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Not much to post tonight. Actually, I have plenty to post, just not time to put it together and get it on the website! I got home late from a wonderful get together with Ellen and Lee Meuch. Thank you for your hospitality.

More images and text to come...on Thursday.

It's Thursday morning!

Yesterday we set up the big circle saw and began cutting the more than 1000 feet of lines in a full sized Chartres pattern. It is slow work. The saw will only cut so fast. If we push the saw too quickly, it rides up on the hard concrete and only leaves a shallow groove. If we cut too slowly, the saw motor races and, well, we cut too slowly. We're always looking for that happy medium where effort and effect are perfectly balanced.

The saw is connected to a center point so that when it is pushed, it rotates around the center. We shorten that aluminum rod coming out of the right side of the saw in order to cut smaller and smaller circles. There is a whole tool box of saws that we use.

Judy stands to the left, Chuck is on his knees, and John is to the right side of this image.
Judy is the cord handler. We need someone to keep track of the electrical cords while we cut a circle. She is also the one in charge of warning the cutter that they need to stop cutting. Remember all those pieces of tape we placed on the bare cement? They are the start and stop marks.
Chuck is pushing the saw. He needs to start the saw at just the right place, push it with an even pressure, and stop at just the right place. He's also the one who will notice if the saw is cutting straight or sideways through the concrete. All three of us are tuned to the sound of the saw. "Is it singing? Or is it laboring?" The sound of the saw, besides watching the width of the line that's being cut, is probably the best barometer of how things are going.
John is vacuuming the dust away from the saw and saw operator. Sawing concrete is a dirty business. There is dust everywhere! This super expensive vacuum cleaner helps to keep the mess to a minimum.

Mark Karaskiewicz and Guy Lockhart from Gilbane, the General Contractors who organize the Marianjoy Project, come by once a day to see our progress. They are very friendly and professional, ready to help in any way they can. This job site is one of cleanest at which we've worked.

John drags the vacuum nozzle over the line we've just cut to clear away dust and gravel. If we leave the debris where it is, the saw will run over it on the next cut that we make. This will make our line shallower and deeper (inconsistent). Judy drags the vacuum ahead of his path so that he can concentrate on vacuuming and not worry about moving the vacuum or electrical cords.
Look to the top of the image. You might be able to see Robert surveying our work.

We've been invited to dinner again tonight! I think it's going to be Vietnamese! Thanks!

Robert will be delivering a one hour talk about the labyrinth on Friday, at 10am, at Marianjoy, in the Board Dining room. You are welcome to attend. Please give Karen Tornberg a call at 630-462-4199 to RSVP.

Visit the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital website to see a very pretty artist's rendering of what the labyrinth will look like when it's completed. Or, you could click on one of the links on the left side of the page and explore my website further! Thanks for coming by!

Please visit Robert Ferre's web site Labyrinth Enterprises for complete information on how to have your own labyrinth!

See my labyrinth jewelry here!

Chuck Hunner, June 8, 2006

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