Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

What is the proper material to remake a Hub Shaft out of.
I was thinking 1018 cold rolled, but wanted to get some opinions.
I know there are guys on here that are a lot more knowledgeable
on this than I am on this. Also the other shafts in a windmill.
Thanks, Kenneth

Guess it depends on what it rides on. Usually cold rolled, but I'm sure there are other choices. If the mainshaft runs on cast ( like a model M stover, or a H/A mill) I don't think you want to cast to take the wear, the shaft is replaceable, sometimes the cast is not. A hard shaft might be fine in a H/A because of the replaceable, graphite content snout bearing.

We will see what others say.

Most of the original mills used a soft mild steel similar to today's Cold Rolled Steel - 1018 grade.
I prefer to use something with a little more tensile strength just because. I use either 1045 medium carbon steel, 1144 Stressproof, or 4140 Prehard. Neither one of these grades has a really big difference in surface "hardness" , (other than the 4140 which has a slightly higher hardness), they just offer more resistance to bending than the 1018 grade of cold rolled. Will a cold rolled 1018 shaft work fine? Sure.... I just prefer a little more strength for that component.

I did a 12ft Model A Monitor a couple years ago that was steel on cast, of course that mill had a pretty long snout but it didn't have the half bushings like the 10ft A and L does. Anyway, I had to pull it because it was kinked at the spider so I sawed it off next to the snout and then the other side of the spider so I could drill to relieve pressure before pressing it out. I have no idea what it was but I could hardly drill it, I ended up putting it in the Bridgeport and using a carbide end mill. My point is, the shaft had no visible wear, I cleaned the grease out of the casting and put a new cold rolled 1 1/4 shaft in, it had virtually no play but the thing pumped for decades in a pasture. Every time I read where someone says "Modern metal is so much better than it was a hundred years ago" I just kind of chuckle to myself.

Thanks Windy, Todd, and KRB.
I found some 1018 CR today and the price is right.
So it looks like it's settled. But, if I were to buy shaft material,
It would be 1045. Thanks again.

Kenneth