Fairbury for a newbie?
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 11:13 am
Hello everyone. I have been lurking on this site and am amazed by amount of knowledgeable people and their willingness to help and share. This is sure to be a lifesaver for my fledgling windmill journey.
I have always loved windmills and want to restore one to use as yard art on my property. It will not be used for pumping water but I want it to be able to spin and turn in the wind and be able to apply the break to keep it safe in extreme windy conditions. A working pump rod would be nice too, should I ever decide to aerate a pond in the future, but is not necessary. Preserving history is also very appealing to me but I am not looking for a museum quality mill when done.
I have found a disassembled Fairbury that I have interest in buying. I am relatively familiar with the mechanics of Aermotors due to their prevalence but know almost nothing about Fairbury. Internet information on them also seem very minimal. The windmill is located 900 miles away so it would be quite a journey and expense to pick up, but I am not opposed to this. The seller believes it to be an 8 footer but we are unsure what model it is. As you can see the front hub is broken, which we both believe to be fixable or replaceable. He also mentioned that the gearbox spins freely. I understand that these use TIMKEN bearings, which seems very appealing to me since I have no experience with babbitt bearings. The seller assumes that all of the pieces are there but it has sat in pieces for a couple decades. Possible missing tower parts seems less problematic to me than possible missing head, fan and tail parts.
I am a life-long tinkerer with good mechanic skills. While I am not a machinist or have that equipment, I am always up for a challenge.
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Does anybody know what model Fairbury this is? Thanks!
John
I have always loved windmills and want to restore one to use as yard art on my property. It will not be used for pumping water but I want it to be able to spin and turn in the wind and be able to apply the break to keep it safe in extreme windy conditions. A working pump rod would be nice too, should I ever decide to aerate a pond in the future, but is not necessary. Preserving history is also very appealing to me but I am not looking for a museum quality mill when done.
I have found a disassembled Fairbury that I have interest in buying. I am relatively familiar with the mechanics of Aermotors due to their prevalence but know almost nothing about Fairbury. Internet information on them also seem very minimal. The windmill is located 900 miles away so it would be quite a journey and expense to pick up, but I am not opposed to this. The seller believes it to be an 8 footer but we are unsure what model it is. As you can see the front hub is broken, which we both believe to be fixable or replaceable. He also mentioned that the gearbox spins freely. I understand that these use TIMKEN bearings, which seems very appealing to me since I have no experience with babbitt bearings. The seller assumes that all of the pieces are there but it has sat in pieces for a couple decades. Possible missing tower parts seems less problematic to me than possible missing head, fan and tail parts.
I am a life-long tinkerer with good mechanic skills. While I am not a machinist or have that equipment, I am always up for a challenge.
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Does anybody know what model Fairbury this is? Thanks!
John