A bit bigger than my bicycle wheel Like a huge cheese grinder, this log chipper blade now sits idle in a Bellingham scrap yard. It could be a great sculpture if someone would put money and imagination together. Not far from the yard there is a sculpture called Sierra Triangle. That is on the campus of Western Washington University. Also made from solid steel. Sierra Triangle is recognized as art while this old chipper blade hasn't been discovered; at least as far as I know. The blade could be considered "found art." A 1,500 horse power electric motor got it spinning; from what I have heard. Logs were fed in and pulverized. Resulting wood chips were used to make pulp which was later turned into paper. Someone once told me that the blade was like a giant flywheel. If this isn't some "urban legend," it would take a day for the blade to stop spinning when the log chipper was turned off. Talk about momentum! Find out what could be happening to old Georgia Pacific West pulp mill site in Bellingham. |