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Crystal Cave Restoration

Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Pieces of the shawl prior to assembly (the dotted parts have already been glued).
Threaded stainless steel rod (316) was used to ‘pin’ the larger fragments.
Drilling a pin hole in the central piece of the shawl
The shawl supported and left to set.
The reassembled shawl
Pinning a stalactite.
The pinned stalactite setting
A further stalactite section glued.
Installation time: Melanie Roberts and Rob MacCracken locate where the stalactites came from
Greg Thomas marks the drilling positions for the shawl
Greg and Rob drill holes to reattach the shawl
Drilling the lower part of the shawl
Unplugging the corer
Washing out dust and spoil
Rob Foulds dries off the shawl section
Greg cutting sections of threaded rod
Ian, Steve Miller and Ben Thomas mix and apply the resin glue
The shawl reattached and supported by an Acrow prop and sand bucket while setting
Sandbags and ladders hold the Acrow prop firm.
Steve shows where a stalactite is to be reattached
The rounder stalactite sections were supported in PVC pipes
A seesaw system was used to apply upward pressure
Close-up of the fulcrum arrangement
Ben indicating where the stalagmite is to be reattached
The stalagmite in place
Steve ready to support the double stalactite…
…and after
Small shawl, before…
…and after.
Cluster of four stalactites, before…
…and after.
The large shawl, before….
…and after.
Overall chamber shot indicating all the speleothems which were reinstalled.
The glues used: ‘Hot Stuff’ instant superglue for light speleothems in less vulnerable locations, and a two-pack epoxy resin ‘Techniglue’ for the heavier ones.
Close-up of the coring bit.
A diamond coring kit, obtained courtesy of Greg Thomas, was used to drill speleothems without splitting or shattering them.
All the tools used by Ian and his team.
Some of the pieces with the evidence bags in which they were released to us
Ian Collette laid out the pieces according to the map, and was able to see how many of the pieces fitted together.
The map made by Rob Foulds immediately following the vandalism, showing where the broken pieces of formation were found.
This small jack was left in place to support the formation
The large rock in the foreground was placed to reduce the effect of intermittent water flow
Norm Poulter commenced the work with this very large and heavy piece (128 kg) which had been suspended just above the sand floor. Paving slabs were installed under the sand to give a firm base, and the formation was jacked back up into place.
The entry gate to Crystal Cave