'There ain't no party, like a Crownboard party!'

Once the scaffold came down, a big sort out was needed and the workspace had to be reconfigured. Tired of moving the front crownboard, complete with its elaborate carving, from pillar to post to try to save it from being damaged or trodden on, I decided fitting it back onto the waggon might just solve the storage problem. Eyeing it for about five minutes after my re-organising of space, I went and got some tools to remove the carving, which was pinned on and unscrewed the 2 busts of the Romany gent and his bride, wrapping them up to store safely. Ten minutes later I was staring at a blank crownboard in need of paint stripping, sanding and more importantly fitting

Fortunately, only a touch of prep work needed to be done on the crownboard once it was stripped and sanded. A slight crack in the wood was remedied with some wood glue and clamped overnight and some wood filler applied to any holes on both sides. As it was quite a snug fit when I tried it in place on the waggon, I was able to mark the framework on the inside (rear side of the crownboard). I used this then as a guide to work out where to put the screw holes in to fit it. Pre-drilled and countersunk, it was finally offered up above the door and screwed in place and more wood filler to cover the sunken screw heads. Still to do, is sanding back the filler and some gap filler all around the edge, before any paint can be applied.

The Sound of Scaffold!

'Hello Scaffold, My Old Friend'. The shaking scaff came back out of retirement to help with all the waggon work on high, although I can't say I've missed dragging it around on its 'mind of own' castors, needing eyes everywhere to make sure it doesn't catch the porch brackets as it rattles across the gravel, drifting diagonally and snaking its way into place. Having said that it's an indispensable piece of equipment and I'd certainly be lost without it. The scaff’s first job was at the back of the waggon to prime the newly stripped rear crownboard and underneath the porch. Next was manoeuvring it round to the head of the van to fit the front one.

Until I start working on the bottom section of the waggon and the underworks - the scaff will be my best friend and right hand man in this restoration.