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We are now starting a second phase of a project which we did a little more than a year ago.
Phase one was the proscenium arch/sign for Hell's Gate AirTram. It was a good sized sign measuring 25 feet tall by about 30 feet wide. It featured sculptured rockwork and a half sized tram coming through a round opening with our first big routered sign underneath. The tram was done on the router too. The sign won most unique sign as well as best of show in the National Sign comnpetition sponsored by Signs Canada recently.
Now its time for the next challenge. This sign is for the lower portion of the attraction... 1000 feet below the first. The double sided sign will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Simon Fraser's discovery and passage through the treacherous canyon which he named Hell's Gate. He first attempted to navigate it via canoe without success. He successfully climbed through the sheer rock faces with is party, balanced on small logs tied to the rock cliffs. We are reproducing that event.
The life sized figures will be sculpted using Magic Sculpt over welded steel frames. The double sided rock face will be of fiberglass-reinforced-concrete over welded steel frames. The other side of the sculpture will be a 18-20 foot tall sign sculpted into the 'rock'. The base of the trianglular shaped sculpture will measure 12-14 feet wide on two sides and 7-8 feet on the other. A photo opportunity will also be molded into the attraction.
While the job is of a good size, what I've described so far isn't the tough part of the project... that would be relatively easy for the most part on a typical worksite.
The challenge is to get the project in place. Since the project is about 60 miles from our shop prefabrication is a must! But then it gets a little tougher... every piece has to come down the cables in the tram. Its the only way to access the remote location across the raging river. I was on site this morning to measure everything up.
Here's a picture of the tram which we will get very familiar with over the next while...
The tram's door is only 30" wide and 80" tall. The width of the tram is about 5' 6" wide. Once onsite we have no access to a crane truck or any other type of large lifting device. Nothing longer than 8 feet of material will fit in the tram. Weight isn't too much of a concern as pieces simply won't be big enough to be too heavy.
Up for a wonderful challenge in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ October 03, 2007, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Hellicopter? So are you building more on site? It will be an interesting watch.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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Send me some pictures of the river. We haven't had much rain this summer, so none of our rivers are boatable...
I need a whitewater fix!!! Has anyone seen my kayak?
-------------------- Ryan Culbertson The Sign Shop at Quick Copies Greenwood, SC
Rock and Roll means well, but it can’t help tellin’ young boys lies. Mike Cooley - Drive By Truckers Posts: 453 | From: Greenwood, South Carolina | Registered: Apr 2007
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Dan, If you need someone there for safety in the river call me. I found my boat & I'm ready to GO!
All I need now is some rain.
Waiting for the creek to rise in SC!
[ October 06, 2007, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: Ryan Culbertson ]
-------------------- Ryan Culbertson The Sign Shop at Quick Copies Greenwood, SC
Rock and Roll means well, but it can’t help tellin’ young boys lies. Mike Cooley - Drive By Truckers Posts: 453 | From: Greenwood, South Carolina | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Great shots Bushie! How about a whole series on the discovery channel. Grampa Dan's Wild, Wild World! Underwritten by Coke and Multicam of course. Let me know if you need a Dawg at your side, Dan.
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