Method or apparatus for sifting compost?

Some of us sift compost to get a nice fine textured uniform product for mulching, topdressing beds or lawns, or adding to pots. Right now I am digging up the pile I built last fall and there's a lot of good stuff in there but a fair amount of sticks, wads of leaves that didn't rot yet, stuff like that .
Who has the best technique/tool for this?
I have a 3 by3 foot square of 1/2 inch hardware cloth, with an inch bent up on all sides, for a sifter. I can put about two forkfulls on it and shake. Stuff falls into and around a blue tub on the ground. Can also sit and use gloved hands to push/rub the stuff around and through. Not too bad a method, but as a true engineer's daughter I must try for a better way. Hm, just had a thought to make the sides taller and bottom smaller, more like a bowl than a tray, to keep more stuff in the bin.

Anybody else?

I made a 3'x3' frame of 1v2's around 1/2" hardware cloth. I lay it on top of my wheel barrow and shove the compost on top of it. Give it a shake or 2 every now now and then.
Its not high tech but it works for me.

Paul

thanks- thats how we started. I guess the boards rotted eentually. Too heavy for me to pick up and shake, but I must have rocked it on one edge. Does sound pretty good.

Sally.........that's a lot of work that in most applications is not required at all. Just dig out the smalls and leave the bigger clumps. Your soil biology will use the little lumps and even small twigs.

If you need a little screened for in house inside use so be it. I however keep about a half inch of compost mulch on my inside pot plantings. I can live with a little unfinished matter. A little uncured or unprocessed matter just remains mulch a bit longer.

and make handy treats for any roaming puppies!

Yes, I understand. It's a matter of how neat you want to be for your uses.

We have a screen that fits over our wheelbarrow, and we rub the compost into the screen with heavy gloves. It is tedious, but makes lovely fluffy compost. We push the rocks off onto the ground and throw the uncomposted materials back on the other compost pile.

Where do you get hardware cloth. I've not heard of it. I've been out picking out sticks. I'll know from now one to be careful letting them get in there.

Harware cloth should be at any hardware store, as far as I know. Kind of like window screening on steroids.
Paul's and Weezin's methods are both working well. With a wood bar across the end of my screen, it rests on the wheelbarrow edges and I can grab the back with one hand and shake/slide front to back. When I feel like sitting, and actually have gloves on, I do it Weezin style.
and when I hit a nice sweet spot in the pile, I use it straight up in a non-fussy location.

Freshly screened compost is a lovely thing, indeed! I've been sifting away, merrily throwing old uncomposed fish heads back in the other bin, and thinking, life doesn't get much better than this!

weez- I can just picture you!!!! ha ha ha where do I sign up? I was laying in bed last night heard the rain started and thinking- crap, my sifted compost s getting all soaked, I didn' get it in the bucket.

We sift ours into a fish tote. The tote is PVC and is about 4' x 4'. I throw a piece of plywood over it to keep the rain out, but it also has some holes in the bottom for drainage. We try to sift a batch in the fall so it is ready for spring, but we ran out of time this fall and just shoveled it into the tote to sift later. That allowed us to start a fresh batch on that side. Our compost is divided into to bins with removeable sides that slide into place. That way, we can transfer it over and turn it in the process, then start a batch on the side from which we transferred.

Kind of interesting regional thing. I have never heard of a fish tote, but then you may not have any idea what in Maryland is a crab pot, which is not a 'pot' in any other sense of that word.

I use one of those square plastic about 12"x12"x12" containers with the handles of the side that you find near dupsters in commercial locations. I am not sure what they are really for but, maybe held bottles at one time? I partly fill with compost, hold the side handles and shake. I just get out the big wood pieces some small oak leaves and twigs get through.

This is my answer to compost screening. This is my new one. The previous one lasted 20 years. I have two, now. One is 1/4 inch wire mesh and the one shown is 1/2 inch wire mesh. My criteria for height and shape is that my largest wheel barrow will fit under it, even with the lower cross member. I have a square-fronted wheelbarrow down in front to catch the unwanted rocks, sticks etc. I just happened to have the upright legs inside a tote for the best fit in this case. Another helper is a 2X4 with two long nails at each end to poke through the screen and keep balls of good stuff from rolling into the waste barrow when shoveling the screen full. I use leather gloves to rub the compost through. You can see my 3 bay compost bin just beyond. I also use the 1/2 inch to screen my sawdust which I use under my chickens. Since the sawdust and chicken waste end up in the compost I feel justified in going the extra step to screen the sawdust.
Carol

That is slick, ceeadsalaskazone3! I'll have to show your photo to the DH. I can already hear him groaning and moaning, LOL.

what a lovely neat compost area! you're a pro.

I have never sifted compost, but I have sifted lots of dirt. I grew up working with my dad in the yard. His devise was similar to ceeadsalaskazone3's, 2 x 4 frame, quarter inch hardware cloth. Only his is mobile. Metal brackets designed for saw horses, are the brace for removable legs. The brackets are available at most hardware stores. They are designed to have 2 x 4's inserted as legs. These can be cut to any desired height. The brackets are also hinged, so when the legs are pulled apart, small teeth grip your 2 x 4 frame. From there, sifting can be done with gloved hands or non pointy garden tools (you don't want to pierce your screen). At one time I built one out of 2 x 10's,(it's what I had available, for free) It was way too heavy. 2 x 4 is the way to go.

Not Here, that was the idea, least amount of weight and least amount of wood. I, too, have sifted many, many screensful of compost, sawdust (for under chickens), and even gravel for a base for pathways. When I'm not screening, I'm raking. I like the place neat. I rake my firewood area neat always. I move my screens by getting under them and lifting the screen part with my back and just walking to the new area. Very light weight.
Carol

I have to tell you my DH looked at your pics and did not moan and groan! He was drooling on my keyboard! Silly man, he's in love with your compost bins and is already talking about how he can modify the next one he's going to build for me. These are made out of left over pallets and are just wonderful, but I sometimes have trouble turning the pile. Something with a door would make it so much easier.
Thank you for the visual, I believe I may owe you a cookie or two before this is all over. LOL

Here's a thread you might enjoy:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/597819/

That was interesting, especially this link:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/compost-sifter-screen-sieve.php

Thanks.

I liked reading this.

Doccat5
An improvement on my design for pile turners (people who like to turn their piles) would be making the longitudinal slats removeable. I would make each bin board with a kinda leg on each end or curved bottom of some kind for better air circulation. That way you could lower or raise the bin sides to make it easier to shovel/pitchfork between the bins. That also could be applied to the front slats/bin boards. (having the gap between slats/binboards. By the way, I drilled holes in each bin board to hang them when removing them for access at different levels of compost.
Carol

Way cool, DH was mumbling something about the new bin design this evening. God knows what will happen, but it should be interesting. When he builds something, it ain't gonna nowhere...........LOL