theforgottentechnology.com

How It All Began

ingenuity from necessity

I am a retired carpenter with 35 years experience in construction. In my work experience, over the years, many times I had to improvise on tools that were not at hand in order to get the job done.

At one of these times, about 12 years ago, I had to remove some 1200 lb. saw cut concrete blocks from an existing floor. The problem was that we did not have a machine that could reach some of the blocks. The only obvious answer was to break the blocks into smaller pieces with a sledgehammer and load them into a wheelbarrow. To me, this seemed to be too much labor at the time, so I improvised.

Using a few rocks and leverage, I removed the blocks from below the floor to an area that the machine could reach them for removal. After doing this several times, the technique became very easy and quick. This experience had me consider the possibility that people may have used this technique before modern day equipment was available.

Following My Instincts

Nine years later, after retiring, I decided to explore this on my own. I brought home a one ton block of concrete from a job. Once I got home, I realized that I had to use my techniques to get the block off the truck. After unloading, I found that my technique allowed me to move the block around the yard with very little effort. At that time, my family became very interested in what their crazy dad was up to this time.

In a few days time, I decided my one ton block was no longer challenging, so I made some bigger blocks to play with. Within a few months time, I was moving, rolling, standing on end, and stacking them on top of each other.

I found that working alone, I could easily move a 2400 lb. block 300 ft. per hour with little effort, and a 10,000 lb. block at 70 ft. per hour. I also stood two 8 ft. 2400 lb. blocks on end and placed another 2400 lb. block on top. This took about two hours per block. I found that one man, working by himself, without the use of wheels, rollers, pulleys, or any type of hoisting equipment could perform the task.

Testing The Technique

A year after beginning my project, my son needed a pole barn moved, due to a desired property split. I decided to put my technique to the test. The wood building was a 30 ft. by 40 ft. and 16 ft. tall. It weighed over 10 tons. In order to move the building, we added another 5 tons of bracing and reinforcement.

The conditions were not good. At first, the field was muddy and I could only work for a few hours a week. Working by myself, I still found that I could move the building at a speed of 6 ft. per hour. With my son helping, we doubled that speed. After 40 man-hours of labor, we moved the building over 200 ft.

[read more about my current projects] >> /current projects

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