General News

Compagnes Drift Mill No 87

Heritage - News

Update for 14th August 2009

Update for end of May 2009

Milling with the Vitruvian Mill!

Well, that’s let the cat out of the bag, but it wasn’t easy! I thought that the remaining wobble in the Vitruvian runner stone would be easy to adjust, it being in the direction which I can set through the eye of the runner. Not so! I adjusted as far as I could and it still wasn’t enough, the rhynd was bearing up against one of the sides of the driving dog which I made:

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So I had to fit the cradle and lift the runner out.....

Compagnes Drift Mill No 86

Heritage - News

Update for 7th August 2009
Update for 23rd May 2009

86. Rheenendal Mill

The purpose of today’s trip to Swellendam was to inspect a Lister Blackstone-powered generator which is set up as a stand-by plant at a sawmill on Grootvadersbos beyond Buffeljags River and Zuurbraak, quite a distance inland, on the way to Heidelberg. Ronnie Crowther and I had arranged to have the engine started for us by Nick Selley and to meet the owner, Alex Anderson. In case you think the name is in Khoisan, think again! It’s an acronym for all the first names in Alex’s family!

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Compagnes Drift Mill No 88

Heritage - News

Update for 14th August 2009

Update for beginning of June 2009

Horse, Hopper and Shoe

 

Again, working from the one poor picture out of James Walton's book of the now derelict Kleine Zand Drift Mill in Bredasdorp:

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Compagnes Drift Mill No 89

Heritage - News

Update for 31st August 2009
89 Damsel and Sweeper

During the week, I had a chance at the workshop to make up the Damsel. Again, with Walton's book and Kleine Zand Drift as a guide:

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Compagnes Drift Mill No 90

Heritage - News

Update for 31st August 2009
90 Horse Mill at Calvinia Museum

Hello all,

Something totally different! On a weekday visit to the Northern Cape town of Calvinia (pron Kul-fffiee-niee-ah) in search of parts for a Commer TS3 lorry which Keith Wetmore from Somerset Timbers is restoring, we had an hour spare after a very successful day so far, to visit the town's museum.

Compagnes Drift Mill No 91

Heritage - News

Update added 12th October 2009
91. End June 2009 Compagnes Drift Mill. Meal Spout

Keith Wetmore of Somerset Timbers kindly gave us some 'reject' Meranti tongue-and-groove planking. One man's meat..... nothing wrong with this for us! The fact that it is thin planking is ideal; as the available width for us to fit the meal spout into, is only 100mm. Thicker planking would have choked the meal flow. It didn't take long before we had this, for a start:

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Compagnes Drift Mill No 92

Heritage - News

Update added 12th October 2009

92. Compagnes Drift Mill 'Horse'

The 'furniture' of the Vitruvian mill is starting to come together! The first job was to square-up the tees and lay the two beams in them and to mark and cut them out to fit into the tees. The ends of the beams were 'ogee-ed' by Abie at Somerset Timbers, to match the ends of the tees he'd done before.

When I cut out the tees, some of the wood had broken out with the router, so this time I came properly prepared!

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Compagnes Drift Mill No 93

Heritage - News

Update added 9th November 2009

Update for Mid July 2009

93. On 'Autogetem'

 

Autogetem? United States Army slang for 'on fully automatic'! Although there are refinements still to do, the Vitruvian mill worked on Saturday without much supervision. Even more satisfying was that it did so in the presence of two of my 'mentors' from Mostert's Mill, Joanna Marx and Charles Forcioli!

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Compagnesdrift Mill 108 3rd January 2010 Elevators and Chutes

108 January 2010 Compagnes Drift Mill Elevators and Chutes

With the festivities out of the way, work could resume on the main elevator and the delivery chutes from it to the various mills and the grain cleaner. I started by inspecting the outlet as last used, by which time, I suspect the Vitruvian Mill was out of service: 

This is looking upward towards the top of the main elevator, for which a dormer structure juts out of the roof. The bent metal sheet in the slot would cut off the natural flow into the grain cleaner which is below the camera. If this is closed, then the grain will flow to the right and out into some chute, I suspect to the Stamford Mill.

Compagnes Drift Mill No 94

Heritage - News

Update added 9th November 2009

Box for Meal Spout and Tests

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