Early last week, we got the last of the five support beams for the western roof section in place, after which it was time to cut off the overlong portions so everything could be welded into place. Grace taught me to use the plasma cutter, which was actually quite easy when I was working downward on a section of tubing placed neatly before me while I was seated comfortably with my feet on the ground. But working above my head or in front of my face at the very top of that ladder without adequate space to move the torch freely was quite another matter; because of the narrow space I couldn’t always keep the plasma stream perpendicular to the surface of the metal, resulting in sloppy cuts that didn’t always penetrate all the way through. The first beam was the worst; I even managed to give myself a rather painful burn on my left wrist just past the end of the sleeve of my overshirt. But once I got that one done, the second was a lot easier and the third was almost as easy as if it were on the work table. Though you can’t really see from the previous pictures, it looks a lot neater now than it did before, and it will look neater still after it’s welded into place (after the cee purlins are all welded in place, which was interrupted this week by rain). Soon we’ll actually have a roof in this section, then once we’ve done the southwest section the hot tub will be completely covered; the northwest section will be more complicated, but once it’s finished we’ll be able to get to Chekhov’s cottage without getting rained on.
Archive for October 15th, 2021
Annex 48
Posted in Diary, tagged Sunset on October 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »
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