Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sidney Wood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sidney, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I attribute my strong work ethic to the example my father set. I specifically recall one rainy evening when I was about 10 years old when it clicked for me. We were at the gold mine, doing maintenance on a massive mineral jig plant he and my grandfather designed. This was after the crew had called it a night and I was cold and tired. He was teaching me how to replace a motor pulley that hung down under the frame. We were lying in the mud, getting drenched, and I asked why he didn’t tell somebody else to do it. He was the boss after all. He said that people won’t follow a leader that isn’t willing to get down in the mud and get dirty with them. You don’t always have to do it but they have to know you will. They have to see it sometimes. That stuck with me, even as a US Marine and later in the Army.
He also taught me to never “half ass” a job. Always finish the job and always do it right. My dad is the hardest working person I ever met.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
A few years ago I decided to build a portable mineral jig for my own use. I wanted it to be similar to the enormous machines my father and grandfather built but small enough to carry around. Mineral jigs are far superior to sluice boxes at recovering gold but they typically weigh hundreds or thousands of pounds and are prohibitively expensive. Equally important, most people find them too complicated to operate efficiently.
Fortunately, I not only learned about operating jigs as a 3rd generation Alaska miner, but I also had a hand in designing and building jigs. Thanks to service in the USMC and US ARMY I am a helicopter mechanic and heavy equipment operator. All of those things helped me speed through the development process and come up with the world’s first truly portable and configurable mineral jig, the Riverdance Mini-Jig.
Today, I manufacture and sell the Riverdance Mini-Max, a simplex jig that weighs 12 lbs, the Riverdance Max, a duplex jig that weighs 17 lbs, and the Pioneer Peak Max, a 2 stage triplex jig that weighs 27 lbs. My jigs are now in 4 countries and 15 states,
This summer we are starting production on a YouTube reality show called Riverdance Gold Hunter.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I have always been inquisitive, and problem solving is a true strength. I love it. That’s the point of designing any machine isn’t it? You are solving a problem, and then there are a thousand more to solve along the way. It’s exhilarating!
Another thing that has aided me is understanding that simplicity is an advantage. It is not enough to make something work. It must be efficient or you are asking for more problems. There is a saying in firearms training. Speed is the absence of wasted motion. The same is true in engineering. I strive to make my machines simple, durable, and ultra-efficient.
The third thing that has aided me is my ability to focus on an objective and see it through. It is something I am wired to do. For example, I have authored 11 books, sometimes writing multiple books at the same time. Once I latched onto the idea of making portable mineral jigs I wasn’t about to stop until I made something absolutely world-class, and I have done it.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Manufacturing in Alaska is challenging because of supply chain issues and higher costs. Still, it is important to me, so I am always looking for solutions to keep materials on hand while driving costs down.
Contact Info:
- Website: Https://rgmak.com
- Instagram: Https://Instagram.com/rgm_ak
- Facebook: Https://Facebook.com/rgmalaska
- Youtube: Https://youtube.com@RiverdanceGoldMining
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