Stonehenge 181
Image by Chris
Stonehenge

Stone shifting 5

GordonP G
GordonP Sep 18, 2003 13:05:37
Replying to GordonP

I'm still subbornly working on the tower and levers method.

This is the latest version, launch the stone off the tower, say from an height of 14ft. The stone is now in the hole resting against the slope at say 70 degrees. Don't build the tower any higher, lever against the diagonal strutts, these will now be designed to work like an hydraulic ram.

I'll explain, imagine a double extending ladder angled at 45 degrees running through the tower. As the stone is levered up the ladder is extended to follow the stone maintaining the same angle, therefore we will always be levering at 90 degrees to the strutts. We will need more manpower as the stone will feel heavier from lower down but it still won't need many men.

Advantages, no need to build the tower up to the height of the stone, less distance to travel before the stone is upright. Great savings in time on the day. inherently safe and subject to Steves approval foolproof.

S Steve Gray
Steve Gray Sep 18, 2003 13:20:32
Replying to GordonP

My initial reaction is that it sounds too complicated to be even remotely authentic, but I'll reserve judgment until I find out how you propose to make extending struts.

I have been trying to think of a way of moving the ground end of the struts after each levering. One possible way is have a log laid on the ground with stakes driven in behind it. The struts rest against the front of this log and levering proceeds. When the stone has been raised 6" or so, it is packed with rubble and the levers are relaxed. Another log is placed in front of the first and that becomes the new base for the struts. This process continues until the stone has been raised.

There may be a tendency for logs to "pop" up out of the row under the pressure, but they could be weighted down to prevent this happening. Flattened sides on the logs would also help to prevent this.

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