[Cob] cob mixing

[Patrick Newberry]

I've mixed ton's of cob and have only rarely used my bare feet. I normally mix it in wheel barrel. I mix the earth a bit soupy (about like a milk shake). I then add a layer of straw to the top of the milk shake mix and the dry straw soaks up the excess liquid.  I mix a couple of loaf from the top and don't try to mix all the way down to the bottom. Then I place the cob loafs on the wall and mix a couple of more. By the time I get to the bottom of the wheel barrel, it has enouph straw already so I can just make loafs. Very little strain or strenght envolved. I just push the wheel barrel along the wall as I work. I can't get the full 12 inches that some folks gets with a stiffer mix without slumping, but I can get 8 inches of hieght pretty easy. My house was large enough that I never made it all the way around in a single day anyway so that never proved to be a limiting factor. 

I can work a full day using this technique and not get overworked. 

Pat Newberry
www.gypsyfarm.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Amanda Peck [mailto:ap615 at hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 10:34 PM
To: coblist at deatech.com
Subject: Re: [Cob] cob mixing




a) you may get to dedicate a pair of shoes to the process, especially if 
your initial mix is a bit wet.  (a pair of plastic clogs might work OK but 
even those would wear out in a hurry--they're getting sanded!)

b) feel is pretty important here, comparable to when flour and water and 
yeast and salt change into bread dough.

But yes, a lot can be done without bare feet--you can mix by turning the 
pile with your tarp, for instance, or treading through the tarp.
......................

Jilly asks:
Is there a reason for mixing cob barefoot? If it was originally mixed by 
hoof, why injure a tender foot?

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