Tankard Shaft Dig
- Thread starter Duncan S
- Start date
Duncan S
New member
17th Dec 2015
Tim Payne, Sarah Payne, Duncan Simey
Continuing to stabilise the shaft
Tim has done it again!
He has made an amazing stove out of a gas bottle and odd-n-sods from around the farm. There is a butterfly valve at the top of the chimney, a valve to control air at the base, and a tightly fitting door complete with handle and latch.
This new stove generates a decent amount of heat up the full height of our bodies and all of us can gather around in a circle to warm up while chatting with the smoke exiting above our heads. Wonderfully lush!
One of these days we will organise a dig in better weather.
Today deteriorated into horizontal heavy rain.
Down the shaft, Tim only realised it was raining when drips from my helmet started landing on him.
I was wearing a down jacket under my over-suit and started feeling cold; when I changed I found the down was soaked and had become paper thin. I need to buy a properly waterproof caving suit for digging and find some thick fleeces instead of the down jacket.
Today's work was to stabilise the slumped ginging by cementing rocks into the gaps that have opened up between the rocks.
Having cleaned off the mud we could see the situation was more urgent than we had originally appreciated.
This was much needed work and the worst parts are now filled in and bound together.
Now that the scary bits have been secured, we can see we still have more to do; but it's more to make sure we don't have to come back and work on the ginging again rather than preventing imminent collapse.
We are no longer needing large boulders to fill in the gaps, so Sarah was set to breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer to create slivers for inserting into the gaps.
Two cement mixes were prepared and lowered down the shaft a bucket at a time with the majority being applied by Tim and some by Duncan who was getting his hands into the cement for the first time.
It will take another session to finish stabilising all the loose bits in the shaft.
Then the fun starts as we will be able to dig at the bottom.
We all think there is going to be a decent drop up under the floor, but are taking friendly bets on whether there is a side passage and whether the rift curves back into the shaft.
Tim Payne, Sarah Payne, Duncan Simey
Continuing to stabilise the shaft
Tim has done it again!
He has made an amazing stove out of a gas bottle and odd-n-sods from around the farm. There is a butterfly valve at the top of the chimney, a valve to control air at the base, and a tightly fitting door complete with handle and latch.
This new stove generates a decent amount of heat up the full height of our bodies and all of us can gather around in a circle to warm up while chatting with the smoke exiting above our heads. Wonderfully lush!
One of these days we will organise a dig in better weather.
Today deteriorated into horizontal heavy rain.
Down the shaft, Tim only realised it was raining when drips from my helmet started landing on him.
I was wearing a down jacket under my over-suit and started feeling cold; when I changed I found the down was soaked and had become paper thin. I need to buy a properly waterproof caving suit for digging and find some thick fleeces instead of the down jacket.
Today's work was to stabilise the slumped ginging by cementing rocks into the gaps that have opened up between the rocks.
Having cleaned off the mud we could see the situation was more urgent than we had originally appreciated.
This was much needed work and the worst parts are now filled in and bound together.
Now that the scary bits have been secured, we can see we still have more to do; but it's more to make sure we don't have to come back and work on the ginging again rather than preventing imminent collapse.
We are no longer needing large boulders to fill in the gaps, so Sarah was set to breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer to create slivers for inserting into the gaps.
Two cement mixes were prepared and lowered down the shaft a bucket at a time with the majority being applied by Tim and some by Duncan who was getting his hands into the cement for the first time.
It will take another session to finish stabilising all the loose bits in the shaft.
Then the fun starts as we will be able to dig at the bottom.
We all think there is going to be a decent drop up under the floor, but are taking friendly bets on whether there is a side passage and whether the rift curves back into the shaft.
Duncan S
New member
LOL - it only looks like significant progress because the miners dug the shaft for us.Laurie said:Wow! The speed you're going you'll be through to Australia by Christmas
Even when we dig out the floor we still won't be in virgin passage, only discovering the extent of the mine. Realistically it shouldn't go too far, if the mine had hit ore deposits then it would have been documented. So it is just a question of how far the miners got before they gave up.
Once we have explored the mine then the exciting stuff starts to happen.
Will the boulder ruckle go.....
Duncan S
New member
I gave Farmer Tim a guided tour of the Wessex Cave Hut.bograt said:Super job
Especially when the landowner understands caving, maybe education in this field should be included in the remit of access officers ??---
We've offered to taking him down a 'real' cave at some point and I hope he eventually agrees to a trip.
Fingers crossed he is getting a better understanding of the caving community.
He is proving to be a VERY handy person to know.
e.g. not only has he whipped up our awesome stove and done the majority of repairs to the ginging, but IMHO anyone who is capable of swapping the engine in their Landy for a tractor engine deserves respect
While he has some spare time from lambing etc, he is proving a genuine asset to our dig.
Cookie
New member
tamarmole said:
He was certainly active nearby. See Wikipedia: Thomas Bushell (mining engineer)
And is mentioned in the Belfry Bulletin 494 article Five Buddles Sink -- A Lost Cave Rediscovered several times.
mrodoc
Well-known member
Roger Stenner is still around and lives over in Weston. He wrote the original report. I would think he would be pleased to chat about Tankard Hole. He did the water chemistry work in St. Cuthberts which I am supposed to be knocking into shape for a another BEC report strangely enough. Fred Davies might also be worth a chat with.
adrian paniwnyk
Member
Wouldn't mind speaking to Roger Stenner concerning the surveys that were produced in the 60's of Cwm Porth Woods Caves.
Don't seem to able to relate what has been found in the field with the surveys!
Don't seem to able to relate what has been found in the field with the surveys!
Duncan S
New member
31st Dec 2015
Mark Vaughan, Duncan Simey, Sarah Payne, Tim Payne
Digging at the bottom of the shaft
Gorgeous sunshine and light winds tempted us out for another day's digging.
Although we had planned to finish stabilisation of the shaft, it turned out we didn't have enough cement. So despite best intentions, we took a group decision and decided to attack the bottom of the shaft.
The shaft has already been stabilised, so this decision isn't as daft as it sounds. There are some bits below the ginging that need a good tidy up and a little cement, but with care these can be avoided.
Mark was first down. Much to our excitement, he was soon shouting up the shaft that he had uncovered a vertical hole with a view about 2ft beyond. Bucket after bucket was hauled up and progress looked excellent!
Tim brought over a trailer to put the spoil into and Duncan led the second digging party.
He sent up lots of the missing ginging as well as many buckets of sheep remains and was in a considerable state of excitement. He'd opened up a hole about 45deg down and couldn't get enough light into it to see how far it went.
Sarah preparing for the third digging shift. You can see the wind has got up.
It's wasn't all work!
Tim laid on refreshments warmed on our stove and there was much banter.
Sarah descending for her shift at the dig face.
Sarah emerged to horizontal rain, which at that point was tolerable even if it wasn't pleasant.
She'd expanded Duncan's lead and had opened a hole almost big enough to crawl into, so the rain did little to dampen our enthusiasm. However, it was definitely time to pack up and escape the incoming weather!
Before packing up, Duncan headed down the shaft with his camera and Mark's smoke making machine.
The new hole was draughting hugely! There is enough air movement that the smoke cleared from the entire shaft within a couple of minutes and was strong enough that at one point Duncan could feel the wind blowing up the shaft on his face.
Today's digging quickly cleared a solid feeling step at the entrance to the old rift feature and we used this as a platform to dig from as none of us trusted the floor of the shaft. We made enough progress that the step is now a comfortable seat.
In this image I'm stood on the step, the old rift feature is behind me, and the new hole is in the top left of the floor behind the sacking which still needs to be dug out.
Unfortunately, the old rift has been closed off.
When Tim and I were cleaning the shaft lining ready for stabilisation we were throwing the clay dug off the shelves down below us. We seem to have pushed it into the rift and compacted it with our feet.
It's unfortunate, but at least for the time being we don't have to worry about fixing the hanging death inside the rift.
The new hole is very exciting.
It slopes down at about 45deg and looks to be about body sized.
In this shot, my foot is at the bottom right and the hole is bigger than this photo makes it appear.
In front of the hole is plastic sacking, yet more bits of sheep and no doubt yet more of the collapsed ginging. This will be removed in a future digging session.
The roof over the new hole is mercifully stable and looks like it could be a natural feature rather than part of the boulder ruckle.
It is hard to see into the hole as it is low down. We were clipped onto a safety line, but none of us really wanted to sit of the 'floor' of the shaft to get a better look.
Sarah reckons she saw a piece of broken Stal before debris tumbled down the hole blocking the view.
The good weather didn't last. A front came through treating us to gale force winds and torrential rain. By the time we left, Duncan was having to lean into the wind and driving rain just to hold the field gate open!
One of these days, digging will be a pleasant experience, but this wasn't one of them.
However, we are much encouraged by the progress!
Mark Vaughan, Duncan Simey, Sarah Payne, Tim Payne
Digging at the bottom of the shaft
Gorgeous sunshine and light winds tempted us out for another day's digging.
Although we had planned to finish stabilisation of the shaft, it turned out we didn't have enough cement. So despite best intentions, we took a group decision and decided to attack the bottom of the shaft.
The shaft has already been stabilised, so this decision isn't as daft as it sounds. There are some bits below the ginging that need a good tidy up and a little cement, but with care these can be avoided.
Mark was first down. Much to our excitement, he was soon shouting up the shaft that he had uncovered a vertical hole with a view about 2ft beyond. Bucket after bucket was hauled up and progress looked excellent!
Tim brought over a trailer to put the spoil into and Duncan led the second digging party.
He sent up lots of the missing ginging as well as many buckets of sheep remains and was in a considerable state of excitement. He'd opened up a hole about 45deg down and couldn't get enough light into it to see how far it went.
Sarah preparing for the third digging shift. You can see the wind has got up.
It's wasn't all work!
Tim laid on refreshments warmed on our stove and there was much banter.
Sarah descending for her shift at the dig face.
Sarah emerged to horizontal rain, which at that point was tolerable even if it wasn't pleasant.
She'd expanded Duncan's lead and had opened a hole almost big enough to crawl into, so the rain did little to dampen our enthusiasm. However, it was definitely time to pack up and escape the incoming weather!
Before packing up, Duncan headed down the shaft with his camera and Mark's smoke making machine.
The new hole was draughting hugely! There is enough air movement that the smoke cleared from the entire shaft within a couple of minutes and was strong enough that at one point Duncan could feel the wind blowing up the shaft on his face.
Today's digging quickly cleared a solid feeling step at the entrance to the old rift feature and we used this as a platform to dig from as none of us trusted the floor of the shaft. We made enough progress that the step is now a comfortable seat.
In this image I'm stood on the step, the old rift feature is behind me, and the new hole is in the top left of the floor behind the sacking which still needs to be dug out.
Unfortunately, the old rift has been closed off.
When Tim and I were cleaning the shaft lining ready for stabilisation we were throwing the clay dug off the shelves down below us. We seem to have pushed it into the rift and compacted it with our feet.
It's unfortunate, but at least for the time being we don't have to worry about fixing the hanging death inside the rift.
The new hole is very exciting.
It slopes down at about 45deg and looks to be about body sized.
In this shot, my foot is at the bottom right and the hole is bigger than this photo makes it appear.
In front of the hole is plastic sacking, yet more bits of sheep and no doubt yet more of the collapsed ginging. This will be removed in a future digging session.
The roof over the new hole is mercifully stable and looks like it could be a natural feature rather than part of the boulder ruckle.
It is hard to see into the hole as it is low down. We were clipped onto a safety line, but none of us really wanted to sit of the 'floor' of the shaft to get a better look.
Sarah reckons she saw a piece of broken Stal before debris tumbled down the hole blocking the view.
The good weather didn't last. A front came through treating us to gale force winds and torrential rain. By the time we left, Duncan was having to lean into the wind and driving rain just to hold the field gate open!
One of these days, digging will be a pleasant experience, but this wasn't one of them.
However, we are much encouraged by the progress!
