[Cob] Cob mixing tests

[Clint Popetz]

I think any method _can_ produce good cob.  The trick is being able to
detect good cob when you have it.  It's the number one question people
mixing cob for the first time have asked me.  "Hey, can you check if
this is done?"   And I asked that many times of Ianto when I was first
mixing cob too :)

Now when you're driving a bobcat over cob, it's harder to tell when
you're done, 'cause you have to shut it off, go poke around, and get
back on.  So you might get tired of that, or you might not notice the
pockets of too-sandy or too-clumpy or too-strawy until you start
putting it on the wall, and then you might not feel like starting the
bobcat up again.  When you're mixing by feet, you can tell as it
gradually gets to that sweet spot, but it's of course taking a lot
longer to do.

I think everyone should be able to mix in whatever way they like.  If
mixing with your feet is too hard on your body, by all means
experiment with machines.  Just check the mix a lot until you're
satisfied, and keep track of how long it took to get to the satisfied
point, so that you can streamline the work as the walls go up.

-Clint

On 6/23/06, Susan Evans <seasider48 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Has anyone tested the various cob mixes?  There seems to be a lack of definitions on the mailings - hand-mixed cob is deemed superior to machine mixed. Surely this does not mean my poor hand-mixing is superior to a machine-mixed batch that I have spent a reasonable quantity of time preparing.  Has anyone done any actual tests?   One could test by using the same ingredients - straw cut to the same length for all mixes, etc. and mix by hand, then also by various machine methods.  Then test to failure.  Are the mixes comparable in strength at that time?
>
>   There is too much variance in individual abilities and methodologies to assess this properly otherwise, I think.
>
>   My hand-mixed cob is likely to be very poor as I have a bad back and am in my late 50s.  I would be unlikely to spend a lot of time stomping around on a tarp.  It would not be very cost effective for me either.
>
>   What exactly determines the superiority/inferority of a cob mix?
>
>   Sue Evans
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.
> _______________________________________________
> Coblist mailing list
> Coblist at deatech.com
> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>