Still waiting for the saw table

George repoints the wheel pit

 This week we continued to prepare for re-boarding the wheel, as the saw table still hasn't arrived.  We took the last couple of dozen bucket boards back to the sawmill to be reduced to 25mm thick, and they are now all stored in the relative dry of the mill.

George has been standing at the bottom of the wheel, pointing the back wall of the wheel pit with hydraulic lime mortar, a job that can only be done while the wheel is entirely without boards.

All the bolts holding the wheel shrouds to the spokes have been loosened, and one on each spoke has been replaced by a length of studding, so that the shrouds can be moved apart.  A log, cut to length and with two hooks to enable it to be attached to the spacer bars, will be used with a bottle jack to force the shrouds apart.

Richard attaches a hoist
to the shrouds

The plan is for the shrouds to remain supported by the ends of the spokes, but just in case of mistakes we are attaching a hoist to take the weight.

A general view through the
stripped wheel