Windmill Restoration

[Wiebster]

Hello, a complete noob here. I’ve repaired and restored equipment my entire life but this is a bit new to me. I’m restoring my grandfather’s windmill that he put up in the ‘40’s. It’s in really bad shape with every single blade bent and twisted. I have a couple questions: I’m aware of the three main ways to remove rivets, but is there a suggested way in this galvanized metal? Grinding removes a lot of the galvanizing, drilling is almost impossible with the angled brackets in the way and trying to center punch each one perfectly. Also the rivets are essentially 1/2 long so it’s slow going (about 200 rivets). I thought about making my own rivet drilling jig that doesn’t require special bits but the slow drilling method is discouraging that.
Second question is I’m trying to straighten each fan without taking the two angle brackets off. I think I’ll eventually have to. Once I get the fan relatively straight I get this wave in them like the metal is stretched. I eventually plan on using an English Wheel to straighten them but keep the cup in each blade. How do I get this wave out of the fan? Metal shrinker? Would the shrinker ruin the cool patina on the blades? Would the English Wheel take that out with the correct wheels installed or am I overthinking this? Thanks for any advice.

[CTXmiller]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have an 8.5’ Airflow or its Sear’s marketed counterpart, the Champion. Those were made from about 1939 - 1941/42

When I fixed mine, I ended up drilling some of the rivets and used a combination of a body hammer, dolly and rubber mallet to straighten the fan. While trying to preserve the patina, I did use a little cold galvanizing and primer brown-ish to mask my efforts. You could potentially also re-galvanize the entire wheel. Dan Benjamin makes new wheels or you could potentially find a used fan section or wheel to supplement in your repair.

Being it was your grandfather’s windmill, I know it means a lot to you.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Welcome to the forum. If you know anyone with a slip roller you can run your sails through that to try to straighten and get the wrinkles out I've had good luck with mine !!!

[windybob]

Grind all the rivet heads, and punch out. Replace with 1/4 inch bolts. MArk the faces of the sails with a soapstone, and take the stack to the local sheet metel guy who makes furnace plenums, etc. He can roll them inserting them into the roll at a 90 degree angle to the very top. roll them backwards first to remove the memory, then the right way second. If he even charges you it should not be much as he should be entertained by the removal of the wrinkles. lol All the rails, and arms can be straightened with a hammer and adjustable wrench with a vise. Clips can be hammered back into shape.
This is what we do, altho I do have a sliproll.

[mtblah]

John , it is easy , at least when you watch a seasoned pro like Windy preform his majic on bent fan blades ! slip roller is the secret , easy when you know someone who has one .

[Wayne]

After you grind and knock all the rivets out everything else seems easy.

[Kansas Rust Buzzard]

Welcome, I think you have already got pretty good advice. If you have a local hot dip place you can repair all your bullet holes and everything and make it look brand new. Sometimes I use the cold galv and sometimes I use Van Sickle Aluminum paint with some black in it to dull the shine. If your not sure the look you want the later is a nice option because in a few years it will just fade away and your back to natural, nothing harmed. I personally like to go back with rivets just because I am a sucker for authentic, nothing wrong with bolts and its a lot easier. Keep us updated on your progress!

[rockingjl]

Wow, drilling rivets, is a pain! This is what works for me.
I have a couple of things I try to do.
1st, I found using a Dewalt pilot style drill bit made it easier to get centered and then drill the hole.

2nd, one side of the rivet is usually fairly concentric, so I sometimes use a drill guide that will fit the od of the rivet snuggly, then drill the hole thru
the guide.
A lot of the time the side of the rivet that gets peened is smashed to one side so when you drill the hole in the center of that side it is not
usually in the center.

Disclaimer, there other brands of pilot style drill bits besides Dewalt. I have pretty good luck with the Dewalt Titanium pilot style drill bits. I use them for everyday work with my cordless drill and save my Norseman Magnums to use in the drill press, lathe and vertical mill.
I used to buy the Dewalts from Home Depot, now I get them off Ebay.
Good luck with your restoration, there is a lot of really good info on this forum for you to sort thru and see what works for you. Windybob got me started using a slip roller on sails and that is my number one tool used in straightening sails.

[Wiebster]

Wow, thank you all for the great advice, suggestions, and identifying my windmill. I really do appreciate it and never even thought about a slip roller. I’m always looking for an excuse to buy a tool, so a slip roller it is. It’s good to know that it really is as slow and frustrating as I thought it was! I’m sure I’ll have a lot more questions as I progress so I’m thankful for this forum and group!

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

If you're in the market for a slip roller i would buy at least a 4ft or bigger depending on how deep your pockets are.