Newtown Lock Update October 2023
Newtown Lock Update October 2023
Andy P:
Whatever else is going on we always find a way for a cuppa
The vegetation growth has been incredible filling the pound behind the dam. We have to rake it out daily.
But the wild life is happy
There is a lot of brickwork to repair on the off side. Different sized bricks and tiles have to be cut to fit. The first stop plank channel is fitted. The coping stones had all been lifted and the height of the wall increased. So now the task was to refit all these very heavy stones and fix them into place. Steel rollers and brute force and a delicate touch seems to be the way to do it.
Several stones had to be cut and shaped to fit the wall curve. Duncan bought a set of splitting tools to enable some of the poor stones to be repurposed. Great idea.
After many weeks toil and lots of concrete the off side stones were in place. We even managed to salvage an old ring.
A new quoin stone had to be cast with the chippies making the shuttering. Steve on cement and the rest on wheelbarrows and Duncan getting the different mixes in the correct place. We think it looks good.
As we clear the half meter of silt we came across the original wooden cill. Based on a previous lock we thought we would try to ruse this on and leave it in place. It was badly scored and uneven. The chippies planed the surface to see if that would work. When a stop plank was fitted it showed a big gap so an insert was made and fitted.
Our work place down below
A bit of tidying up using 2 tonnes of reclaimed canal silt-almost looking finished.
The first 3 stop planks went in a treat. So did the next 3. However they were banana planks and badly bowed. Seeking advice from Jon P we took them out and turned them upside down and refitted the handles. Never an easy task. There must be some sort of scientific explanation but the gaps were ok.
