Post Mill, Säkylä

A wind-powered corn mill in Finland.

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This mill, built in 1858, is now owned by the Säkylä Municipality, who have taken it as their crest. The body is small with deep petticoat, pent rood porch, a shingled pent roof, and the body vertically boarded and painted red, with protected corners painted white. Its size is 9 ft. 10 in. square, 26 ft. high to the ridge. It is mounted on a sub-structure with double crosstrees on the compass arm principle and also doubled vertically, 18 in. deep by 6 1/2 in. wide and no less than 33 ft. long, resting on stones at the ends. The quarterbars consist of four clusters of four poles in 6 in. diameter, supporting the post, which is 20 in. square at the base and has four empty mortises, used for erection between the quarterbars and below the heavy collar. The post is enclosed by the crosstrees and increases in size to 21 in. diameter at the top where it carries a crowntree 17 in. wide by 13 in. deep.

The sails are double, straight-sided and tapering, 5 ft. wide at the tip with 4 in. stocks and an estimated span of 35 ft. There is a windshaft of wood, octagonal, 13 in. across the flats, with a stone neck bearing and a wooden thrust bearing. The compass-arm brake wheel is of wood with 46 cogs, 4 7/8 in. pitch, 2 1/2 in. face and 3 1/2 in deep. It has a wrought iron band 2 in. by 1/2 in. which acts as a brake when tightened up by a bolt and two nuts. The wooden lantern pinion it drives has ten staves with a 14 in. face. The single pair of stones are of granite, 3 ft. 10 in. diameter, tentered with wedges. The hopper rests on the horse, which is held to the framing by cords over a trestle at the side of the stones. The shoe of cradle section was carved from the solid and is raised and lowered by a rawhide thong wrapped round the spindle across the horse; this has a wooden ratchet wheel and wooden pawl. At the side of the stones a trailstick engages with the teeth of an old wooden rake nailed to the top of the octagonal vat and acts as a spring. The stones are of granite 3 ft. 10 in. diameter. The wrought iron stone spindle is 2 3/8 in. square held in a wooden bearing by a block and taper wedge, and two wrought iron straps on either side of the centre of the beam at the top.

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References

• TIMS Mills GPS Database Mill ID 3029
• Wailes, Rex, & Auvo Hirsjärvi, "Finnish Mills Part IV: Post Mills", (Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 45, 1972-1973, pp.93-104)

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