A couple of things to work out. After some thought, we decided to test drive (literally!) several fabrics and a piece of the Stonehenge paper on a smaller block.
The best block for the job was Enemy, a 1/4" birch plywood block. First a trip to the nearest fabric store, where we picked up several types of cotton, a shiny polyester, a sheer muslin, and a bright red chunk of vinyl.
For tympans we used a piece of fiberboard, which gives a nice even print. We placed runner boards on the edge of the printing block so that if the tire slipped we would slip off that and not off the block. This way, even if the "press" gets out of control, the paper or fabric will not move off the block and blur the print. Seems to have worked.
Another tympan we tried was a piece of carpeting, good side down. This also works well with the fabrics but embosses the paper dangerously. Since we were using a Honda, we did not tear the paper. On the big block we will be using a GMC Jimmy, which is heavier, so we will probably go with the fiberboard tympan.
 

Almost finished with the cutting! Left picture shows part of the image, coming along nicely.  Right picture shows the proposed "press-bed," also known as Maria's driveway (more on this later).

 

Here we are, putting the finishing touches on the danged thang. If you look at the closeups, you will see Daryl using a wire wheel and your standard household drill. This makes beautiful "soft" marks which would require much more time and superb skill with a very small traditional knife. Who's the little guy with the red hat in the background on the top/left picture? Similar "soft" marks have been produced with a single edge razor blade and masterful skill by Baren member James Mundie. On a block this big, however, we'd turn the next millennium before finishing the tedious task. The bottom two pictures show detailed sections showing the different marks produced by dremmel with various attachments, drill with wire wheel, and the traditional chisels. Nice contrast, we think.

Now all that's left is the printing! While talking we figured out that 8-10 4' x 8' prints hanging in Maria's studio would not be feasible, so we had to change the plans on the driveway. Daryl has access to space in the graduate student studios of UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), so we will have to take our show over there on Tuesday, P-DAY.

We decided to print on the shiny polyester, the sheer muslin (you can see the print equally well from both sides), a red and perhaps blue vinyl, and the paper, of course. All in all we plan on printing 8-10 prints if all goes well, the wind doesn't kick up, and the creeks don't rise.

Okay! Here we are on a beautiful sunny day. Here are some pictures of the set-up for those valiant enough to attempt to replicate this feat of madness.
Left picture shows the press bed, rug in place. Middle picture shows the inking slab and other important printmaking stuff. Right picture shows Daryl cleaning the block.

For a closer look and a more humorous account of events, click on each picture to see larger than life.

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