Report 1 - Conservation of ceramic firepot
Report 2 - Composite wood and iron artifacts - pole arms and partisans
Report 3 - Silicone oil and organic conservation
Report 4 - Conserving the human skeleton found aboard La Belle
Report 5 - Conservation of closed wood containers: a chest from La Belle
Report 6 - Conservation of the Fairfield Union field cannon
Report 7 - Conserving the hull of La Belle
Report 8 - A carpenter's tool from Port Royal, Jamaica
Report 10 - Site 8SJ3478, possibly the Industry: a British 18th-century shipwreck
Report 11 - Pass Cavallo project (Page currently down)
Report 12 - A chest from the Brother Jonathan shipwreck.
Conservation Research Laboratory Reports
Conserving the hull of the Belle
La Salle Shipwreck Project
Texas Historical Commission
PHOTO GALLERY 8: OCTOBER 1999
The CRL wood conservation vat is well on its way to being completed. The vat is the largest wood conservation facility in the United States. For that matter, it is the largest wood conservation vat in the world that conserves wood by immersion. The vat incorporates a number of features, such as the lifting platform, not found in any other vat. Our intent is to reassemble the Belle prior to its conservation to ensure that it goes together properly.
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The keel and keelson of the Belle are placed in the wood conservation vat to be cleaned prior to reassembly |
Using the water to reduce the weight, the staff turn the keel over to clean the other side |
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Cleaning the keel prior to reassembly and conservation |
Working this way is fine in the hot summers and the warm fall, but what about winter? |
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Sometimes it's necessary to get really close to your work to get all of the crud out of the holes and the junctures in the keel. |
| Once the keel and the keelson were cleaned, the lift was raised to remove the keelson, since it will not be needed for some time. |
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It's easy to see that a variety of equipment is necessary to move these delicate timbers safely. Our small forklift is fine for many jobs, but at times, it's necessary to call on the Texas Transportation Institute - to bring in the 'Big Guy' for moves such as this. |
Citation Information:
Donny L. Hamilton
1999, Conservation of the Hull of the Belle, Conservation Research Laboratory Research Report #7, Photo Gallery 8, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/crl/Report7/hull8.htm, Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University; La Salle Shipwreck Project, Texas Historical Commission, Austin, Texas.
E-mail: dlhamilton@tamu.edu
Texas A&M University | College of Liberal Arts | Location
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Last updated: Friday, 25-Sep-2009 18:30:34 Central Daylight Time