Aermotor B602 restoration

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

John if you want give me a call 518-948-3299

[waterPumper]

As I await the hub weld fix I decided to turn my attention to restoration of the tail vane. The knowledge that I have learned from this forum was most helpful, especially the dowel "bridge" that hwy8 mentioned on another thread. It proved a great way to steady my hand as I guided the brush. The tailbone side is done, next up is the wishbone side.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Nice job John for the first time doing it. This forum will make a windmiller out of you in no time.

[mtblah]

John , when it's up in the air 20 ft it will look PERFECT ! even better than that . good job .

[63markB]

That looks really nice John.

[windybob]

Wow. That's a really nice job.

[waterPumper]

Thanks everyone! At first I was hesitant to re-paint the vain, thinking that I should to maintain the patina. In the end I decided that the Aeromotor logo is too iconic to let disappear. I am also happy that I was able to remove the graffiti.

[waterPumper]

The wishbone side is done.

[hwy8]

Hey John, you did a beautiful job on your tail vane! I'm glad you tried that "steady-hand" tool for painting lettering; it works great, doesn't it? (It also does a good job keeping my arm out of the wet paint!) That stencil says, "Ellsworth Hdw Co. Ellsworth, Wisconsin". I live about 20 miles from there, and I think it's amazing how many machines/towers were sold through small 4-corner general stores, feed mills, tractor dealers, etc. (I know that in the Dakotas, Jacobs even sold wind generators through a couple of car dealerships) Ron Stauffer has it right about a bunch of 602's coming from this part of the country; demographically, I think the times and conditions were just right for a bunch of 602 mills to be sold and put up. By the time 702's showed up here, rural electrification had a foothold, and money was getting seriously short because of the depression: It might have been a better time to be in the pump-jack business than trying to sell new windmills. Keep up the good work! Burt

[waterPumper]

Burt, Thanks for the complement & the “steady-hand” tip. It worked great. Thanks for also deciphering the stencil! I’ve been scratching my head on that one.