Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

Curious
I see old working windmills and nicely painted restorations here and there around the country. Do any of you just repair and put back into operation your windmills? There is something nice about both. the pride of restoration and the satisfaction of seeing a windmill hard at work looking its age.
jerry

Personally, I restore/refurbish to good working order. If the sheet metal has aged galvanizing or less than moderate rust, I leave it. I paint the gearbox the appropriate approximate color, and re-letter the tail vane. From there, they age as they do, and only servicing and repair is performed. My mills are outdoors on towers. If they were displayed indoors, then I might be more detailed.

With me it depends on the mill weather it will be displayed inside or outside and also the condition of the patina.I usually always paint the gear box to stop from rusting. If the wheel is complete and the sails aren't rusted bad i don't touch it same with tailvane.My wood Stover has a few sails missing and is all original i was informed not to do anything with it.Its your mill do what you want unless it's museum quality than listen to the Masters.

Yup , i agree

I agree with the others and like to repair and restore to good working order. For the most part, I’ll paint the gearbox back to or close to the original color. My windmills, although restored, are on the retirement side of the water pumping (bell) curve.

There are workers, and there are lookers. both types are historic. Our grandkids may never see one in the wild. Everyone keeping them alive in any way whatever, is doing historic deeds.

My standards for windmill repair/restoration:

Whether or not it pumps, it must:
1. Be safe. No parts about to fall off on your head. So, all fasteners tight, no broken or badly worn or rattly parts. Tower straight, plumb, and solid (no loose or missing components). A solid working platform.
2. Not make horrible noises that make your neighbors want to kill you.
3. Have actual functional bearings and a way to lubricate them... and not have the oil leak out.
4. Have a functional way to shut the mill off from the ground.

Taking a close-to-century old, abused/neglected windmill and bringing it up to these standards often entails about 90% of the work involved in making it also pump water. Nowadays I figure almost every windmill needs, at a minimum, new bearings, a rebuilt brake/furling system and a new platform; some need a lot more than that. So, I've learned that the price of restoring a windmill that doesn't pump needs to be pretty much the same as for one that pumps. If I sell it for an ornament, I can't sell it for a pumper.

The cosmetic aspect is entirely secondary. Like others here, I often paint castings, either the customary OEM color or Black (that happens to be my last name). I seldom paint the whole wheel or tail vane if the galvanizing is good or has just a light rust patina. I usually pound shut bullet holes and spot prime with a cold galvanizing product, and sometimes re-paint the original logo on the tail.

Unfortunately, I have encountered some windmills that people purchased from other suppliers who represented their products as rebuilt, when the re-build job consisted chiefly of a coat of paint. The term I like to use for this kind of rebuild is a Sherwin-Williams Overhaul.

thank you Lotec
I absolutely agree on all safety and functionable points. I have great respect for our God given life. New bearings are coming. A few sails may need replacing. All rivets are out and will be replaced with bolts, locktite and nylocks. The spot welds are ok but I intend to to add some pop rivets. Still up in the air as to how much colour to add. Need to source a few parts yet.
I ride and repair motorcycles. My bikes are safe. Just finished this one Some others. Everything apart and replaced/repaired /restored. Ready to go Kept this Harley as is , but every nut and bolt has been apart. I really appreciate the helpful suggestions.
jerry