Practical Instructions For Millers And Carpenters For Constructing Mills

The book presented here gives a comprehensive, period guide for the design and construction of water-powered gristmills based upon 18th century German technology. As such, it shows a likely template for the early American, colonial gristmills built by German speaking and trained settlers. It also illustrates the more complex mills used in Europe at that time. A full English translation is given along with numerous technical annotations for the 18th century technology. Seventeen original copper plate, detailed drawings are reproduced of the mill designs and equipment. One of the first significant industries in North America was the refining of grains in water-powered gristmills. Many gristmills were built in the early colonial settlements. Records of the Virginia Company show a water-powered mill under construction in 1621. A gristmill is on record as built in New Amsterdam in 1634. The Jenney Grist Mill was first built in 1636 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The first known gristmill in Pennsylvania came on William Penn's ship that arrived up the Delaware River in 1682. It was "ready framed" in England for grinding grains and sawing boards in the new province. As the settlers arrived in the New World and pushed into the interior of the original 13 colonies, they built gristmills as soon as their agriculture became established. Often, a gristmill was the first major building built in an area after cabins and barns. Many towns in rural communities then grew up around these mills. A question arises concerning these early pioneer gristmills. Was there a template for their design and construction? Many students of molinology attribute the design of early American water-powered gristmills to Oliver Evans, who published his well-known book, The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide, in 1834. His design was seen in the typical, three-storied, integrated mills that were built across 19th century America. However, the mills on the American countryside of the 1600s and 1700s were generally not of such sophisticated design. They were often little more than log or simple frame structures with a design based upon a water wheel, axle, power transmission, and a set of mill stones. The book presented here gives a template for that simple design with specific instructions for construction. It was written by Heinrich Ernst and published in Leipzig, Germany in 1805. Not only is the template given more suited to a rural and undeveloped environment, but many of the early mills were built and operated by men who emigrated from Germany at that time. A copy of the original book was found recently in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, which was in the heart of an area settled by German mill wrights and millers around the turn of the 19th century. Since this book represents 18th century, European milling technology, it includes additional and more complex designs used in the "Old World" at that time. They include mills with multiple and adjustable water wheels and multiple millstone sets. There are also interesting sections on flow and fall measurements of the period and weir and sluice design and construction.

This book provides practical advice on designing and constructing mills. It covers a wide range of topics, from selecting the right location to choosing materials and implementing the most efficient layout. Abernathey's guide is an essential resource for anyone involved in industrial design or construction. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877 edition. Excerpt: ... CONTEXTS. CHAPTER I. MECHANICAL POWERS. FAGS Elementary Works on Natural Philosophy . 17 Elements of Machinery 17 The Lever 20 Th3 Inclined Plane .29 The Wedge 32 The Screw 34 The Pulley and Cord 40 The Crank 42 CHAPTER II. FLY AND BALANCE WHEELS. Centrifugal Force and Circular Motion ..... 50 Action and Reaction 54 Friction 63 CHAPTER III. TRANSMISSION AND TRANSPORTATION OP MOTIVE POWER. CHAPTER IV. PECULIARITIES AND PROPERTIES OF WATER. Taking Levels Fitting down Sills under Water .... Washing out a Mill-race or Foundation by Sluicing Pressure of Water ...... Velocity of Falling Water ..... Tables (iii) INTRODUCTION. The occupation of a millwright differs from that of almost all other tradesmen and mechanics, in that he is compelled to accommodate his work to a greater variety of circnmstances, conditions, and contingencies. For instance, a millwright is employed to build two saw-mills, one is to be in or near a city, convenient to foundries and machine-shops, where a great variety of waterwheels, and all the other machinery required for its construction can be obtained cheaply and in abundance. But the water power and site are valuable here, and he must select the water wheels, and adapt every part to do the required amount of work with the least possible waste of water and room, and all the machinery and many of the fixtures will be of iron. The other saw-mill is to be built back in the interior of the wilderness where all supplies must 1*2 packed and carried at great expense; and here, almost the whole mill and machinery must be improvised of wood, on the spot. Timber, water power, and space being of little value, while iron is a precious metal, and he must exert his ingenuity to construct a mill that will do the required w

Excerpt from Practical Hints on Mill Building My primary object in preparing this book was to place before the mining public a distinctively flour-milling and mill-building work. This, I have thought, was needed; and in its preparation have constantly endeavored to make it plain, simple and entirely practical; and if to any extent I have, in the estimation of the reader, failed in carrying out the design, I hope that such failure will be charged up to my good intentions only, allowing one to balance the other, leaving the book free to stand on its merits exclusively, giving it credit for whatever of value it does contain. The tables on gearing, belting and shafting I have carefully prepared for this work; but much of the other general matter of a mechanical nature has been copied from good authorities, prominent among them being Chas. H. Haswell. I have preferred to give, in the main, the productions entire of these authorities, with credit, to rewriting, recompiling and putting them in as original, as they could not have been very much improved, if at all, and could not have been considered original or any more valuable than in their present shape. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.