Eight Sided Drainage Mill by flying_dutchman2 - FINISHED - scale 1:15 - Achtkante Poldermolen

[flying_dutchman2]

Besides building ships, I build windmills as well. This eight sided drainage windmill is a replica of one that is still in existence. When my father retired from the Dutch foreign service he worked in this mill as an accounting manager and gave me the plans of this garden windmill. 

 

Dimensions:

Roof height 28-1/2"

Max. Height 48-1/2

 

The plans, dimensions and how to build it are all in Dutch. So first I took all the measurements and recalculated them in inches so I know how much wood to purchase. Once I have all the wood I can go back to mm. 

The axel and other metal parts for the vanes I searched on Google, got a picture and recognized what it was so I know what to ask for in the store and I know my plumbing lingo. 

This goes for some of the wood as well. 

In Dutch M18, stands for multiplex watervast and the 18 is the thickness of the wood in mm. So in English the M is plywood for outdoors and 18 is about 3/4" thick. Did this with all the M's. Other wood involved is 1/8" Baltic birch and hardwood (any type). The outdoor plywood I can get at a big box store. I have plenty of hardwood in all sizes. 

Other parts are copper and aluminum tubing,  outdoor glue, tile glue to imitate the straw sides, glossy paint, primer, acrylic paints, etc. Waterproofing I am also using a spray can with that foam in it and lots of lacquer. 

 

Xeroxed two copies of the plans and started gluing templates on stiff cardboard and cut them out. 

 

Also cut out the 2 doors and 2 windows. Instead of using glass for the windows I'll use plexiglass. These will be painted van Dyk green. 

 

Marcus 

[Osmosis]

Looks like an interesting project. Mind if I tag along?

[cog]

This one is also on my bucket list. Got the original plans too. Fortunately I do not need to convert measurements when it comes to buying wood to build it I will enjoy seeing it take shape Marcus!

[flying_dutchman2]

Osmosis; Thanks for joining. The project has some challenges. 

 

Note for everyone: I have a difficult time translating Dutch windmill lingo to English. I am using the Dutch to English Van Dale which is equivalent to the Oxford dictionary. So when I describe a part and I am using the Dutch name for it, it is because I can't find the English word for it. Maybe some of the Dutch modelers checking out this thread can help out. 

Thanks. 

 

Cog, 

Some of the measurements given on page 1, 2, and 3 are not the same as the actual drawings. Number 2 (stijlen) needs to be longer. I cut out one of the copies and dry fitted no. 6, 7 and 12 on it. No 6 template is too short (funderingsmuur), but the width given on page one 68mm is correct. 

What I am trying to explain is: don't assume the plans are correct. Some items are and some not. Compare and check. 

Marcus  

[gjdale]

Looks like an interesting diversion Marcus. Think I’ll pull up a chair and follow along too.

[cog]

funderingsmuur = foundation wall

stijlen = frame studs - Here they used someething that doesn't resemble studs, but give moer strength to the build. I have drawings for the "Eenhoorn" (wood saw mill) which has the proper wooden studs, that built, however, is a wee bit more advanced, also on the bucket list, but after this one

[flying_dutchman2]

1 hour ago, gjdale said:

Looks like an interesting diversion Marcus. Think I’ll pull up a chair and follow along too.

The more the merrier. It is a diversion of ship building and it is related. 

Little known fact. There have always been windmills, but the Dutch took it a step further. They invented the 'saw mill'. Using the power of the wind attached to the saw and all of a sudden you had a powered saw. 

Cog has plans of a sawmill, called the Eenhoorn, which is located in Haarlem and up to this day it still runs. On there website they describe what you have to do when you have a log and want to have it sawed into planks.  I have seen this mill when I lived in the Netherlands. 

Marcus 

[Omega1234]

Hi Marcus

 

I’m in!!!!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[flying_dutchman2]

Patrick, thanks for joining. 

Marcus 

[Baker]

I also follow the construction of a Dutch mill
Made in the USA 

[druxey]

OK; bring it on, Marcus!

[flying_dutchman2]

Backer & druxey, hope you enjoy the built as much as I will be building the mill 

Marcus 

[Piet]

Hey Marcus, I'm in as well. A polder mill is also on my bucket list!  Oh - - already since the year needle naadle noo.  Not knowing there are plans available I was planning to draw my own plans but buying a set is easier. So, someday I'll spring for a set of plans.

I have visited a working grain mill in Groningen and the one in ter Borg, Drente, which is one of the oldest post mills in the Netherlands. That one stood on the defensive wall of the fort Boertange and is owned and operated by the city of Groningen.  Then of course a few in Koog aan de Zaan. We were also fortunate being invited  by the miller in the one he lived in near Alblasserdam.

Just like the Dutch ships these wind mills have something special about them. Yea, call me sentimental but they are beautiful.

Quite a nice project Marcus and how are you planning to simulate the thatch siding?  Will you also make it working?

 

Cheers,

 

[flying_dutchman2]

24 minutes ago, Piet said:

Quite a nice project Marcus and how are you planning to simulate the thatch siding?  Will you also make it working?

 

Cheers,

 

Thatch can be simulated with tile glue. The author describes this. Basically you need a thick paste that when dry is waterproof. 

There is a windmill website in the Netherlands that sell bundles of thatch. But a bit pricy. Or in the summer go to an unmowed field and cut the straw myself. 

 

It will be working.. This is why I need a copper tube. Probably put a LED light in it as well. 

Marcus 

[thibaultron]

Interesting and unusual build! I'm in.

 

One question, in the "movies" they always show the windmill turning, with no cloth on the "sails". Don't they need the sail/vain frames covered to actually run?

[amateur]

Nope, they don't need the sail to run.

The sails are only needed in case of low wind speed.

 

@ Marcus: are you going to build an interior, or will this be an "outside only" ?

Can you tell us what the mechanics of the mill are? Is it working using a  'water-screw' or a 'wheel' ?

 

@Piet: do you mean this one in Ter Haar?

I like Dutch windmills. Quite a lot of differences between them, depending on region, function, and age.

I also like these few rather sturdy ones (this one is Zeddam, in the eastern part of the country)

 

 

Jan

 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by amateur

[amateur]

Did some research: almost all north-holland watermills use a waterscrew.

 

Jan

[Jack12477]

Hi Marcus, 

 

I'm here too.

[cog]

Jan, the one in Zeddam is one of the oldest, and has some limitations I thought, with the direction  the wind is coming from, or that goes for the ones built before the Zeddam type. Alse rather heavy (brik), couldn't rotate the head, to get it in the propper alignment

[flying_dutchman2]

Welcome aboard, thibaultron, amateur and Jack. 

 

Jan: no interior, waterscrew or wheel. For my first garden windmill that is way over my head and the plans don't call for that. Will be looking for something like that in my next mill.

Thank you for the pictures of the different windmills. 

 

I plan to add the cloth on the frames. Joanne sewing store has nice heavy brown cloth. I saw that when I bought the sail cloth for the Utrecht.

This or next week I will get the 'outdoor' plywood in several thicknesses. I have created all the templates on heavy cardboard, so it is time to start it. 

 

I completed the two windows and doors and casements for the items. Still needs to be primed, painted and several coats of lacquer.  

 

The acrylic colors I am using are: titanium white, van Dyk green, medium cadmium red, dark cadmium red, cobalt blue, Mars black, yellow ochre, and orange. (some of the colors are the same as the Utrecht).  The instructions also call for chocolate brown powder. 

Once I get to the items that need painting, I will mention the color I am using. 

 

This project will be slow going as I am also building a Boyer, another scratch boat and spring, summer and fall I spent a lot of time outside. 

Marcus 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by flying_dutchman2
Add

[flying_dutchman2]

Especially for the Dutch people who speak Dutch and for everybody else for the pictures. 

 

This is a hobby site for anything people who want to build something. 

www.modelbrouwers.nl and in the search type 'molen'. 

Nice windmill projects. 

 

Did not find anything about thatch roofs. 

 

People who have model trains and want to make thatch roofs on their houses, this is what they do 

Get plastic grass and glue on roof. 

Use diluted acrylic paint and cover the grass 

Keep painting it on to get a thick layer but not so much that the grass dissappears. 

 

I will try this on a practice piece and leave it outside and see what the weather does to it. I am thinking it will deteriorate, so I stay with the original idea of using tile glue. 

Marcus 

[cog]

You could spray a satin water resistant "laquer" over the thatch. You should realise that thatch deteriorates over time, so if you do not treat it, it will get the authentic brownish look, passing into green (moss) Strangely enough, I've never seen a mill with moss on it's thatch ...

Edited March 26, 2018 by cog

[flying_dutchman2]

3 minutes ago, cog said:

You could spray a satin water resistant "laquer" over the thatch. You should realise that thatch deteriorates over time, so if you do not treat it, it will get the authentic brownish look, passing into green (moss) Strangely enough, I've never seen a mill with moss on it's thatch ...

Good idea on the lacquer. So a thatched roof or not, I'll decide when I get there.

 

What I read about thatch roofs is that it is a specialty. There are tradesmen that do this. There are special tools for it and you have to prep the roof before you can thatch it. They also prep a fire retardant on it. 

I learned a lot from reading these sites. 

When I lived in Holland, I saw how they thatched a house ...... very interesting 

Marcus 

[flying_dutchman2]

In Holland, Michigan there is a Dutch grain mill. These Dutch Americans went to the Netherlands and purchased a mill, took it apart piece by piece, put it on a ship, shipped it to the USA, to Holland, Michigan, and put it back together. 

It is a working grain mill. The miller was sent to the Netherlands to learn how to run it. She had to get certified for this. It is a 2 hour drive from my house and when I am there I by the flour. 

Marcus 

[Vivian Galad]

Wow! That's an interesting project to follow! Will take a seat too! Can I?

 

[amateur]

Thatch needs some care: it is a natural product, so it dereriorates over time, especially when wet.

So from time to time the thatcher comes by and gives the roof a close shave (literally) to remove moss, dirt and rotting parts, them he fills thin parts with new thtch. So that is why you not often see moss on mills. You see it on the north side of thatched roofs.

After a numbe of years, repair isnr enough, and the whole roof has to be replaced.

 

by tge way, there is no roof under the thatch, the thatch is the roof.

in housinghowever, modern safety regulations ask for an fireproof later betwwen beams and thatch.

 

Some pics, other type of mill, but the process is the same.

http://www.rietdekkerstraver.nl/projecten/vervanging-rieten-kap-cabauwse-molen/

 

Jan

Edited March 27, 2018 by amateur

[Osmosis]

I have a friend at work who is from Holland Mi. and we have talked about the De Zwaan windmill before. However I just read a rather lengthy article about its history. What a fascinating story. It was actually the last one to be sold for export from Holland.

[flying_dutchman2]

Welcome Vivian, yes there is still plenty of room. 

 

Finished the bottom plate, foundation wall, frame studs, and the thatch roof templates. 

Cut the lexan for the doors, windows and windows in the thatch roof. 

Added door knobs for the doors and put together the windows that will be installed in the thatch roof. Once dry, sand a bit put primer on, paint all of it Van Dyk green and finalize it with lacquer.

The window shutters will be primed as well and they have a design painted on them. 

Marcus 

[Canute]

Think I'll follow along, too, Marcus.

[cog]

Nice progress Marcus. Will you be making curtains (red and white checkered) too?