Last Wednesday saw the Architect’s Assistant, the Structural Engineer and the General Contractor onsite.
The Structural Engineer got to see the foundation, and was more optimistic than expected.
The General Contractor also had pleasant things to say, mainly that we are not in as poor condition as it seems, and that the job is eminently manageable.
Sunday was a wonderful day! I had been contacted by email, a pair of thoroughly delightful gentlemen, brothers, wanted to see the shop they had grown up spending time in. They had vivid memories of watching Mr Wyckoff shoeing horses, and remembered some great details about the place ( the block that the anvil stump was cast into, the apron, and so-on. ).
While we waited for them, a number of others arrived, mostly neighbors. I had expected 2, and had instead the good fortune of about a dozen visitors! It was a delightful visit, though brief. Fortunately, the weather held.
This past Sunday, I answered the call and ran to the shop to open. Against expectations, we had three visitors, 2 regulars and a new fellow who would like to have some forge time, when we again have a forge.
The shop is unsettling to look at. The rubble, the loose brickwork, and the flood damage are all the more obvious for being exposed, and of course I am so in the habit of looking for it now.
The foreyard is far better looking, as the flooring has been removed and disposed of. We had a very generous helper, who is appreciated. In two days, 5 pickup loads and 2 trailer loads went out.
The logistics of doing the foreyard demos are evading us. We do have intentions of putting it together, but the sheer mass which would need to be moved, once cold, and only three hours later ( when we are tired ) once again, hot, is an oppressive thought.
The shop has been cleared of equipment!
The Champion tire shrinker has been moved to storage, it was quite some production. The steel rack is also there. It fit. It all moved, it all fit, and we haven’t got more than a few square feet of unused space.
Moving it took 5 people, an engine hoist, several chains, a dozen heavy planks, a trailer, and a lot of interesting verbiage.
Now we must remove the floorboards and crumbled stone within the next two weeks. I think it’s an approachable task.
To the gentleman who came by asking when we re-open, I’m sorry I couldn’t go into detail, but we were balancing a rather cumbersome contraption. We hope to begin foreyard demos in April, and reopen the shop September or thereabouts, with allowances for building requirements.
Tomorrow I hope to stop by and remove some ivy from the back wall, and trench out the waterflow, which is a biennial job.
work has been continuing, with flooring being removed, machinery going into storage, and some items being pulled for repair.
Rust mitigation is more of an issue with the complex machinery, but so far, we have been successful with all but one machine. It’s currently on an engine crane, and will be out tomorrow.
The Architects have been in, and we have instructions for site preparation.
We ought to know more in April.
So much has been going on. I’ll move the posts from the Forum over soon, so people can ask questions and make comments.
There will likely be other folks blogging here, this is all new stuff.
This weekend we got some floor removed and into the foreyard. The rest of it must go, but not til the wheel vise, the lathe and large tire shrinker have moved. Those are tough, but the bellows may not be possible. Dave remembers concreting it in back about 40 years ago, it’s mason work now.
Sorting the stock pile of metal to be worked is a challenge. We each have metals we enjoy working with. I enjoy strap, some prefer round, others square, but over the years so much metal has been partially worked and then discarded. Perhaps this calls for a day with a band saw, cutting off partly worked and abandoned items, to leave us fresh stock.
A future challenge is planning out our storage for when the goods come back in. Sticking it all in the corner works, but we lose a lot to lack of lighting. Using buckets helped a lot with sorting, and the upright rack has been a wonderful help, but I know we can do better.
Though the storage unit is near to bursting, we think there is enough room for the last 3 major machines. It’s going to be close.
It’s getting tight!
1/8 of the floor has been lifted. It was quite unpleasant underneath.
There will be some folks working for a couple of hours tomorrow morning, to empty out one of the hardware walls and remove the horseshoes from the ceiling. Soon, all of the steel will be in storage as well. It was a bear getting it all in, it’s hard to think about taking it all back out.
Today was a non-starter. With the rains and the slush sitting so dangerously, and flood waters rising, safety prevailed.
It looks like we will be taking water tomorrow. If we are allowed into the area tomorrow, we ought to be able to get some work done. It’s a tremendous relief to go into flood season and know we will not suffer like last year, though we know we will certainly flood again in future years.
One of the considerations we are discussing is moving some of the more delicate wooden goods to the second floor. If we can work out a plan to use the upstairs as practical storage but still be a worthwhile display, that would be helpful, just so such wonderful things never have to suffer the waters again.
The weather is currently untenable. I intended to go get some things done, but it was cold enough to be unsafe.
Today it snowed, and was again bitterly cold.
Tomorrow a couple of us hope to head over and start to sort some of the things which are an issue, and to scout out old milk crates. We thought about plastic buckets, but they cannot be stacked.
One of the rare pleasures of this task is being able to place things in storage along with things they belonged with, but which we had lost track of.
There is a nice stack in one corner of smithed garden implements. Shovels, rake heads and a pickax of simple yet elegant design. There’s also a sack of hammers ( ahh, poetry! ) which brings several clutter corners into organisation.
It will be very nice to have a proper coal bin in the future, where we can keep our three grades all sorted and out of bags. While about 90% of the goods will be in similar positions, we can use the opportunity to create more visitor floor space, open up the central area for chairs, and streamline the smith’s work area somewhat while keeping true to the origins of the shop.
We had an excellent turnout today. Ben, Bill, Dave and Tim used a trailer and moved the large rack and the heavy workbench, 5 anvils, their stumps, and who knows what else today. I’m very impressed.
The hardware has been removed from one of the racks, and another one needs to be emptied. Then the horseshoes need to be removed, numbered, and packed.
With luck we will have a rigger to move the shrinker and the lathe, though that’s not 100%.
It’s coming along!
For some funny reason, blacksmith goods weight a lot. 
The storage unit still makes sense, and goods are somewhat organised. Those things which would best be kept on shelving weigh too much.
We have been careful to leave a path for a person to navigate safely, though that likely won’t last long.
Tomorrow, tagging will begin. While the tags won’t survive the wet conditions, they will help us remember what is what, and what is from where.
Sadly, one of the artifacts which I hoped to preserve needs far more extensive work than hoped. The good side is that we have experienced wooden-boat people who can resolve the condition issues without affecting integrity, but it is a concern.
