What the heck is a

Mike in Mn. · Nov 15, 2014

Windmill weight?? went to an auction yesterday (was 4 below to start) and there was a cast iron rooster windmill weight there about a foot long and 8 inches high, all cast iron, I have been around windmills some and never seen or heard of a weight. The lucky buyer paid $750 for it so they must be scarce!!

Anonymous-0 · Nov 15, 2014

A weight is used to counter-balance the windmill blade assembly, they were quite ornate and aboot as scarce as rooster teeth now a days
Back in the day things had a practical application and decorative look as well.
Years ago when truck drivers wore uniforms and cowboys roamed the range their choice of garb was not only good looking, but particle as well.

SweetFeet · Nov 15, 2014

No picture? Would have been fun to see.

Mike in Mn. · Nov 15, 2014

Go to Henslin auctions, archives, Jerome anderson trust and estate, auction closed, results. $ says 650, but was $750. Fun Auction, very nice equip,and prices reflect that.

Hank ABAB · Nov 15, 2014

CI Rooster.

2underage · Nov 15, 2014

These weights were common on windmills but not all were so ornate. They were used to pull the pump rod down as the windmill only had up power.
Without these weights the pump rod would just stay up after the first pump.

Gambles · Nov 15, 2014

I put in some time a Dempter, a company that used to make windmills. (And it was like doing time, I might add) Many years ago, they made windmill weights that are very collectible today, especially weights that looked like horses. (Google for "Dempster windmill weight" or check for them on ebay) While I worked there, they made reproduction windmill horse weights, of which I bought one for my daughter.
They also used to make Dempster frogs, a cast iron paper weight. Some of the guys who ran the steel casting area would scratch some designs into the sand moldings to make anatomically correct frogs. A couple of months ago my cousin showed me a male and a female bull frog that came out of their sand molds. You can imagine what they look like.

Nebraska Cowman · Nov 15, 2014

The weight as mentioned was to counterbalance the vanes on the wheel. Modern windmills are governed by a spring tension on the tail which keeps the wheel pointed into the wind. In severe wind conditions the spring will allow the wheel to fold around to the tail and thus not facing the wind it will slow down and not tear itself to pieces. I have seen mills actually stop in a hard wind. The early wooden mills had a complicated system where the vanes in the open or shut to regulate speed. The weight was slid in and out on a bar to regulate the adjustment. They were not self governing and if a wind came up you had better be paying attention and either shut the mill off (by pulling (furling) the tail in so it does not run or climbing up and changing the setting on the weight. Weights were made in ornate shapes, many times animals such as a rooster or a horse, peculiar to the manufacturer and are highly sought after by collectors

Ultradog MN · Nov 15, 2014

So that's what a hen weigh looks like.

Nebraska Cowman · Nov 15, 2014

You should know better than that. Especially in deep wells. The weight of the rods in the pipe are plenty heavy all by themselves. In fact at one time it was common to find wooden rods in wells as they tended to float in the water and hence not be so heavy to lift. And you are wrong on the gearing. A windmill is direct geared to the wheel and yes it does force pressure down. If something happens like the rods freezing in the pipe so they can not go down and the windmill tries to run then something either has to bend or break. At one time all windmill lift rods were wood as a safety but late years we tend to use a piece of log chain as a safety.

Bob · Nov 15, 2014

<img src = "http://www.siebler.com/windmill/pictures/dempster%20windmill.JPG">

<img src = "http://www.siebler.com/windmill/pictures/windmill.JPG"?>
.
Horse weight

IaLeo · Nov 15, 2014

Many years ago my father had an Eclipse crescent type windmill weight he used as a bench-top anvil for riveting sickle sections into the cutter bar. I wonder what that would bring today!
Leo

What the heck is a

Mike in Mn.

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