Create Sifting in FTB Skies 2

Create Sifting adds a sifter block to Create. If you have played with the Ex Nihilo sieve, you already know the idea: you put items in, run them through a mesh, and get other items out. The mod is built to be used in modpacks, which makes it a good fit here.^[1]

What the sifter does

The Sifter does automated sifting and works much like Create's Millstone. You can toss items on top of it, or feed it automatically with hoppers, funnels or chutes. Right-click it with a mesh to install the mesh. Right-click with an empty hand to clear its inventories, and Shift + right-click to take the mesh out.^[1]

The mesh decides what you can sift. The mod has string, andesite, brass and sturdy meshes, and it also adds a zinc mesh for modpacks. Meshes work in the sifter or in your hand, like Create's sandpaper. Advanced meshes only work in the brass sifter.^[1]

Brass sifter

The brass sifter is the upgrade. A high redstone signal disables its processing, it has an output filter, and it has a bigger output capacity. It also processes 8x per cycle. Both the 8x and the capacity are configurable, so I can't promise this pack keeps the defaults.^[1]

Where it fits in this pack

The pack includes the 1.21.1 build of the mod. You meet it early, in the "the_beginning" quest chapter. One quest asks you to get a water strainer from the FTB Stuff set (any wood type counts) and a Stone Pebble. Another asks for the Sifter and an Mechanical Cloth Mesh.^[2][3]

• Quest "Don't Strain Yourself" quest: a water strainer, plus a stone pebble.^[3]
• Quest "The Old Ways" quest: the sifter, plus a cloth mesh.^[3]

Unverified The pack's mod list shows Create Sifting as version 2.2.2, but the jar file name says 2.3.0, so the exact version is unconfirmed. The sources also don't show whether the pack changed any sifting recipes or configs, or where the cloth mesh comes from.

The Create Sifting mod adds the Sifter, a machine that turns items into other items by sifting them. In this pack, the early quests in the "the_beginning" chapter walk you toward it, so you can follow them as a rough checklist.^[1][3][4]

Step 1: Grab a water strainer and a Stone Pebble

Quest "Don't Strain Yourself" quest asks you to hand in two things: a water strainer (any wood type works) and a Stone Pebble. That makes the pebble one of the first sifting-related items the quests ask you to get.^[3]

Step 2: Craft the Sifter

Next, make the Sifter itself. It's a shaped crafting recipe, and it's the pack's own recipe for this mod, so use this one:^[5]

SifterMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any plank	Andesite Casing	any plank
Stick	Cogwheel	Stick
Empty slot	any stone	Empty slot

Recipe id: createsifter:crafting/sifter

Quest "The Old Ways" quest asks for the Sifter together with an Mechanical Cloth Mesh, so hold on to that mesh too.^[3]

Step 3: Add a mesh

A sifter needs a mesh to work. According to the mod's description, you right-click the sifter with a mesh to add it. The same page lists String, Andesite, Brass and Sturdy meshes, plus a zinc mesh for modpacks.^[1]

Step 4: Power it and start sifting

1. Power the sifter from the side using cogwheels.^[4]
2. Throw or insert items at the top.^[4]
3. Wait a bit, then right-click to collect the result.^[4]

Once that works, you can also extract the outputs with automation. The mod description mentions hoppers, funnels and chutes for feeding items in.^[1][4]

The idea behind Create Sifting is simple: you put items into a Sifter, it works on them for a while, and you collect the results. The mod is meant for modpacks, and the project page describes it as heavily inspired by the Ex Nihilo sieve. It works much like Create's Millstone block.^[1][4]

Building and powering the Sifter

Here is how the Sifter is crafted in this pack.^[5]

SifterMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any plank	Andesite Casing	any plank
Stick	Cogwheel	Stick
Empty slot	any stone	Empty slot

Recipe id: createsifter:crafting/sifter

The Sifter is powered from the side using cogwheels, so it hooks into your Create kinetic setup like any other machine. In this pack the stress impact is set to 4 for the Sifter (stressValues.v1.impact.sifter) and 16 for the brass sifter (stressValues.v1.impact.brass_sifter), so the brass version is a much bigger load on your network.^[4][6]

There is also a minimum required speed, Sifter.minimumSpeed, set to 1 in this pack. That matches the mod default.^[6]

Meshes

The Sifter does nothing useful without a mesh. Right-click it with a mesh to add one. The mesh decides what the input turns into. Meshes work in the Sifter or in your hand, like Create's sandpaper. The available types are String, Andesite, Brass and Sturdy, and a zinc mesh is added for modpacks. Advanced meshes only work with the brass sifter.^[1]

Mesh durability is configurable, and the mod page says it only applies to hand sifting by default. This pack turns both options off, Meshes.useMeshDurabilityWithHand and Meshes.useMeshDurabilityWithSifter, so meshes do not use durability whether you sift by hand or with a Sifter. The mod page also says meshes can be enchanted with Unbreaking.^[1][6]

Feeding and collecting

1. Throw or insert items at the top of the Sifter. You can also feed it automatically with hoppers, funnels or chutes.^[1][4]
2. Wait while it processes. This takes some time.^[4]
3. Right-click to get the result. Automation can extract the outputs too, so you do not have to collect by hand.^[4]

Right-clicking with an empty hand clears the Sifter's inventories, in this order: output, then input. Shift plus right-click removes the mesh.^[1]

The Sifter's output capacity is set to 16 in this pack, the same as the mod default. See Sifter.outputCapacity.^[6]

The brass sifter

The brass sifter is the upgraded version. The mod page lists these features:^[1]

• A high redstone signal disables processing.^[1]
• It has an output filter.^[1]
• It processes 8x per cycle, which is configurable, and it has a bigger output capacity, also configurable.^[1]

In this pack, [[config:config/createsifter-server.toml#Brass Sifter.outputCapacity]] is 8, described as the items processed per cycle. That is the mod default.^[6]

Recipe conditions

Sifting recipes can add optional conditions. A recipe can require a waterlogged Sifter, which gives a different output. In-hand meshes count as waterlogged when the player is standing in a liquid block. A recipe can also require the brass sifter even for normal meshes. If a recipe needs it, its tooltip shows that it requires a brass sifter.^[1][4]

The mod also merges recipes that share the same mesh and input block, which makes compatibility with other mods easier. The mod page names EnderIO, Ars Nouveau and AE2 as current examples.^[1]

Visual options

Some client settings control what you see on the machine. Both are on in this pack: mechanicalSifterClient.v1.renderMovingMesh renders the moving mesh, and mechanicalSifterClient.v1.renderSiftedBlock renders the sifted block.^[7]

Unverified The sources do not show which inputs and outputs this pack's sifting recipes use, how long each takes, or whether the pack changed any mesh recipes. Check the in-game recipe viewer for those details. This site does hold FTB Skies 2's own recipes, read from the pack itself: look the item up in the item browser.

In this pack, Create Sifting shows up early. Both of its quests are in the "the_beginning" chapter, so you meet the sifter right at the start of your run rather than far down the tech tree.^[3]

Quests that involve sifting

• "Don't Strain Yourself" quest has two tasks. You hand in one of the water strainers from the pack (any wood type on the list counts, from acacia to warped) and a Stone Pebble. It unlocks after another quest in the same chapter.^[3]
• "The Old Ways" quest asks you to hand in a Sifter and a cloth mesh (ftb:cloth_mesh). It also unlocks after another quest in the chapter.^[3]

The sifter quest asks for a cloth mesh alongside the sifter itself, so plan to have a mesh ready when you build the machine.^[3]

Crafting the sifter

The Sifter is a shaped crafting recipe, and it uses Create parts, so you need some Create progress before you can make one. Here is the exact in-pack recipe:^[5]

SifterMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any plank	Andesite Casing	any plank
Stick	Cogwheel	Stick
Empty slot	any stone	Empty slot

Recipe id: createsifter:crafting/sifter

Unverified The sources don't show how many mesh tiers there are, what each tier sifts out, or how the pack orders them, so this guide doesn't describe a tier-by-tier breakdown. Check the in-game recipe viewer for the mesh items and sifting recipes on your own world. This site does hold FTB Skies 2's own recipes, read from the pack itself: look the item up in the item browser.

Create Sifting is a sifter block made for Create, and the pack's recipes and quests tie it into other mods. Here is where those connections show up.^[1][3][5]

Create

The Sifter is your bridge to Create. Both Andesite Casing and Cogwheel come from Create, and the in-pack recipe below is built around them.^[5]

SifterMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any plank	Andesite Casing	any plank
Stick	Cogwheel	Stick
Empty slot	any stone	Empty slot

Recipe id: createsifter:crafting/sifter

The link also runs the other way. A Raw Copper Piece can be crafted into Create's Crushed Raw Copper.^[5]

Crushed Raw CopperMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Raw Copper Piece
• Raw Copper Piece
• Raw Copper Piece
• Raw Copper Piece

Recipe id: createsifter:shapeless/raw_copper_piece

Farmer's Delight

Sifting dirt gives you Farmer's Delight crops. The sifting recipes below turn Dirt into Cabbage Seeds, Rice Crops and Tomato Seeds, using either the Andesite Mesh or the String Mesh. The pack has changed both of these recipes from the mod's own versions.^[5]

Cabbage Seeds, Tomato Seeds, Rice CropsChanged by the pack

Sifting (createsifter)

• Andesite Mesh
• Dirt

Recipe id: createsifter:sifting/compat/fd_dirt_andesite

Andesite mesh version, changed by the pack.

Cabbage Seeds, Tomato Seeds, Rice CropsChanged by the pack

Sifting (createsifter)

• String Mesh
• Dirt

Recipe id: createsifter:sifting/compat/fd_string_dirt_string

String mesh version, changed by the pack.

Quest links

Two quests in the "the_beginning" chapter bring Create Sifting into the pack's progression. Quest "Don't Strain Yourself" quest asks for one of the water strainers from the pack's quest data (oak, spruce, bamboo and so on) plus a Stone Pebble.^[3]

Quest "The Old Ways" quest pairs the Sifter with the Mechanical Cloth Mesh. Both quests are untitled in the quest data.^[3]

This mod shows up in two quests, both in the "the_beginning" chapter. Neither has a title in the quest file, so you'll recognise them by their tasks.^[3]

• "Don't Strain Yourself" quest has two item tasks. The first accepts a water strainer, and any wood-type variant counts. The second asks for a Stone Pebble. It unlocks after another quest in the same chapter.^[3]
• "The Old Ways" quest asks you to hand in a Sifter and a cloth mesh. It also unlocks after a different earlier quest in the chapter.^[3]

Both quests ask for items, so you have to get the items yourself before the quests will complete. The sources don't say how.^[3]

Unverified The sources don't show how these two quests are ordered relative to each other, or what the quests they depend on ask for. Check the quest book in-game for the exact path.

Create Sifting has only a handful of options, and most of them are untouched in this pack. The one real change is mesh durability, so that's the first thing to check.^[6]

Mesh durability (changed by the pack)

The mod normally applies mesh durability only to hand sifting. This pack turns that off as well, so meshes don't wear down whether you sift by hand or with a sifter.^[1][6]

• Meshes.useMeshDurabilityWithHand is set to false in this pack.^[6]
• Meshes.useMeshDurabilityWithSifter is also set to false.^[6]

Capacity and speed (mod defaults)

• Sifter.outputCapacity is 16, the same as the mod default. It controls the sifter's output item capacity.^[6]
• [[config:config/createsifter-server.toml#Brass Sifter.outputCapacity]] is 8, also the mod default. It sets how many items the brass sifter processes per cycle.^[1][6]
• Sifter.minimumSpeed is 1, the mod default. This is the minimum speed the sifter needs to run.^[6]

Stress impact

The pack sets the stress impact of the basic sifter (stressValues.v1.impact.sifter) to 4, and the brass sifter (stressValues.v1.impact.brass_sifter) to 16. The sources don't list mod defaults for these, so I can't say whether the pack changed them.^[6]

Client visuals

Both client options are set to true in this pack: mechanicalSifterClient.v1.renderMovingMesh and mechanicalSifterClient.v1.renderSiftedBlock. The sifter renders its moving mesh and the block being sifted. If you need a few extra frames, these are the places to look.^[7]

Here are the notable changes from the mod's own changelogs, newest first. FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 lists Create Sifting 1.21.1-2.2.2, and the mod has been in the pack since 1.0.1 or earlier.^[2]

1.21.1-2.2.2

• Support for Create 6.0.10.^[8]
• Adjusted sifter bounding boxes, a contribution from anzuftnw.^[8]
• Bumped the Mechanicals lib.^[9]

1.21.1-2.2.0

• Support for Create 6.0.8 and KubeJS 7.2, both contributed by Jishuna.^[10]
• Added support for EMI.^[10]
• Fixed JEI.^[11]

1.21.1-2.1.6

• Added compat for Farmer's Delight.^[12]