Re: Windmills

From: rmv1_at_...
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 21:34:53 -0000


[Chris Lemens expounded on windmills.]

> On the heroquest: Millstones often have grooves cut in them. I
> don't know why, but suppose that it might be so that the ground
> flour has somewhere to go, or so that individual grains of grain
> (er, you know what I mean) have some way to move from where they
> are poured in.

The grooves are there to 'cut' the grain as well as move it out from the center. Millstones in the RW need to be dressed every three or four weeks if they are under constant use, in order to keep the edges sharp.

> I'd think one outcome of the HQ would be for the top and bottom
> millstones to be blessed by grooves cut in the runic patterns of
> storm and earth, respectively.

The only problem I have with this is that these runes would be extremely inefficient. Sure, we're talking about a mythic world where anything is possible. Still, someone mentioned the Movement rune. If you added a number of additional grooves, running from the trailing edge of each leg of the rune to the edge of the stone, you would have a close approximation of the current model. If you like the idea of the millstones being the stone wheels of a giant's chariot, then this makes perfect sense.

> Where it is: I'd assume that the windmill is found in the clan
> chief's stead, along with the other oddities.
I'd say, put the mill where there is reasonably constant wind; usually passes through foothills make good areas. In Orlanthi lands, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a good spot.

> The fee: One part in seven seems a bit steep for Orlanthi. After
> all, you can't make them use the mill. What you need to "charge"
> is enough to pay for its upkeep in terms of additional labor, plus
> enough to keep the (fairly minor) god happy.
There's more to it than that, though. Not only does the miller and his family need to live on the proceeds, some of the mill proceeds will go to the tribal king, some to the Tarshgild (or whatever), some will go to Ohorlanth, Kolat and other winds, some will go toward repairing the wooden structure, some will have to go to the stone dresser for his work on the millstones, some will have to go to buy grease for the axles, some will go to repair the sails, etc. There's a lot of expenses. I'll agree one part in seven seems steep, but it will save man-days of work for the family. The more time you save, the more you have to try to get more loot raiding/produce more goods/farm more ground/hunt more terrain, depending on your other tasks; with the Lunar taxes, I need to use all the time I've got just to feed my family.

> An alternative is that your miller has some other craft (e.g. a
> barrel-making cooper) that can be set aside during Earth season, so
> the clan chief does not need any additional labor, but the miller
> needs to be paid for his time.

> Again, figuring out how much each stead must contribute is a
> political issue.

> Design: If I understand correctly (always a big if),
> the "horizontal" windmill has its axis of rotation perpendicular to
> the ground, with its vanes or sails rotating in a circle that is
> parallel to the ground. Is that right? If so, then you presumably
> need something to keep the wind from hitting the vanes on the side
> that is rotating into the wind. From a previous description, it
> sounds like you build the rotating vanes indoors, with a two big
> windows (both to either the left or the right of the wind
> direction) to let the wind flow through the room. If that is
> accurate, then you don't need to worry about making the windmill
> rotate into the wind.

The "horizontal" mill you describe is called a post-mill. There are actually two parts, the top part with the millstones and the bottom part which supports the top part. There is a "tailpole" which is a lever the miller can lift and heft to shift the top part to face into the wind.

You have conflated that one with the "vertical" mill, which is basically a staff with vanes that sits indoors: you open slats in the walls to make the wind hit one side of the staff, but not the other. This one is extremely simple to build and has no gears; it is also rather inefficient compared to a post-mill.

> Use: I also agree that not all clans would have one. To
> summarize, they would tend to be characterized by:
> - enough wealth, at least once, to sustain a project over at
> least a couple of years, when the payback comes over the next 3 or
> 4;

It should probably only take a short time to get the parts finished. Then, you have a "millraising" and the whole clan puts it up in one day. Probably only take a half a day; there's not a lot to it. A good picture of the post-mill can be found at: http://www.tianet.com/gladman/gladman/post.htm

[Water Mills.]
> However, compared to the horizontal windmill described above, you
> need a lot more knowledge. Specifically, you have to know enough
> about gears to change the axis of rotation from parallel to the
> ground to perpendicular to the ground. You probably need to know
> how to make a clutch, to disengage the drive shaft from the grind
> stones. You also have to replace rotten wood a lot more often.
It's not that difficult to do, actually. The gear technology is as simple as the post-mill's, and both mills use some type of brake: the windmill has a "brake wheel" which can be disengaged, and the watermill has either a brake or a sluice gate that stops the water from hitting the paddlewheel.

More of my meddling two clacks.
Roland

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