Gearhead & Diglore
Gearhead Gearhead
Diglore Diglore
Gearhead Gearhead
Hey Diglore, I've been digging into the design plans of an ancient windmill that disappeared centuries ago. Think we could reverse engineer its mechanics and actually build a working prototype?
Diglore Diglore
Sounds like a neat puzzle. Grab the sketches, list every visible gear, and map the motion. Once we know the ratios and material limits, we can test a scaled‑down version in the lab. If the ancient design holds up, I’ll build a replica and watch the wind do its thing. Let’s get to the details.
Gearhead Gearhead
Great! First thing’s first—grab those sketches and lay them out side‑by‑side. I’ll start listing every gear I see, noting its size, pinion count, and material tags. Once we’ve got that catalog, we’ll draw a quick motion diagram to see how the power flows from the windshaft through the tailwheel to the millstones. With those ratios in hand, we can pick a safe material—maybe a carbon‑fiber composite for the main shaft, steel for the smaller gears—and run a stress test on the numbers. After that, we’ll cut a scaled‑down version, bolt it together in the lab, and run it on a motor to simulate wind. Once the prototype checks out, we’ll hit the real thing and let the breeze do the rest. Let's get to work!
Diglore Diglore
Sounds good. Lay the plans out, line up every tooth count and material tag. I’ll draft a simple flow diagram: windshaft turns, transfers to tailwheel, then to the great wheel, down through the crown wheel to the stone gears. We’ll calculate the gear ratios, check the stress on the shafts, and pick a composite‑steel combo that keeps the weight low but strong. Then cut the scale model, assemble it in the workshop, and run it on a motor to mimic the wind. If the numbers hold, we’ll have a working prototype to prove the theory—and maybe uncover a hidden mechanism the original builders left out. Let's dig in.