Belt Wheel Found in Portland Quarry

[Chris Sawallich]

Just thought this was kind of cool to share. My wife and I found and old wooden belt drive wheel in the Quarry this weekend, Seems to have been part of the old pump station belt drive system.. Tied a bag to it and lifted it out for some pictures, then returned it to a secret spot in the depths.. Anybody have any Ideas on how to preserve it?? We would be very intrested.. It is not in that bad of shape, but seems to be very fragile due to the years underwater..

Belt Wheel Pictures

 

[lakewinni]

So you were able to find that spot again today? Thats cool. I wish I was able to come down today to see. I remember you told me on saturday when you found it but has some lift bag issues haha.

 

[Diesel298]

well its fresh water not salt so you have that goin for ya..
i thinkdenatured alcohol is good for preserving wood. but im not 199%
i have a book that talks abot artafact preservation, ill have to find it and get back to ya

 

[ScubaNorth]

Wood can be preserved with polyethylene glycol. Well that is what the big boys use when they preserve museum bound items. Rough translation is anti-freeze but do not try that at home without much research. I think I have The Complete Book of Wreck Diving around here if you want it. This book touches on preservation techniques if I remember correctly.

 

[Chris Sawallich]

So you were able to find that spot again today? Thats cool. I wish I was able to come down today to see. I remember you told me on saturday when you found it but has some lift bag issues haha.

No lift bag issues yesterday We even marked that spot with a bouy for next time.. We had a good day, it was only Sheri and I, and two other new divers...It was like our own private dive club.. No Quarry next weekend..Headed to Cape Ann for the weekend.



Let me know if guys come up with any more info on preserving...I am going to look around myself tonight...

 

[Diesel298]

i found the book.
sounds like the same bok scubanorth has.
looks like good info..
ill also let you use it if you would like.

 

[Diesel298]

Here’s what my book says about wood.
Looks like allot of $$ in chemicals so you might want to plan this out and have everything ready before you recover it, and have a way to keep it wet on the ride home as well.
o yeah and pics.. so we can all monitor your progress.
this sounds cool so keep us posted.

after soaking wood in fresh water (I think your good there)
It must be dehydrated before conservation. Dehydration is accomplished by immersing the wood in 3 successive baths of denatured ethyl, or wood alcohol, each bath for at least one week.
The first bath should be 40%alcohol and 60% water. the second 60%alcohol and the third 100% alcohol.
After dehydration one of several procedures may be used for conservation.
one method is to place the wood in two sucessive baths of xylne. The first bath requires a week, xylene is a flammable isomeric hydrocarbon. do not use the solution near flame. and keep the solution containing the artifact in a tightly sealed container. When the wood is in the second bath of xylene paraffin ( a flammable waxy solid hydrocarbon mixture) chips should be added until a saturated solution of paraffin is obtained. you will recognize saturation when paraffin becomes recrystalized around the edge of the solution. Leave the wood in the saturated solution for aprox. 4 weeks. When the wood is removed allow the xylene to evaporate from it (remember xylene is flammable.)
after evaporation there will be a coat of small paraffin crystals left on the surface. A gentile brushing will remove them. The advantage to this is the artifact should retain its original shape because the paraffin replaces the water that was within the wood.
A faster method of conservation after dehydration is to slowly dry the object and then place it in a 1 to 1 solution of turpentine and boiled linseed oil for aprox. 2 weeks.
this process leaves the wood with a more natural look, however sometimes the pieces of wood will warp as they dry. This procedure leaves the wood with a distinctive odor that will go away over time.


(taken from COMPLETE WRECK DIVING A GUIDE TO DIVING WRECKS by Henry Keatts and Brian Skerry

 

[ScubaSarus]

Excellent.

Thats just the tip of the iceburg for what can be discovered.

 

[saltywater]

Tied a bag to it and lifted it out for some pictures, then returned it to a secret spot in the depths..
Belt Wheel Pictures

Sure, now I have to search for it again. I had seen it a couple of weeks ago and left it because my fingers were too cold to retrieve my lift bag. It is a cool find and there is some interesting brownstone arrangements in the area whereyou found it that is worthy of further investigation. At least it is better condition than the rope ladder I found attached to the wall last fall. (I just touched it and it vanished in a cloud of fibers.) 70 years under water can be tough on some items.

The preservation posts above seem to follow the same information I have seen in various texts.

Mike C.

 

[Chris Sawallich]

Mike,
I marked that spot with one of those orange floaties we used back in the clean-up days.. We pretty much spent the weekend exploring that area. Kind of cool, Found some old cable, the Brownstone Towers must of been part of a crane or cable system. There are three or four Towers on that side, and I bet there are matching towers on the other side..