Brigolin windmills and old iron rescue

Brigolin windmills and old iron rescue Brigolin windmills and old iron rescue Brigolin windmills and old iron rescue

rustyironism@gmail.com

rustyironism@gmail.comrustyironism@gmail.com

Enjoying Odd and Exotic Historical Mechanisms

Check out the belt driven fans made by Jay McGinnis

 Mahogany Belt Driven, Direct Drive and Pulley Ceiling Fans (architecturalfans.com) 


And his fascinating windmill site.

http://www.newparkwindengine.com/


Al Mott

This page is dedicated to the late

                           Al Mott

                     from Strathroy, Ontario, Canada

             His collection was dispersed to individuals,

                            museums and  collectors.

Harley and Barbara Stroven and the Windmill Gardens

This story, filmed in 1968/9 with a wind-up 8 mm camera, by Harley and Barbara Stroven and their daughter, Jan,  is of the 13 foot Maud S powermill erected at the museum with the help of  80 year old Clare Dunham, who bought it used in 1906.

Harley sat with his TV and a record player and created this documentary in 1989.

The mill was taken down in 2004 and is stored indoors by a collector, the fourth owner.

Harley R. Stroven, Armaments Officer, 486th BG

486th Bomb Group Video

8th Air Force Historical Society

8th Air Force Historical Society

Harley made many films in the era when home movies were in their infancy. 

Here is a link to one that he made when he served in World War II

8th Air Force Historical Society

8th Air Force Historical Society

8th Air Force Historical Society

https://sites.google.com/site/8thafhsmn/pictures/harley-r-stroven-armaments-officer-486th-bg

Dorr Felt vertical axis horizontal mill

The Strovens saving industrial history

Dorr Felt patented his Comptometer and Comptograph in 1887 after making a prototype in 1884 out of a macaroni box, staples and rubber bands.

Among his inventions was this vertical axis mill placed at his mansion in Saugatuck, Michigan.

This link is to the patent.

 US1654165A - Windmill - Google Patents 

Harley Stroven and family did the effort to save this historical machine and made one of their home movies to show how they took it down.

After the Windmill Gardens closed down, the mill was donated to the Wind Power Museum in Lubbock, Texas and is now awaiting restoration.

Archeologists of Recent History

This very well done documentary shows some of the work of Harley and Barbara Stroven and their family's efforts to preserve our industrial history.

Sadly, the museum has closed but lives on here and with others who have appreciated their saving of relics of our past.

I was honored to have called them my friends.

The Stroven restoration of the Ensley Tower

Whenever I feel I have accomplished something, I watch this 1 hour film to humble myself.

Harley Stroven and his family filmed the 10 year restoration of this Stage Coach Stop windmill tower and the incredible dedication, passion and personal expenditure of time and money is unsurpassed.

I don't know why the video ended so soon, but the end shows Harley ringing the bells on July 4th 1976

Jan Stroven-Burton tells the story of the Ensley Tower

Show More

4 foot Sunflower model donated to windmill.com Lubbock,Texas

Henry  Nelson started making this little Sunflower model from a poor advertisement drawing.

He asked me to make the pattern for the head.

He had the sheet metal done and the stand but called me to say that he could not finish the project.

I picked up the pieces he had made two weeks before he died.

With a much better drawing provided by T. Lindsay Baker, I made patterns and had iron castings poured.

Dave Smith helped with the machining, along with  Dave Brigolin, helping in the difficult times.


Brigolin Brooms coming soon

hand cranked deseeder

hand cranked deseeder

foot treadle broom winder and hand sewing vise

broom shear

The Lipe Walrath Broom Sewing Machine Co. powered sewer

Misc. Photos

model Rider hot air engine made by Dave Brigolin

https://www.youtube.com/@gearhead1624/videos

Dave Brigolin with his 1934 Packard on the historic GM Design Center Patio

Dave Brigolin with his 1974 AMX, Brig's Trick,  that he has owned over 40 years on the historic GM Design Center Patio, with Mike Simcoe, Design V.P.

Early 1928 International Six Speed Special

Pratt and Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major 

28 cylinder 4 row radial is the largest piston powered aircraft engine ever in production.

18,000 were made between 1944 and July 1955.

This one was made in February of 1955.

WANTED:

Summer 1966 REO NEWS factory brochure.

Show More

Miscellaneous videos

Fosdick radial drill press

Drilling big Sunflower hub with carbon steel drill in a 1906-1910c Fosdick drill press 

CNC milling

Milling foundry pattern out of REN

Smith-Drum sliding bed lathe

Smith-Drum lathe with War Dept. tag boring the big Sunflower hub mounted to a geared face plate

16" Southbend lathe

Cleaning the bent ends of the Sunflower actuator rods

Pouring iron

All my ideas, patterns and machining would not exist without the work of the guys at the foundry.

1936 G & E 16 inch stroke High Duty shaper

The soothing hum of ancient machinery

Log splitter as hydraulic press

crude die bending the steel for the Sunflower tailbone braces.

10 foot Sunflower project

Slide Show # 1

After figuring out the engineering of the little Sunflower model I decided to make ten 10 footers.

I call them "Indoor Static Displays" because they will be a work of art to be enjoyed, but they are not intended to be used to pump water.

The company was first listed as being in business in 1890 but no records exist after 1892.

1893 saw a recession, so many companies failed and I fear the Sunflower Windmill company was one of them.

Here is a link to the patent.  Note that no model was submitted.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US440669A/en?oq=US440%2c669

Slide Show # 2

Although one of their advertisements claimed that their mill had the "fewest moving parts of any windmill", that, obviously, was creative writing.

I tried to make the mill as close as I could to the 1890 advertisement drawing, even though there are several areas that I would have done differently.  I did not want to change the look of it by improving some engineering points.


Slide Show # 3

I know of no original surviving mills so some details could only be guessed based on the advertisement drawing.

These slide shows should give an idea of the challenge of creating the  machine.

After many years of hours of struggles, we often joke about people looking up at the completed mill, saying "ooo thats a nice windmill.." "oh, look at the grouse!" without a clue of what it takes to create.

Slide Show # 4

If you watch all the videos they often have no order or seem to repeat some operations.

Usually, I will develop a part or process on paper, then mock it up in wood, then in steel to prove it will work

Sometimes I will develop a part, prove it but not get back to making the hundreds needed until a year or more later.

Often parts developed individually need to fit to other parts being developed and that leads to a total change  and start over.


Slideshow # 5

stay tuned

Sunflower Windmill Connecting Rod Modification

 GearHead1 - YouTube 

Video

 

CNC Cutting Sunflower Blade Feathering Links

 GearHead1 - YouTube 

Video

Wire beading the Sunflower side vanes

The 1/4 inch wire adds strength and rigidity to the thin sheet metal

stay tuned

stay tuned

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