Watermill Blog -  Catching Up
24th April 2008

This watermill blog entry has to cover four working days as the webmaster has some catching up to do.

It was a much reduced team on Tuesday the 15th, consisting of Colin, John, Jonathan and Kim.

It would appear that less people equals less chat and more work, because Colin completed the repair of the hurst ground beam that had been started the previous week.

John and Kim made good progress with the re-glazing of the repaired windows on the East side of the mill and Jonathan did a bit more bricklaying on the North wall of the stable.

A few more volunteers turned up on Thursday the 17th, with the team consisting of Colin, Headley, Max, John and Dick. Dave also turned up, driven by Mrs Dave, to do a bit of surveying for the Listed Building Consent that we need to make some safety related changes.

Colin and Headley concentrated on removing the section of PTO shaft that emerges from the mill. This needed to come out so that we can restore the bearing surfaces.

The picture shows the two sections side by side in the workshop. The two end bearings, at the bottom of the picture, are in good condition but the middle bearings are very badly worn.

One has been restored by welding and re-machining and we may need to do the same to the second one as well.

These bearings sit either side of the heavy universal joint located in the middle of the track way between the mill and the barn. Judging by the wear on these bearings someone thought the the rain would provide enough lubrication!

Max put the finishing touches to the windlass part of the sack hoist and then looked around for something else to do. As a result he had the questionable privilege of putting in the last pane of glass on the east side of the mill. He left vowing never to try glazing again.

Tuesday the 22nd saw work concentrate around the waterwheel and the gear pit. Martyn, John, Kim and Jonathan worked on the interior walls of the gear pit and made plans for the final fitting of the outer main bearing.

This bearing is new, a replacement for the one removed in the 1960's and lost, and has rested on a temporary plinth up until now. We need to remove the bearing, drill it for the addition of a greaser and then replace it on a permanent plinth. No big deal, but we do have to support a couple of tons of waterwheel while all this goes on.

Derek left the heavy work to the "youngsters" and carried on tidying the landscape on the north bank beside the mill. The old undergrowth and scrub has gone and new bushes planted to make a better hedge.

One of the Society's objectives is to provide habitat for wildlife and it is good to note that the mill pool is being colonised. A pair of moorhens have built a nest and mallard are regular visitors. Rising circles of ripples suggest that something is colonising the water as well but we haven't identified what it might be yet.

he last day of this catch up session is Thursday the 24th.

John worked on the end wall of the gear pit, a job he really doesn't enjoy because it is a confined space as you can see.

Martyn, Max and Headley turned their attention to the hatch between the stone floor and the basement. This seems to have lost long before we took over the mill, with an old door covering the hole in the floor.

Marks on the joists indicate that there used to be a double flapped hatch for the sack hoist to pass through and a single flap covering the steps. It is our intention to repair to this system.

Dick worked on the chaff cutter and the PTO shaft sections, and Headley also spent some time in the workshop preparing wedges to re-fit the bevel gear to the end of the PTO shaft.

Go to the next Watermill Blog entry

Go to the previous Watermill Blog entry

Learn how to Support Us

Return to our Home Page