Strawbales, p4
Truing, Stuffing, and Smoothing
A few points worth mentioning: 1) The bales were cut when required with an electric chain saw; though adequate, it was not uncommon to bind the chain with numerous stalks of loose straw as the cut progressed. 2) A drawback to using 6X6 posts was that each bale requiring a cut needed to be re-strung on that side, as the baling twine is closer to the edge of the bale than the post is wide. 3) And finally, our bale supplier estimated his bales at 16 inches tall. In fact, they were 17 inches. Not a terribly large difference, but as you can see in the photo, 1 inch over 5 courses resulted in the gap for the final course being only 11 inches tall - far short of the 16 inches planned on. Hence the partial bales on the top course.
Most of the bales have been set. Note the layer of OSB above the top course of bales. This not only seals the bales at the top, but allows for a more compact fit.
As the bales were set they were "eye-balled" plumb, and only after all of the bales were in place could they be manipulated to a "plumb as possible" configuration. A hand tamper, a square piece of iron at the end of a handle, works well for forcing the bales into position. The chain saw was used to smooth any bumps. With that accomplished, as many holes as possible were stuffed with straw, and roofing felt was tacked over any wood surfaces to which the welded-wire mesh would next be attached.