Challenge imternal Gear

[Wayne]

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Found this windmill at the Ag Museum in Ft Benton Montana. It looks to be an internal gear. I haven't ever seen I don't think an internal gear Challenge. Does someone have one out there? I have a vane bone I bought at Paul Cowley's sale that looks a whole lot like this bone. I bought it for the round pipe.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Wayne the challenge steel was a internal gear Mill

[Wayne]

Ok Thanks. I must have turned two pages when looking at the Challenge mills in the big book. The vane I have is for one. Looks just like the picture.

[Les Jacox]

We have some Challenge Steel internal gear mills. We also have a couple of Challenge 24 mills which have internal gears.

[Wayne]

I like the internal gear mills. I have a 6 ft Woodmanse. I guess if I've ever laid eyes on one it didn't register with me.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

You guys probably know this but for those who don't one of the reason windmill companies did it was there is more gear surface contact than external gear mills

[Wayne]

Being it was a good thing what made them get away from it? Too expensive to build maybe. ???

[Kansas Rust Buzzard]

I suspect it was too expensive, just like today, things always migrate toward cheap. I really like the Challenge Direct Stroke and Internal gear mills, They are just a fun mill to me for some reason?

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

I'm only familiar with challenge internal gear mills Were there other mills and pics of ones you have

[Wayne]

Woodmanse had several models, The Ideal by Stover, then the Challenge is the ones I know of. There may be others.