Cob: COB (fwd)

[John Fordice]

Jennifer,
Regarding working on the higher part of the building.
Having adequate temporary scaffolding will make the whole process much
easier for you and it will be well worth the additional effort to build
it.  Extra bales as Shannon suggests work quite well, altho several
bales are required unless you want to be moving them around alot to get
to the different parts of your building ( they are a bit bulky & heavy
for a small person to handle alone ).  I like to use tall multi level
saw horses ( multiple rungs ) and a 2x12 spanning between & a ladder to
get up to it.  You will find that making your scaffolding adjustable so
that you can keep the top of the wall at your waist height is very
beneficial, that way, you are always working slightly downward with your
hands - this allows you to use your body weight to work the cob & saves
your back from lots of bending & your arms & shoulders from trying to
work higher & be pushing down with just your arms.  
Try forming the cob into cobs ( by that I mean lumps of the basic
material - that's where the word "cob" comes from you know ) which are
small enough for you to toss up to a larger board on your scaffolding. 
More efficient than taking your whole body weight up & down to the
height you are working just to move the small amount of cob you can lift
at one time.  Another possibility. is to use a good block and tackle
with a moveable tripod.  With this you can lift surprisingly heavy loads
( lots of cob in a five gallon bucket or a big laundry bucket ) up to
where you want it with little effort - again, well worth the added
effort to prepare such a system.
Working smart & with the right tool for the job is a big part of
successful construction.

I also recommend using Cobbers Thumbs to weave the straw into your wall.
 Essential to achieving quality cob.  They are available mail order from
me if you are interested.

Cob on.
john fordice
TCCP and maker of the COBBERS THUMB