Site Manager's Log Aug 9 Thru Sept 2011

Convention is OVER Yaaaaa. Time to start getting ready for 2012

8/9/2011 started new door for sawmill shed

8/10/2011 Rainy day. Worked inside finishing sawmill shed left hand door. Stopped raining so did some road work and cleaned up the sawdust around the mill.

8/11/2011 Early morning today started at 4:30 in the dark. Worked inside till light enough to work on road damage done at convention this year. Sawed up a dead pine tree from Fern Forest which had good wood. Finished the left door for saw mill will install tomorrow after getting stronger hinges that right door (they seem to be deflecting to much.. probably will need replacement.

8/12/2011 sawed some 4X4 wood to put on the floor of the pavilion to stack the new wood on and keep it off the floor.

8/13/2011 full moon work session. Ray and Jeff showed up. We dug down the first ten feet inside the lecture room and put down 2" blue board with an insulation value of 10. Then we put down 3 inches of sand which had PEX tubing running Through it. That will allow the hot water from the boiler to circulate and deposit heat there. I dug a trench between the Pavilion and where the boiler will be. We have enough 4" pipe to make two runs between these two spots so the pipes and wiring can be run underground.

8/14 Put 4" pipe in trench and put pull rope through it. Did not bury yet as want to put two runs of 3/4 PEX before. Sawed some maple for pallets to move fire wood in. Made first pallet which is 4 X 4 X 2 feet sq (1/4 cord)

. 8/15 Raining heavy. Got random pieces of hemlock to make a 8 foot long sawbuck to produce 20" long pieces from the (12 foot long) pieces of slab wood the saw mill makes. They will fit into the new pallet and make it easier to move and store firewood for burning in the winter to heat the pavilion.

8/16/2011 to 8/17/2011 In Philly for work

8/18/2011 Made the second pallet for firewood (1/4 cord)

8/19/2011 sawed up more maple for pallets

8/20/2011 dragged the 3/4 pex pipe through for heat through the 4" culvert that will go to where furnace is from pavilion. Installed 22 16 inch square pavers in the lecture room in the pavilion. They were thicker and heavier than the foot sq pavers so will store more heat when the floor is heated using the wood fired boiler.

8/21/2011 cut 6" ship lap wood for back of sawmill shed

8/22/2011 cut "ship lap" in wood from yesterday. cut maple for 3rd pallet. Trouble shot computer and found screen bad as well as "power line Ethernet box" in Bunk house. Sent e-mail to Carl about new Power line boxes and surge suppression for all systems to stop Thunder Storm damage to the components.

8/23/2011 Continued work on heat for Pavilion putting insulation around 3/4" PEX pipe from outside. Did some road work in Equipment Alley to cover up mud forming form all the rain that has fallen lately.

8/24/2011 Bought 12 more pavers at Bibins and installed. They were charcoal colored not raw cement color like the pavers at Home Depot. In general they cost the same but look to be better quality. Worked on another pallet to move fire wood. Made more ship lap siding for the sawmill shed.

8/25/2011 away on business trip

8/26/2011 started preparations for coming hurricane Irene. Ran 3/8 log chain from central lift eye in moving roof to the telescope mount in McGregor. put clamps around wheels to stop backward motion of roof. Added last tie down 2 X 4 in north western "truck hold down" which keeps the wheels from lifting out of the track. Made all road "Water bars" higher. Checked all opening doors in pavilion and made sure closed. Checked the sawmill shed. Not much can be done there. Hope it is ok.

9/11/2011 Back from vacation in Vegas. Cut one log from the ice storm damaged Oak in the swap area. Got about 6 12 foot long 8" wide premium boards The rest converted to Pallets to move firewood around on. Did a little road work in equipment hollow that was getting muddy.

9/12 Replaced monitor and installed MOV's on each plug associated with the internet connections to the pavilion. Hopefully will stop the equipment from failing during thunder storms.

9/13/2011 Internet didn't work will have to trouble shoot. Graded back the two main water bars on the down road in front of the McGregor to the Bunkhouse. worked on pallets for firewood.

9/14/2011 Removed one of the two MOV's at the bunkhouse power line modem connection. Internet to Pavilion works now at 50 - 80 Mbits per second. Raining. Put down 8 new pavers in lecture room of pavilion. Sharpened two bands for saw mill.

9/15/2011 Covered the pipes and wiring going to outside boiler at pavilion. Sawed a few boards for the forms for the shed that will cover the boiler. worked on another pallet for firewood (number 5) used some oak in this one from ice storm broken oak tree by swap area.

9/17/2011 Verda horse people around today for their annual horse ride from here. Made sure everything is ok with them. Worked some more in saw mill making planks for the boiler forms.

9/18/2011 Had to work on saw mill band saw guides. The square ceramic pieces had shattered again. Replaced both left and right square pieces. Ran a little than snapped a blade which wore out after three sharpenings. It shattered two of the round ceramic pieces on the right side guide. Replace them After that everything went better. The boards were much flatter and the saw cut better. Will order replacement guide ceramic pieces tomorrow.

9/19/2001 Put down 8 more pavers in the conference room in the pavilion. Started the forms for the outside boiler which will burn slabs and heat the conference room for mirror grinding classes.

9/20/2011 planed the planks for the forms and set the inside and outside portions of the forms in place.

9/21/2011 tied forms together and leveled for the boiler. Brought down one scoop of gravel to level the forms. Will need more.

9/22/2011 Raining again. Tomorrow the first day of fall. Moved more gravel to the forms to level them. Bought 5 bags of Portland cement at lunch for Saturdays pour.

9/23/2011 Moved gravel down from top for pour of boiler foundation.

9/24/2011 Meeting Day, Most of work team were busy for a bonus day with the mirror class. Ray, Jeff, Ken, and Ed B. helped pour the footing for the boiler.

9/25/2011 Removed the top ties to the footing forms for the boiler. Blocked up first course of cinder block while foundation was still setting up to get better bond between mortar and cement.

9/26/2011 Drilled in rebar into the foundation. Rebar will reinforce the corners and middle. Will tie the block wall portion into the foundation. Bought two bags of mortar at Chester Hardware which is easier to get to than Bibins.

9/28/2011 Checked mortar and drilled rerod. Unloaded mortar. Moved a pallet of wood back to pavilion. Worked on lights and solar system for the saw mill shed.

10/1/2011 to 11/30/2011 Due to computer problems logs are sporadic till Jan first. Computers don't like cold damp places which Stellafane is for half the year.

This time frame each year is dedicated to preparing the site for winter. That includes winterizing our water system. Winterizing our fleet of equipment that maintains the site. And getting enough fire wood to heat the pavilion so my fingers don't freeze up when trying to accomplish something.

This year the saw mill was run as much as possible to produce wood for up and coming projects such as the Spectroscope that is being considered across "Gorka's Subaru Gulch" from the historic Porter Turret. Most wood we saw is the result of tree damage during the winter. In the past this wood was not effectively used.

12/1/2011 to 12/10/2011 Down in El Paso TX on Road trip for my day job.

12/11/2011 to 12/30/2011 Back from Texas and weather still spring like. Was actually colder and snowed when in El Paso. Continued winterizing and produced more wood. Did get a chance to finish up a special cutting of Black Cherry for a member. Moved around a cord and a half of "slab" wood for winter burning into the Pavilion.

Special Note: If any friends of Stellafane need special "custom cut" wood for their "Telescope Projects" we may be able to help you. Presently we have Red Oak, White Birch, Popular, Black Cherry, White Pine, and Hemlock boards that have been cut to various dimensions and "air dryed" for a year. There is also a very limited amount of Apple and Walnut all of which grew on the Stellafane site so each piece has some of the Stellafane Essence in it.

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