Update - 8 January 2015

The new girders shown on the last update were successfully fitted by the mill team. The new girders have stopped the distortion that used to occur as the cap turned in the wind.

The new girders installed in the cap either side of the brake wheel

Four guide wheels have been fitted in the cap, two at the rear and two on the sides, which keep the cap centred on top of the tower. They've fixed one of the major problems we had which was when the wind pushed on the cap, it caused it to slide backwards and disengaged the gearing that kept it facing the wind. However, for the past three weeks the mill has been rotating on its own to face the wind, and has been through some strong winds without any problems.

The two guide wheels at the back of the cap

Close up on one of the guide wheels

The waterproofing was completed just before the weather turned and apart from a very small leak in the cap, has also been successful.

The next job for the mill team will be to prepare the mill stones in order to start milling flour.