[Cob] Re: was tree-sculpted...now tractor cob

[SANCO Enterprises, LLC]

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004, Barbara Roemer and Glenn Miller wrote:

[snip]
> people with tractors.)  On bare dirt, at least in the summer, it's pretty
> easy to see and feel with the tractor when you're down to the soil level
> rather than in your mix.  It follows that careful measuring/mixing will
[snip]
> Spending plenty of time mixing will assure integrity of the mix.
[snip]

and Shannon wrote 

<heavily snipped>

< (at least with the skid loader / tire mixing approach), is that with the tires doing the mixing,
they will cut right down to ground level and below, without any way for
you to tell, and the water from the mix will work right into the surface
of the ground. >

My dear friend---it would appear that you have not used or have experience with a skid steer, tractor or loader for mixing.  I have a 2-1/2 yd loader that is not a skid steer and works extremely well and as noted by Barbara and Glen, you can control the depth of the cut.

Typically, the spinning of skid steer tires, gives the illusion that they are the ones doing the mixing.  It is the bucket that is used to do the mixing by breaking up the clumps with the weight of the machine, then folding--continuously-until you get a uniform mix.

As for water running out of the mix, quite the opposite is true.  By using the wieght of the machine and down pressure on the bucket, the clay creates a seal or barrier between the work and base material that it was placed on.  If you keep the blade out of the barrier, your water tends to want to run off if you have a heavy clay content-absorption is better if it is sandy.  With the 2-1/2 yd loader, you usually work with about 4 yds of material at a time and by controlling the amount of water, the same material can be used for rammed earth, cob, adobes or render.

Actually, I only worry about getting the mix ratio I want then run it throught the Cob-Mobile and the result is a very well mixed and smooth mix.

Most of the adobe yards in the state of New Mexico use a combination of a pug mill and loader to mix their materials.  Some use straw and others don't.

I recently found a quarry in Bernalillo, New Mexico that found a strata of extremely good clay that they want to get rid of--$1.00 per ton.  When worked, this material is almost like clay on a potters wheel--sticks to everything.


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