All Hands, All Hands....

The first sixteen timbers have been steamed and inserted today. As in all jobs, the preparation is key.Weeks of careful measurement and craftsmanship have paid off. The timbers were steamed for about an hour and it took just a few minutes for the team of four to bend each hot piece of oak into place and and cramp them up ("cramp" in Lancashire = "clamp" elsewhere). The timbers are screwed to the horizontal ribands and the cramps removed, as you can see on the far side.
Same again tomorrow.