I know a little but not enough- Large Mill Dam Machinery- many pics

[Bev]

I know a little but not enough- Large Mill Dam Machinery- SOLVED

We had a small drought here in RI a few weeks ago and my son noticed something in the river near our house. It looked like train wheels, he thought.
To back up a bit, we are at a river split where a raceway was created for a mill down river. the dam is not working any longer and there is no ironworks anywhere to be found. There is a plaque on the waterfall, which was not running at this point because of the lack of rain, that was dated 1908. We spoke to a man near by who grew up here and he, in 40 years, had never seen any workings for the dam.
So with a Jeep and a wench, we hauled this puppy up the wall. What I'd like to know is:

What is the correct term for this piece of equipment?
What exactly was it used for?
Now that I chipped and scraped away the decades of rust and crap from it is there anything I can do to preserve it?

It's going to spend the rest of it's lfe in my front yard garden unless the historical society wants it.

Any help at all would be so useful!

(Not my cigs!)


Bev

 

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[TomPA]

Can't help you on an ID Bev, but it's cool! Good to have a "wench" around for the help.

Wench: A voluptuous female pirate type woman, usually with a fiery attitude.

 

[austin]

Gonna look great in the front yard garden. Stick an old toilet out there with some flowers planted in the bowl and we'll make you an honorary Texan. On second thought, that may not be such a great honor after all.

 

[creskol]

My guess is that they are drive wheels for large flat belts.

 

[the bone]

Flat belts are used to turn those pullies with the gear on the end of the shaft i would say it probably ran a grinder. If you have an old grain elevator in town you should pay them a visit with it they could probably tell you exactly what it is. My family owns a farm and we have an old grain elevator and it is all run on flat belts and pullies similar to the one you have however there are no gears in our setup but all that we have is the "leg" no old grinders so that is why i assume it is part of a grinder.

 

[taz42o]

Called a line shaft.

 

[Ism]

Gonna look great in the front yard garden. Stick an old toilet out there with some flowers planted in the bowl and we'll make you an honorary Texan. On second thought, that may not be such a great honor after all.

Its not only a Texas thing, about 5 miles from me on the way to work is a house with a toilet set up just like you described.
What would make a person decorate their yard with a toilet?

 

[Bev]

Can't help you on an ID Bev, but it's cool! Good to have a "wench" around for the help.

Wench: A voluptuous female pirate type woman, usually with a fiery attitude.

LOL --- Darn if I remember spell check!!!! Well maybe I'm the wench with the winch, right? HA!

Great help guys! When you said flat belts, I believe I know a place where I can start asking questions. I'll also start looking at line shafts- Thank you so much!

As for being an honorary Texan- I'm very cool with that!! The toilet in the yard? Well...I'm not there just yet! Just a collection of old bricks I find on my hunts- I paint the name of the place I find them on one side so I know where they came from!

 

[TomPA]

Bev, It sounds like you may have enough info for an ID, but if it doesn't come through, here's another thought. You pulled this from 'the river', so it must mean it was out there for a reason. If the river is large enough, could it be something from a paddle-boat or some other vessel, dredge?

 

[Bev]

No, we're the littlest state in the Union...no big rivers that could accomodate a paddle boat! The "insert image" isnt working for some reason, so I'll add a few when it'll let me!

 

[Bev]

Here are some photos of the river, the second one from the left is the falls and how low the water was. (Also has a ghost orb in the background I think!)

 

[AC1955]

Gonna look great in the front yard garden. Stick an old toilet out there with some flowers planted in the bowl and we'll make you an honorary Texan. On second thought, that may not be such a great honor after all.

You don't have to be a Texan to have a potty in the yard. My ex father-in-law (a plumber) had a toilet, bathtub and sink in his yard that he used as planters...and he lives in Massachusetts! (The planters did look great, a bit weird, but great nonetheless).

HH,
Anita

 

[nhbenz]

I agree with the above mentioned application, just adding the term Grist Mill, being the whole big piece of machinery (and building) where locals could get their grains ground up.

 

[Bev]

I agree with the above mentioned application, just adding the term Grist Mill, being the whole big piece of machinery (and building) where locals could get their grains ground up.

We have some beautiful old mills here in Rhode Island and I still come across some of the old foundations, long forgotten. I found some really nice pics of a line shaft with the belt on it. I wish there was a patent on it or something but unfortunately, nothing.