Thank for learning the picture post. I really enjoy them.

Hi everyone, and thanks gregk for the encouragement, I enjoy sharing my life's adventures in the restoration\reconstruction field.

this will probably be my last post dealing with the 1846 Muley sawmill that in many ways was a great part of my life, not to only operate, but to maintain and understand the complicated early millwrighting that is necessary to successfully keep it in operation.

This mill was already 115 years old when it was removed from its original site, and reconstructed at UCV in 1961. It since has run for 47 more years, and in that time it has needed 3 complete reconstructions of the head race, and 2 complete reconstructions of the turbine box, shaft, crank and linkages

Its equipment looks crude to the average eye, but in reality to cut successfully with it it entails using very fine lines and settings that is awesome.

These long braces are an integral part of the framing and have to be maintained at times by tightening and wedging

Hope you enjoy NH

Hi everyone looking in

This photo is of a reconstruction of the pressure box containing the 1840 30 hp water turbine that powers the woollen mill at UCV

This ring of timbers has to be strong enough to support approx 30 tons of water along with the weight of the turbine and the associated shafting

You will notice that the timbers are all held in place by dovetails, no wood pins are used as a securing medium.

The timbers are all white oak, and are 10" square, of #1 quality.

These timbers being mostly underwater will outlast the wooden box by a factor of 3 at least.

To be authentic the timbers were cut in our muley mill as a demonstration of sawing hard wood during the previous summer.

Hope you enjoy

NH

This seems alittle off our hewing topic, but we want to remember that historic mills even stone mills contained an internal structure consisting of many parts of hewn timber, which was an integral part of the structure, for instance the floor(s) of which there are 3 in this mill, the roof containing purlin posts, hewn rafters, and then the husking frame which contains and supports the milling stones, each pair weighing in at about 1 ton.

Please note the door frame that was removed from the mill walls during the teardown on its original site, and now being reinstalled in the reconstructed wall.

Just for those that are interested, enough stones were destroyed during the demolition that the purchase of 2 stone houses of similar stones was necessary to complete the reconstruction.

Hope you enjoy

NH

hi everyone tonight:

this is the final bent of a small horse barn that we reconstructed at UCV. It was a 1 year event meaning that we hewed, framed and raised the building in the space of one open season (May to September).

The barn was identical to one that was found in a painting owned by one of the Bellamy family members, as well the 3 bay driveshed noticeable in the background it also was reconstructed from the same painting, and was identical to the original building.

Hope you enjoy

NH

Hi again

I will post some more views of this raising but is there anything that any of you out there looking in, may want to know about the process of the reconstruction.

The stone mill that you noticed in a previous post was the grist mill reconstruction associated with the driveshed and small barn

The whole process was well over the million dollars at that time, the Grist mill waspowered by water as well as a steam engine each of 45 horsepower.

One of my roles as supervisor of restoration was to put in place the water wheel and its associated shaftings complete with babitted bearings, The stone grinding wheels, (which was a story in its self), the steam engine with its 8 foot flywheel, and the mill machinery.


NH

fantastic photo Northern Hewer! I like the one man's hand on the tie. Great thread, and with what you have learned what would you say about today?

Hi Mo:

Well that is a hard question to answer

I am very prejudice to the old work, to me it just seems to have character to it. I will be posting eventually the bare framework of a church being dismantled, it stands stark against the skyline, but as you study the hewn timbers closely like i had the chance to do you could plainly see the different workers that shaped different parts of the frame, but that is for another time.

I stand in awe at some of the wonderful modern frameworks that has been posted from time to time, They simply blow my mind away with their beauty, and yet there is something about the hewn surfaces and hand plane marks, and the complications that involve working with rough surfaces that make the old frames special.

I have worked with many excellent craftsmen that would walk away from my group (which they were a part of) saying that it took too much thought, or it was too complicated.

Looking at a reconstructed frame ready for cladding in the early morning light cannot be duplicated, its clean lines and yet rough surfaces quite a mixture it creates a special feeling in those that behold.

I do salute those out there that are working very hard to please their customers, I suspect that it is not easy because people have such high expectations now. I believe that it stems mostly from the very smooth finishes on the modern timberframes, natural flaws hidden on rough timbers become very apparent on smooth surfaces, and so on. I am a thorough believer that wooden frames built to serve the modern market are being pushed to the limit, and that in turn is pushing the constructors to the limit at the same time. It seems to me that even the architects are scratching their heads trying to meet code at times.

I don'tknow if I have answered the question but I have tried thanks for stopping by, I would like to hear from others so just barge in and say hello

NH

These are awesome photos, Richard. Keep 'em coming! CB.

Hi everyone in TTRAG Land

Well thanks Daiku for stopping in I intend to keep them coming they are doing no good lying around in my filing cabinet.

Each picture has a story to tell, and some that are in the story have passed on, but their memories,their enthusiasm and their image lingers on

NH