Cob: Cob Mixer or press? Also hot Oklahoma weather.

[Kenn Goodson]

Hello All,

I'm new to the list and new to cob, but very, very intrigued. I've read 
through Michael G. Smith's book a couple of times and have experimented with 
mixing cob loaves to test tensile strength etc. What fascinating stuff. I've 
been mulling over the following method of mixing, but I wanted to see if 
someone else has tried it yet. I will probably end up being a solo builder, 
and I need a means of expediting the process, but not too much. As the 
Benedictines say, "Work is Prayer."

I was thinking of a cob press, rather than a cob mixer. Imagine taking 
clay/sand slip, not runny, but somewhat wet, layered with straw, and then 
pressed under pressure--I'm thinking hydraulic ram here, most on the list 
would probably prefer something human powered--rotated 90 degrees and pressed 
again. It would be trivial to build a steel box with a screened side to allow 
excess water out, and a moving side attached to the hydraulic ram. Depending 
on resources, I'm thinking of batches in the 1/3 yard range (small 
wheelbarrow full) at a time in the press. The pressure would help express any 
excess water and push the straw/slip mixture together. It's the closest idea 
I have come up with that would imitate the pressure of human or animal feet.

If anyone has any comment on this, I would love to hear it. Please feel free 
to poke as many holes as possible into this idea.  Criticism will only make 
it better.

Secondly, how does cob with it's large thermal mass behave in hot/humid 
climates? I'm in central Oklahoma, and there are those dog days of late 
summer where the daytime temps get into the 105 degree range and nights never 
even get below the eighties. And this with ridiculous humidity levels.  
Anybody with experience with this type of climate?

Many thanks! 
Peace to you all, 
Kenn G