X-Stream, and they’re good questions! So we figured we’d answer a few of the most common ones and explain what makes this little hand dredge such a useful tool to have in your prospecting gear.

Q: “Why would I buy an X-Stream when I can just dive down and snipe the gold out of the cracks myself?”

A: That’s a fair question! If you’re lucky enough to have some nice chunky gold sitting in a bedrock crack, you might be able to spot it and pick it out by hand. But what about all the gold you CAN’T see? In most gold-bearing areas, a lot of the gold is extremely fine. You aren’t going to be able to pick every little flake out of a crack underwater. The X-Stream lets you collect the material from those cracks so you can process it and recover the fine gold you might otherwise leave behind. Why wash all that potential gold downstream when you could be putting it in your vial? 😁 And for people like me who have tubes in their ears and can’t put their heads underwater, the X-Stream gives us a way to work those submerged bedrock cracks too!

Q: “Can the X-Stream be used completely underwater?”

A: Absolutely! The Gold-N-Sand X-Stream can be operated completely submerged underwater. You can work those cracks and crevices below the surface and collect the material without having to bring the pump out of the water with every stroke. It’s designed to work where the gold likes to hide!

Q: “But doesn’t the collection bucket float?”

A: We’ve heard this one too! 😂 And yes, an empty bucket can float. But there’s a pretty simple solution to that problem.

Put a rock in it! 🪨😂

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones. A rock can help weigh the bucket down and keep it in place while you’re working underwater.

Q: “Do I have to collect everything in a bucket?”

A: Nope! And this is where another Gold-N-Sand product comes into play. We also make the Boomer Box, which is a header that connects to your sluice. Instead of sending the material into a collection bucket, you can use your X-Stream to pump material directly into the Boomer Box and feed it into your sluice!

That means you can work those cracks and crevices while your sluice does the processing. It’s a pretty handy setup, especially when you’re working an area with a lot of material to move.

Q: “Why not just use a shovel or crevice tool?”

A: We use those too! They’re great tools, especially for dry bedrock. But when you’re dealing with narrow cracks underwater, a shovel isn’t always going to reach the material at the bottom. And trying to scoop that material out by hand can stir everything up and send some of the finer material downstream. The X-Stream helps you get into those hard-to-reach places and move that material into your collection system.

Q: “Is the X-Stream worth carrying into remote prospecting spots?”

A: That’s another reason we like it. It’s lightweight, portable, and doesn’t require a gas-powered pump or electricity. You can take it hiking into those harder-to-reach areas without hauling a bunch of heavy equipment. Because apparently gold never got the memo that it’s supposed to be conveniently located next to the parking lot. 😂

At the end of the day, we’re not saying the X-Stream replaces every other prospecting tool. We use pans, sluices, crevice tools, metal detectors, and plenty of other equipment ourselves. But we also know there are situations where a hand dredge can make a big difference.

It’s not just about the gold you can see. It’s about the gold you might otherwise leave behind.

That’s what the Gold-N-Sand X-Stream was designed for.

Leave No Gold Behind! ⛏️

Check out the X-Stream and Boomer Box at GOLD-N-SAND.COM

And if you’ve got questions about the X-Stream, drop them in the comments! We’re prospectors ourselves, and we’re always happy to talk gold and equipment. We might even learn something from you along the way!

10/05/2026

Let’s talk about gold prospecting for a minute.

I got into prospecting back in 2021, which probably sounds a little strange considering I live in Oklahoma, 600+ miles from any real gold-bearing country. My first real prospecting trip was to California. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. One day I found a creek(with permission), set up a sluice, and started running dirt. Eight hours went by in what felt like twenty minutes. At the end of the day, I probably had $12 worth of gold to show for it, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

But something else happened that day that ended up being worth a whole lot more than the gold. My mind got quiet. I have ADD, and my brain is usually running about 47 different directions at once. But standing in that creek, listening to the water and watching material work its way through a sluice, everything else disappeared. I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to do tomorrow or what I forgot to do yesterday. I was just looking for gold. Something changed in me that day, and I knew this was different.

Since then I’ve traveled a lot of miles chasing the yellow stuff. I’ve found tiny flakes, some nice nuggets, and some pretty incredible gold. But somewhere along the way, prospecting became about a whole lot more than what ended up in my vial. I started meeting people in the prospecting community who I can now honestly say are some of my best friends. We’ve stood in creeks together, wandered around deserts together, celebrated each other’s nuggets, sat around camp telling stories, and yes, probably spent an unreasonable amount of money on prospecting equipment along the way.

But that experience has also taught me the difference between buying another piece of equipment just because it looks cool and finding something that actually earns a permanent spot in your prospecting gear. That’s a big part of why, when the opportunity came along for our family to carry on Gold-N-Sand, we believed in it. The X-Stream is one of those pieces of equipment we believe is worth owning. It solves a real problem in the field—getting into those cracks, crevices and places a shovel simply can’t reach. We were prospectors before we became the owners of Gold-N-Sand, and I think that matters. We want to make and sell equipment that we would actually want in our own gear.

People always ask me when I get home from a prospecting trip, “Did you find enough gold to pay for the trip?” Nope. Not even close. I live in Oklahoma. The math was doomed from the beginning.

But they’re counting the wrong gold.

For me, the gold is eight hours disappearing in what feels like twenty minutes. It’s a mind that finally gets quiet. It’s the places prospecting has taken me and the people I’ve met along the way. It’s strangers who somehow became some of my closest friends. And every once in a while, I even get to bring home a little of the shiny kind too.

That’s what gold prospecting has become for me. So I’m curious, why do you prospect? I have a feeling for a lot of us, the answer isn’t just gold.

~Dave

09/20/2026

There’s gold in that clay… but it’s gonna make you work for every speck of it.

We finally got around to cleaning up some concentrates we brought home from Colorado back in May. We spent part of that trip experimenting with a pretty thick clay layer, and judging by the pan, there was definitely gold hiding in it.

The problem? Clay is a gold thief.

Clay loves to hold onto everything. If those little clay balls don’t get completely broken down, they can carry fine gold right through your system. But it can get you another way too—when those clay balls tumble through your sluice, they can actually grab gold that has already settled into your riffles and carry it right back out. So when you’re dealing with clay, breaking it down completely before you run it is pretty important.

Did this layer have gold? Absolutely. Was the amount of gold worth all the extra time we spent breaking down and processing that clay? Ehhh… probably not.

But that’s prospecting. You can look at a layer and make your best guess, but until you dig it, run it and see what ends up in the pan, you really don’t know.

We tried it. We found gold. We learned something. And we had fun doing it. I’d call that a successful day of prospecting.

Lesson of the day: Clay might be holding gold…but it’ll steal it right back if you let it.

09/18/2026

We got our new machine installed today here at Gold-N-Sand!

We’ve been working behind the scenes on bringing a new line of prospecting equipment to Gold-N-Sand, and this is a pretty big step toward making that happen.

There’s still plenty of work ahead, but we’re excited to finally start turning some of these ideas into reality.

We can’t wait to get this thing rolling and show you what we’ve been working on. 😏

Exciting things are coming to Gold-N-Sand. Stay tuned!

09/16/2026

Ever find the perfect bedrock crack… only to realize it’s underwater?

Dry bedrock cracks aren’t too bad. A crevice tool, brush and a little patience can usually get you down into them.

Underwater is a different story.

I’ve actually run into this myself while metal detecting. I’d get a target down in a bedrock crack underwater, know something was down there, and absolutely fight trying to get it out. Your shovel isn’t fitting into that little crack, and trying to scoop material out with your hands underwater is about as effective as you’d imagine. 😂 Gold is incredibly heavy, so as you bring the lighter material up, those little pieces of gold can fall right back down through the water into the crack.

And at the time, I didn’t have a Gold-N-Sand. I sure could’ve used one.

That’s exactly the kind of problem the Gold-N-Sand X-Stream was designed to solve.

Instead of trying to scoop that material out by hand, the X-Stream lets you work down into those submerged cracks and crevices and moves the material through the system directly into the collection bucket. No trying to hurry a loaded hand pump over to your pan before material starts dribbling back out.

And because the system is lightweight and portable, it’s easy to pack into those places where the best prospecting spot happens to be a good hike from the truck. Because somehow the gold never seems to have the courtesy to deposit itself beside the parking lot. 😂

Prospecting lesson for the day: Don’t ignore those underwater bedrock cracks. There might be something hiding down there. 👀⛏️

And apparently I should’ve owned an X-Stream a few years sooner.

What’s your favorite tool for cleaning bedrock cracks?

09/15/2026

Alright Gold-N-Sand family… let’s see some GOLD! 👀⛏️

We’d love to see what everyone has been finding with their Gold-N-Sand X-Stream or Quick-Sniper!

Big gold, tiny gold, chunky gold, flour gold… we don’t care. If you worked for it and got it in the pan, we want to see it. 😂

Drop a picture in the comments and tell us what state you found it in and which Gold-N-Sand setup you used. Don’t worry, we’re not asking for your secret spot. We know better than that. 😂

We’d also love to start featuring some of your finds here on the page, so don’t be surprised if we reach out and ask permission to share yours!

Alright… show us that GOLD!

09/13/2026

Well… we figured it was time to introduce ourselves.

If you’ve followed Gold-N-Sand for a while, you’re probably wondering who these Bearded Brothers people are that suddenly showed up. 😂 So before we get too far into this next chapter, we wanted to tell you a little about who we are and what’s happening with Gold-N-Sand.

We’re excited to officially announce that Bearded Brothers Mining Supply has purchased Gold-N-Sand from Cash Best.

But before we go any further, we want everyone to know one important thing: Gold-N-Sand isn’t going anywhere. We have a lot of respect for the history behind this company, and we will be keeping the Gold-N-Sand legacy name and continuing to manufacture and sell the products under the name people have known and trusted for years. Bearded Brothers may be the new owners, but Gold-N-Sand will still be Gold-N-Sand.

For those who know the history, Gold-N-Sand started with Red Wilcox, inventor of the original Gold-N-Sand hand pump/dredge. Eventually the business made its way to Cash Best, who has spent years continuing what Red started, building the products, growing the business and getting Gold-N-Sand equipment into the hands of prospectors all over the world.

Now Cash has trusted the next chapter to the four of us: Adrian and Tracy Dilley, and Dave and Jenny Schweitzer.

We’re family, business partners, gold prospectors and, apparently, four people who looked at everything we already had going on in life and collectively decided we needed another adventure. 😂 But in all seriousness, we’re incredibly excited about this one.

Cash is a good friend of ours, which makes this mean a little more than simply buying a business. We know how much work he has put into Gold-N-Sand, and we have a tremendous amount of respect for what Red originally created and what Cash has continued to build. Being trusted to carry that forward means a lot to all four of us.

We also have some pretty exciting plans for the future. We’re working on new products of our own, expanding what we manufacture in-house and looking forward to growing Gold-N-Sand while still respecting the history and reputation behind the name.

You’ll probably notice a lot more activity here on the page too. Dave Schweitzer will primarily be the guy behind the Gold-N-Sand page going forward. Some of you may already know him as Oklahoma Backroad Explorer, and if you do, you probably already know he likes telling stories, taking pictures, chasing gold and occasionally writing posts that are entirely too long. 😂 So now you know who to blame.

Most importantly, we want to thank Cash for trusting us with something he has worked so hard to build. There are years of hard work, friendships, memories and probably a whole lot of gold tied to this company, and we don’t take the responsibility of carrying it forward lightly.

And to everyone who has supported Gold-N-Sand over the years, thank you. We hope you’ll stick around, get to know us and come along for what’s next.

Gold-N-Sand isn’t going anywhere. The legacy continues.

We’re just getting started. ⛏️

— Adrian & Tracy Dilley
Dave & Jenny Schweitzer
Bearded Brothers Mining Supply / Gold-N-Sand

05/04/2026