A day at the Ice Shop

FuDDx

United States5015 Posts

May 13 2008 20:14 GMT

Hello agian ive been blogging it up latley mostly because I just entered the digital age with cameras.No more film for me, how cool is that.So since im picture happy,Id like to share some pictures i took today.

Today all that needed to be done was pull blocks of ice,mill them and either box them ( to sell to chefs) or leave them in the bag for carving.The process is fairly simple you have a cherry picker,tilt carts,a contraption with a chain saw on it chef made for milling, and some dollys or carts as we refer to them for moving the blocks around.

Heres a pic of the cherry picker,tilt carts,and milling chainsaw.The freezers for making blocks are in the background.

So when the ice has fully formed its a simple thing to vacum excess water then dry the blocks,(any water driping down the sides is liable to crack the block),with a sponge and towel.then push on the plates that hold the bag in place (think along the lines of twisting an ice cube tray)unclip the bag from some holders lower the cherry picker and hook the ice hooks pull it out and lower onto tilt carts.Chef is doing this.

Then you wheel the tilt cart over to the milling saw and lock the wheels in place so the tilt cart with ice can not move.And saw off the top layer of ice, giving you a even sized block that is smooth on all sides.Also it allows the ice to fit perfectly into our boxes.

Unfortunetly I did not get as many pics as I wanted, to show all the steps, but after you mill the ice it either gets boxed from the tilt cart or stood up and dollyed into the freezer.

The freezer and some blocks in it we dont have any carvings to do after doing many for mothers day unfortunely I didnt have a camera then.

Tools of the trade for carving.

FuDDx

United States5015 Posts

May 13 2008 20:15 GMT

Whoops the title should read A day at the Ice Shop not ics shop.

Kennigit

Canada19447 Posts

May 13 2008 20:28 GMT

oooo any pictures of completed works? I saw a bunch of ice works at a ball i went to at christmas but i think they were just from molds and not hand done.

FuDDx

United States5015 Posts

May 13 2008 20:31 GMT

www.iceticeart.com

Has finished peices I font think any of those on the site were done by me,all the ones on the site are a few years old at least.Ive been working there for just over a year now.