January 9 , 2001
Heiligerlee, NL - The grinding stones and their associated mechanisms
Part IV - The hoisting mechanism for the stones
The emphasis of this update on the progress of the grinding mechanism for Fulton's windmill De Immigrant is: metal.
In the photograph below Henk is working on the 'grip' of the hoisting mechanism for the grinding stones. While in the background Mr Molema is 'supervising' some other work. After his retirement at the end of last year he's spending as much time in the workshop as ever before...
From time to time the grinding stones of a windmill have to be 'dressed' or 'gebild' (as they say in the Netherlands), which means that by using a hammer and a chisel the faded profile of the grinding surface has to be deepened again.
It's obvious that, in order to be able to do that, one has to lift the upper grinding stone to work on the sides that normally face each other.
Because of the weigth of this stone a windmill has a hoisting mechanism especially for this dressing job, consisting of a wooden 'crane part (see below)' and a metal 'grip'.
Below is a metal 'pin' that will be attached to the grip and that will slide into small holes in the grinding stones for a firm grip.
From up above a little bird's eye view of part of the Molema workshop with some of the wooden parts for De Immigrant.
On top of the big Spur Wheel (upper left hand corner) lies part of the wooden crane for the hoisting mechanism for the grinding stones.
Here Guus is indicating where the metal grip will be fastened to the wooden crane.
And more metal parts... The theme of this update is rightfully Metal.
The metal parts in the photograph below will be centered inside the upper (or 'runner') grinding stone. They will make the connection between the 'grinding axle' and the upper stone. The lower stone (or 'lier') always remains in place while the 'runner' is turning to grind the grain.
Meanwhile there is still some work to be done on the wood work as well, here Arnold and ...
Jan are busy taking measures ...
Hippo
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2003
Building windmill De Immigrant
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