There are many occasions during just about every project we tackle where Peter and I ask for suggestions on how to do the next part. Most often it is for something we have never encountered previously. That’s the nature of our work. We typically take turns suggesting possible ideas, often building on the other’s suggestions in the quest for a good way forward. Sometimes we take opposing views with solutions that are very different. Matt, Becke or Grant often chime in with their views as well. Then we discuss it at length. The best solution quickly becomes obvious and we agree to go in that direction to solve the problem at hand. Sometimes it quickly becomes obvious that things aren’t working out as planned and the process repeats itself once more. As we build the giant drum this solution quest has been implemented many times over. Building something this large with welded steel is new to us. When it came time to locate, cut, fit and weld the giant steel plates for the skin we knew everything had to fit perfectly. The solution was to build temporary wood walls inside the drum and then lay the steel plate over this frame. Matt’s brilliant idea was to use our powerful lifting magnet on the top surface to ensure the steel plates were perfectly level with each other as we worked our way across and tacked the many pieces together together. Once all of the steel plate was located securely we could then go back over the surface and stitch weld them perfectly. Our group sourced plan worked like a charm - as always!
