Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

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.

Wayne the challenge steel was a internal gear Mill

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.

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

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.

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

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

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?

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

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