Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

Just got my mast back from the machine shop in Traverse. Nice and straight! He heated the area red, then applied pressure and chucked in a lathe to check alignment. Other than a 6-inch area of discoloration, there is no evidence of a crack. I may remove and replace the mast cup for most complete ...

What were the footings for the tower? Concrete pad, or steel leg extensions directly into the earth?

This is a similar pattern I saw on a dead ash tree that was struck a couple of years back. I was standing about 100 feet from the tree when it was struck...flash-bang!!!! Splinters of bark and wood ...

I am considering the "put it up and knock it down again" option.
Unfortunately, the bend is already to the right, so I need to know if two rights can produce a left. Maybe I will stand on the opposite side so the bend goes the other way.

I dunno, I was never good with that fizziks stuff...

Hi, Ron. I don't know WHO the real Aermotor is these days; it seems like several people are claiming that they are genuine, and all the other guys (even the people in Texas) are not.

My local machine shop has my mast, and will use heat and pressure to try straightening it.This will cost me $30 ...

I think I struck a nerve...may I live as long as my windmill is old, and be in half as good shape!

Of course, I can buy new parts for the MILL online!

If my wife comes home and sees me playing ye olde village smithy stoking up the hibachi with our leaf blower, she's liable to pull the plug on my whole operation! I just recently managed to convince her that climbing a rusty 30 foot tower at 67 years old was an OK idea...

Aermotor Co.'s mast is welded to the base, but there is a new one on Ebay that is threaded, $156.00 plus shipping. I am going to Ace welding in Traverse City tomorrow to get a price to straighten mine. If it is reasonable, I'll go ahead and have them do it. They straightened one for a guy in Lake ...

The way I planned to salvage the base from the mast: hacksaw across the bottom of the mast right where it meets the cast base. Separate the base and mast. Take a hack blade in a poke saw or gripped by a vise grip. Make two cuts across the 1" of mast material threaded into the cast base, then gently ...

Good point, and your actual experience makes the best sense, Ron. My tower is a tripod, and I can get the cast iron mast base off. If I could get a new mast that is threaded, I would rather save the money re-using my old three-sided base, and use the old mast as a ground "stub-mount" to hold the ...

billcobb kindly posted a line drawing of the lower furl ring mechanism (see a couple of postings above). This evening, I looked at the Lindsay Baker 702 book I bought last week (the best thing I did next to joining this forum!) and Fig. 15 on page 9 shows the same line drawing, except it shows the ...