Shaved: using steam to make ice

*There's a really cool video at the end, don't skip it!

So, last summer I was working late with Coulter (the guy who suffered through the sweltering NJ trip with me in Helga Beast) behind the house when he told me how he had always wanted to open a little shaved ice stand out here. Coulter comes from Utah, where everybody knows somebody who's running some kind of entrepreneurial venture, and shaved ice stands are almost as plentiful as church steeples. Maybe I was especially parched that night, but the idea sounded fantastic so I immediately escalated the situation to the next level, "Dude, screw buying some stupid stand, just buy an old trailer and I'll build a friggin' sweet shack on it!" Next thing you know, we're driving up the valley to buy some old camper-turned-homemade-utility trailer we'd found on Craigslist. As with everything I've ever done, this project is going to be about as far from ordinary as you can get.

We started with some pretty basic ideas, keep the design simple, light weight and above all, low cost. We've since thrown the first two ideas completely under the bus, or trailer I should say, but the last one we're totally sticking to.

This was the last basic sketch I had before striking it rich in a creative "gold mine".

The trailer build was supposed to take place during my "downtime" over the winter, which never really came. Then it was supposed to be the first thing I would build in the barn, once it was finished, but that still hasn't happened quite yet; so, I'm just going for it. Since this is going to be a rolling representation of my handiwork, it needs to lay down more style points than you can touch with a ten foot pole. Just when I was starting to think I might be a little crazy for wanting to build something nobody else had done, I took to the internet and found all these awesome trailers that looked kinda similar to the one I wanted to do. Did this settle my nerves? Let's just say, no. It made me think I wasn't crazy enough, so I stewed up this hair-brained idea to build a shack with a steam bent framework and a curvy roof with hand-split steam-bent shingles. It's a little nuts, but it's going to be the most adventurous thing I've done so far. If I had a sketch I might show you, but this idea's too good for paper.

A few highlights from the interwebs...

Dang... that's kinda like what I was gonna do, so I'm NOT crazy...

Wait, that guy's crazier than me?

...maybe it's time for me to get some better duties...

Lastly, a video about steam bending. If I sound like I know what I'm talking about, it's because I spent a solid 20 to 30 minutes reading online forum discussions followed by a Youtube video or two on the subject... so I'm basically a highly trained expert.

Come back soon, and share this stuff with your friends please, I'm trying to make a living here!

-F.W.