"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...
My 2p worth - if you dig over, fertilise, and level the area to be turfed
I
don't think you have to do more than rake over the surface to remove any
stones sticking up to give a flat surface.

Sieving earth is a real pain and regardless of the method - mechanical or
manual - the soil to pass through the sieve has to be dry and crumbly so
that it will release any stones.
Imagine trying to sieve stones out of damp clay. :-(
I would only attempt this if the ratio of stones to earth is very high so
that repeated raking of the soil just keeps turning up more and more
stones.
I once built a large standing sieve (like a table with no top and a base
of
mesh) to try and make sieving easier but it was still a slow, frustrating
and back breaking job. Most of the work is in getting the soil to the
sieve,
then back where it came from, plus regular emptying of the sieve.

In conclusion; don't go there!

Cheers
Dave R

But if you did decide to remove the stones,
there is a tool from HSS called a 'Rota Rake'
which will move the stones to one side, and do
some cultivating/leveling. Might be of interest to you.
See www.hss.com
You will still have to remove the stones/clods though.
Anthony