Wednesday was the annual holiday party in the woodshop for all of the Wednesday volunteers and employees. As always, there was plenty of good food and fellowship.
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Of course, Bob Kutella could not be there due to his recent accident, and it's not the same without him. On the other hand, George Clark, who has been out for a couple of months with health problems was able to attend, so it was good to see him again. There was plenty to eat. The Hicks Car Works brownies disappeared, so they must have been popular. I need to find some way to imprint the company herald on them.
OK, back to work. The bolts that hold the third rail shoes to the beams have these metal inserts to prevent the bolt head from turning in the mortise. I don't know if these have a name; I've never seen them apart from this specific application.
After a lot of chiseling into the iron-hard white oak, it looks like this. They later are covered with a thin piece of wood for insulation.
By the end of the day, the assembled beam looks like this, and all the metal parts were painted with primer. Jon Fenlaciki helped me attach the scraper; it's not easy, because you have to pull the rod out against the spring inside the cylinder. So it's a two-man job. And I did some more work on the roof of the 319.
And work has started on preparing the parts for the next third-rail beam, including the mortises.
On Thursday, the first beam was painted black, and is essentially ready for installation. Also, the lower tack molding strips for the 319 were painted so they can be installed next time. And I kept going on the flashing on the clerestory, so the lower canvas can be installed.It's hard to believe the year is almost over. The time to send in your tax-deductible contributions to the Museum is now, friends!