We finished the mountain top piece just after we installed the ligthouse on Friday. The mountain top was the biggest and heaviest piece we ever finished inside the shop. I knew it would be a big challenge to move. We hooked up the tractor to give it a tug and sure enough it wouldn't budge. It was time for plan 'B'. We jacked up the rear of the feature and slid a pallet jack underneath. Our reasoning was that the wheels on the back of the massive piece would cut the drag resistance by half. But it also raised the piece enough to make it a very tight fit through the door. Brando steered the pallet jack at the rear while I would do my best to guide it up front.
Hailey and Sarah were spotters on both sides to make sure we cleared the doorway and I began to pull once more. Slowly we eased it out of the shop with fractions of an inch of clearance on both sides. I love it when a plan comes together!
The piece will stay in the criveway just out of the shop until the tree is also done. Both pieces are too large to lift with the neighbor Gord's little forklift. Instead we'll use a crane and lowbed to do the task as soon as the building is up. It shouldn't be more than two weeks before that happens. With the giant piece now out of the shop there was suddenly a whole lot more room inside. That meant we could rearrange everything and also bring in another structural frame. We'll begin the process of welding up another armature for another sculpted piece. We now have the balloon, the old lady tree and the balloon basket under way as well as an assortment of attraction signs. It is going to another very busy week! Stay tuned...
-grampa dan