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Today one of my jobs was to safely move a polar bear for a client. He's a full size bear, built quite a number of years ago in our shop. The first time we moved him I got in a hurry hooking him up. Thay say haste makes waste. It's true. He fell about three feet and broke all four legs. Lucking we fixed him up as good as new and delivered him a few days later.
Since then the business has a new owner. They are relocating three blocks down the road. I got the call to make sure he got there safely. This time around I was taking NO chances.
We had built a lift point into the center of his back. A heavy duty eye bolt was screwed into that for the lift. The difficulty is that it hadn't been used in many years and everything had rusted up in a big way. While everyone waited patiently I climbed up onto the bear and screwed in a chaser die to clean out the threads - then a brand new eye bolt.
The crane operator was a pro. He inched the giant, heavy bear over to the trailer and then lifted it smoothly into place. We were half way done!
Anytime we move one of our creations it is an instant parade. Traffic stopped and people stopped what they were doing as he came down the road.
I climbed back the ladder, hooked him back up and the crane operator once again worked his magic. The bear was in his new home in only a few minutes. I have to build a new calved bit of ice on the front to carve the new address in front. The owner is going to add new landscaping around it to hide the mesh on the bottom as well. And I can rest easy once more.
-grampa dan
-------------------- 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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that is pretty cool. and it almost looks like the cable is connected to you in the first photo.
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Here's a shot of the first attempt to move the bear. Dan didn't show this because the trauma of spilling his Coke was too great. To help a good friend through a rough time, I had to post this for him. Just give Dan a little time and some "Disney therapy", and I think he will be OK.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I tried to console Dan with a new Coke. Unfortunately, it was New Coke, which only made his depression worse. A three liter bottle of the real stuff and a trip to Disney ought to pull him out of his funk.
He might even come back with that new chop saw he needs. The only problem with the chop saws you get from Disney is they're so... Mickey Mouse. They cut wiggly!
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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