2. Axle-tree (Main shaft)

For a year I felt uncomfortable about La Cotte's Watermill. I had dismantled part of a priceless artefact by taking out the worn and rusty four-bladed Gudgeon and it was now in worse condition than I found it. Parts were lying around at an Engineering Works as samples, which could so easily be lost. Too often we hear of such examples. I was delighted to hear from Mark again with the welcome news that the project was 'on' and I could start having new parts made.

I had two new four-bladed Gudgeons made out of 50mm round bar with four plates of the same length and width as the old ones, but just thinner. After priming and painting them I lost no time in visiting the Mill and, having had two granite bearing blocks made, tested the fit.

I squared up the remaining four quarters of the Axle-tree and measured for hard-wood spacers which were cut to varying thicknesses. On the next visit I put up two legs of my tripod, with a wooden bar clamped to the top, leaning against the wall. With one of my chain-blocks hanging from the apex, it was possible to sling the Axle-tree and lift it away from the pole stand which the farm staff made when I stripped it. 

I fitted the gudgeon, forcing the spacers in with a coating of epoxy resin. As soon as they were in, I refitted the wrought-iron rings which hold the four quarters together.

I was in a bit of a hurry at this stage to set the bearing in a bed of cement, and in fact made a mistake with the level of the Axle-tree and fitted the bearing too low  for it to clear the square hole in the wall. I made up a shuttering box, brought the bearing up against the gudgeon and poured cement and added rocks to make up the volume. As soon as it was dry enough, I wrote the date in the top surface.

Back at home, I made two wooden boxes to fit over the bearings and Gudgeon, to keep out water and dirt.

On the next visit, I tried it out on the outer bearing, the cement now dry, it looked the part!

Realising that Jon would have to turn the Axle-tree to work on it, unsupported by any bearing on the inside, I had a steel ring rolled and made up a stirrup with four bearings to run on the inside of the ring, while hanging from a chain-block inside.

The wheel was still very out-of-balance, but Jon removed all the Sole-boards first which helped. Very few of them were still in place at the exposed section on top and those in the wheel pit had fared better in the shade. He could then turn the wheel and work on the Axle-tree more easily. 

My plan was to build up an extension to the inner end of the Axle-tree in four quarters; two longer ones opposite one another, two shorter ones opposite them. To reinforce this 'splice', I had two sets of four interlocking eye-bolts made, and two more to hold the inner four-bladed Gudgeon firmly in the end of the four quarters.

Jon had to cut away some of the damaged and burnt wood, partly because, like the Water-wheel, there was evidence that the original Pit-wheel had six spokes and the one we were fitting, has four. It is this offcut which could possibly be tested for age by dendrochronology. For the long quarters, Jon cleverly didn't cut away fully to the centre, he left a core of the original, and chamfered the inside of the two long quarters. This increased the area of contact, for the glue to work on. Jon says this is Teak; he is using French red Oak for the extension.

We needed to decide how long the shaft should be and where to cut the four quarters off.

He could then prepare the ends for the inner four-bladed Gudgeon. The four quarters were then fitted and glued with really strong imported glue and firmly clamped and left to dry. 

At this stage we realised we should have fed the Pit-wheel in first! We had to lower the inner floor level for the inner bearing anyway, so we broke away some of the rocks on the corners, raised the shaft as high as it could go and lowered the Pit-wheel over the end of the Axle-tree and into the pit.

We could then level the Axle-tree, and here discovered the outer bearing was too low. That was broken out and Jon made new shuttering. We poured cement in there, also for the inner bearing. Here I set in pieces of broken Millstone, possibly those from the time of the fire, which would have fallen from the Stones floor.

We worked out the ideal position for the Pit-wheel, Jon then started on making the mortises for the four spokes of the Pit-wheel.

Outside on the Axle-tree, against the wall-side spokes was a wrought iron ring like the others, but it had split open at the blacksmith-welded join. It clearly was important along with the rest, to hold together the various components of the shaft, the square core and the four curved additions which make it round, and bind the assembly around the six spokes. 

I slid it off inwards and with difficulty compressed it with clamps to close up where it had sprung open, vee-ed it out and welded it with electric arc.

After priming and painting it inside and out, I tried to force it back into position.

It simply wouldn't go, using a long steel drift and heavy hammer from inside, through the hole in the wall! There was nothing for it but to cut it open again, but knowing it would spring open again, I first welded heavy steel lugs on each side of the new cut.

Then it was possible to move it back into position, fit a piece of threaded rod through it and pull it tight with nuts at each end.

The gap hasn't quite closed, and I might just leave it exactly like that. Welding in position and cooling immediately is filled with risk of damage. 

I was concerned about the outer two bands which I'd removed a year before to take out the remains of the Gudgeon. I had recently forced them back on as far as they could go, but they were not 'shrunk on' as they would have been originally, red-hot and cooled quickly like the tyre of a cart wheel. I drilled through them once each between the blades of the Gudgeon and fitted coach-screws.

The hexagons looked out of place, so I rounded some off in the lathe at home, cut screwdriver slots and with a coat of black paint, these will look a bit more authentic!

To be continued.....