Forage Barge

Waiting for the glue to dry on the forage bales before deciding to keep them

Andy's barge arrived today.  It is very nicely down. I decided to try to make some fodder bales using some fine straw I collected from my wife's garden last year. I had been saving it for this purpose.

The straw is very fine and quite unruly. I grabbed a handful of it and wrapped it with tan colored thread. Then I went along the length with a bead of CAA to secure the thread and hold the straw fibers together. Once the CAA set, I cut 1.25 inch lengths of the straw to create the bales. Then I hit each bale with wet water and dilute white glue.

I arranged the bales in the barge to let them dry in place. Since I did not have enough bales to fill the barge,  I also added some barrels.

While I like the look of the straw, it is too unkempt. I will wait for the glue to dry and then attempt to trim the loose fibers. I have used paint brush bristles to simulate straw in the past. I may try them if these don't work out.

The barrels are wide enough that five can't fit snuggly and four are too loose. I suppose in a situation like that, they would lash them down. So that will be the next step.

If the forage can't be made to look right, we can replace the forage with lumber. Whatever ends up in the barge, I don't want to hide all the neat frame work on Andy's model.

Thanks Andy for a really cool model.