This glossary of mill machinery covers the major pieces of machinery to be found in

windmills A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods; ...

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

and

horse mill A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse engine as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for gri ...

s. It does not cover machinery found in modern factories.* covers most entries* covers ''Buck'', ''Crown Tree'', ''Pintle'', ''Samson Head''

Watermill machinery

;Axle :The ''axle'' carries the ''waterwheel''. It can also carry the ''Pit Wheel'' at its opposite end. ;Bedstone :The ''Bedstone'' is the bottom of a pair of millstones. It does not move. The upper stone is called the ''Runner Stone''. ;Crown Wheel :The ''Crown Wheel'' is a driving wheel located at the top of the ''Upright Shaft'' ;Great Spur Wheel :The ''Great Spur Wheel'' is a large gear attached to the ''Upright Shaft''. It drives one or more ''Stone Nuts'' in a

corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

. If mounted on a ''Layshaft'' it is called a ''Spur Wheel'' and only drives one ''Stone Nut'' ;Hurst Frame :An internal framework supporting the gears and millstones. This isolation prevents damage to the building from the vibrations of the workings. ;Layshaft :A ''Layshaft'' in a watermill is a horizontal shaft, carrying a ''Wallower'' and one or more ''Spur Wheels''. The term can also refer to a minor shaft driving machinery by pulleys and belts. ;Overdrift :Millstones driven from above are known as ''Overdrift'' stones. ;Pit Wheel :The ''Pit Wheel'' is mounted on the opposite end of the ''axle'' to the ''waterwheel''. It drives the ''Wallower'' on the ''Upright Shaft'' or ''Layshaft''. ;Rim Drive :Some waterwheels have a rack attached to the circumference, which drives the mill via a pinion mounted on a separate axle, which has a ''Pit Wheel'' at its opposite end. This is known as ''Rim Drive''. ;Runner Stone :The ''Runner Stone'' is the topmost of a pair of millstones. It is driven by the ''Stone Nut''. The lower stone is called a ''Bedstone''. ;Stone Nut :A ''Stone Nut'' is a small gear driven by the ''Great Spur Wheel'' or Spur Wheel. It drives the ''Runner Stone''. In most watermills, the stones are driven from below. These are called ''Underdrift'' stones. A few watermills drove the stones from above, known as ''Overdrift'' stones. ;Tentering gear :The mechanism by which the gap between the upper and lower stones is adjusted. It may by controlled by the miller, or automatically. ;

Turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

:In some watermills, a ''Turbine'' was used as a source of power instead of a ''Waterwheel''. In many cases, the ''Turbine'' was installed when a watermill was modernised, although a few mills were built new with ''Turbines''. ;Underdrift :Millstones driven from beneath are known as ''Underdrift'' stones. ;Upright Shaft :The ''Upright Shaft'' in the main driven shaft in a watermill. It carries the ''wallower'', ''Great Spur Wheel'' and sometimes a ''Crown Wheel''. ;Wallower :The ''Wallower'' is a small gear at the base of the ''upright shaft'' in a watermill, it is driven by the ''Pit Wheel''. ; Waterwheel :A ''

waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blade ...

'' is a source of power for a watermill. It is mounted on the ''axle'' and drives the mill by a ''Pit Wheel'' or ''Rim Drive''. In some watermills, the ''Waterwheel'' was replaced by a ''Turbine''.

Windmill machinery

Beebe Windmill Isometric of Machinery Long Island NY

De Keetmolen aandrijving maalstoel rechts

;Bedstone :The ''Bedstone'' is the bottom of a pair of millstones. It does not move. The upper stone is called the ''Runner Stone''. ;Brake Wheel :The ''Brake Wheel'' is the main driving wheel in a Smock or

Tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

, and in some

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...

s. It is carried on the ''Windshaft'' and drives the ''Wallower'' on the ''Upright Shaft'' ;Buck :The ''Buck'' is an East-Anglian term for the body of a post-mill. ;Centrifugal governors :Governors are used to regulate the distance and pressure between

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s in

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s in the 17th century. ;Crown Tree :The ''Crown Tree'' is the central, single baulk of timber, usually oak, that rests on top of the post in a post mill. Attached to it are the side-girts and the rest of the frame of the ''buck''. ;Crown wheel :In a windmill, a ''Crown Wheel'' is an auxiliary gear on the ''Upright Shaft''. ;Fantail :A ''fantail'' is a small windmill which is used to keep a windmill facing into the wind automatically. ;Great Spur Wheel :The ''Great Spur Wheel'' is carried on the ''Upright Shaft''. It drives the ''Stone Nuts''. Millstones driven by the ''Great Spur Wheel'' can be either ''Overdrift'' or ''Underdrift''. ;Head Wheel :The ''Head Wheel'' is carried on the ''Windshaft'' in a Post Mill and has a brake around its circumference. It drives a ''Stone Nut'', Millstones driven by the Head Wheel are always ''Overdrift'' stones. ;Mace :A cross- or square-shaped piece of metal on the top of the spindle from which the runner stone is balanced. ;Middling :See ''Stock'' ;Overdrift :Millstones driven from above are known as ''Overdrift'' stones. ;Pintle :The pivot centering a post mill on top of the main post. ;Runner Stone :The ''Runner Stone'' is the topmost of a pair of millstones. It is driven by the ''Stone Nut''. The lower stone is called a ''Bedstone''. ;

Sails A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

:The ''Sails'' are the source of power in a

. They are carried on the ''Windshaft''. Most windmills had four sails, although some had five (

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

), six ( Waltham, Lincs) or eight sails Heckington, Lincs and there is one recorded twelve sailed windmill (

Cottenham Cottenham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Cottenham is one of the larger villages surrounding the city of Cambridge, located around five miles north of the city. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 6,095. Cottenh ...

, Cambs). :''Common Sails'' have a lattice framework over which a sailcloth is spread. These were the earliest type of sails in northern European windmills. :''Spring Sails'', invented in 1772 by

Andrew Meikle Andrew Meikle (5 May 1719 – 27 November 1811) was a Scottish mechanical engineer credited with inventing the threshing machine, a device used to remove the outer husks from grains of wheat. He also had a hand in assisting Firbeck in the inv ...

, have shutters adjusted by a spring. Each sail is adjusted individually and, as with ''Common Sails'' the mill has to be stopped to enable an adjustment to be made. :''Roller Reefing Sails'', invented in 1789 by Stephen Hooper, use a canvas strip wound around a roller in the place of shutters. The mill does not have to be stopped in order to adjust the sails. :''Patent Sails,'' invented in 1819 by

William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type of windmil ...

, combine the shutters of the ''Spring Sail'' with the automatic adjustment of the ''Roller Reefing Sail''. Single Patents have shutters on the trailing side of the sail, Double Patents have shutters on both sides of the sail for its whole length. ;Samson Head :An iron collar and plate bearing that fits over the ''pintle'' of a post-mill's post, that supports the weight of the ''crown tree'', around which the ''buck'' of the mill is constructed. An example is visible at High Salvington windmill. ;Stock :The beam that passes through the canister of the windshaft, which the sails are bolted onto. ;Stone Nut :The ''Stone Nut'' is a small gear driven by the ''Great Spur Wheel'', ''Head Wheel'', or ''Tail Wheel''. It drives the ''Runner Stone'' either from above (''Overdrift'') or below (''Underdrift''). ;Tail Wheel :The ''Tail Wheel'' is carried on the ''Windshaft'' in a Post Mill and drives a ''Stone Nut''. Millstones driven by the Tail Wheel are always ''Overdrift'' stones. ;Trestle :The ''Trestle'' is the substructure of a Post Mill, usually enclosed in a protective structure called a roundhouse, which also serves as a storage facility. Post mills without a roundhouse are called Open Trestle Post Mills. ;Underdrift :Millstones driven from beneath are known as ''Underdrift'' stones. ;Upright Shaft :The ''Upright Shaft'' is the main vertical shaft found in Smock and Tower mills. It is also found in some Post mills. It carries the ''Wallower'' at its top end, and a ''Great Spur Wheel'' at the bottom end. The ''Great Spur Wheel'' drives two or more ''Stone nuts''. ;Wallower :The ''Wallower'' is a driven gear at the top of the ''Upright Shaft'' in Smock, Tower and some Post mills. It is driven by the ''Brake Wheel'' ;Windshaft :The ''Windshaft'' carries the ''Sails'' and also the ''Brake Wheel'' (Smock and Tower mills, and in some Post mills) or the ''Head Wheel'' and ''Tail Wheel'' in a Post Mill. Windshafts can be wholly made of wood, or wood with a cast iron Poll End (where the ''Sails'' are mounted) or entirely of cast iron.

References

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External links

A Short Guide to Green's Mill and How it all Works

Mill Machinery This glossary of mill machinery covers the major pieces of machinery to be found in windmills, watermills and horse mills. It does not cover machinery found in modern factories.* covers most entries* covers ''Buck'', ''Crown Tree'', ''Pintle'', ' ...

Windmills Watermills Wikipedia glossaries using description lists

Watermill machinery

Windmill machinery

See also

References

External links