Thread: Days Flour Mill

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

Truly wonderful Phil. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.

Bob.

Thanks Bob

Originally Posted by j.ashburn

Am watching these pics and enjoying the story.What is the bore size and stroke of that engine?Going by the decorative casting is certainly old.Oh those were the days when men who built them took that extra ''pride of workmanship''.
One of my great uncles was an engine driver on the mines around here and he related to my late father how these engine houses shone like diamonds.A story I will share with you one of these days. Cheers John.

Hi John,
I don't have the bore and stroke at hand but it is about 11 1/2" x about 24", not sure but I can tell you it is a 16 NHP left hand simple engine

Originally Posted by Ueee

Fantastic Phil
It's been a while since we've had an update in the whisperings thread, this should tide us over for some time.

You need to get a small shaper running off an engine for days like this, now that would be a talking point!

I hope the go ahead for the engine rebuild comes from the big wigs, and that the missing part will turn up. Maybe a bit of media coverage will make the collector (let's face it, I doubt its some angry teen) come forward with the cover once he hears the engine is to be restored.

Cheers,
Ewan

Hi Ewan,
It is looking very promising at the moment with some pretty high profile people on the case.
Media coverage is our only hope. Print media at the moment
Hmmm A shaper you say.

Phil

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Phil, that was a great story. Struth. I would'nt have recognised you in your younger days, especially with the handle bars.

What a great restoration project to be involved in. Do you have any snaps of the name plate etc that was nicked? A photo in the local paper may stir up some guilt. Someone will know where the missing part is.

Is it possible to get the steam engine up and running by some other means?

Any other snaps including the flour mill, or is the mill long gone?

Ken

Edit, oops I now see you got some more photos in while I was typing.

Hi Ken,
It wont be too hard to fabricate another steam chest cover which is just a rectangular plate about 16" x about 10" with holes around the outer edge to match the bolts that used to hold the real one on
It would be at this point in time, incredibly serendipitous to recover the original though.
The flour mill is still there as it seems like the family woke up one morning and said "nuffs enough, we're outta here". Everything is still in place...almost
I should have one or two of the mill etc. that I will post for you.

Originally Posted by RayG

Inspirational stuff Phil, I wish we had known it was on, would have come along for a look. The builder who did the house extensions for us many years ago bought the bakery in Murchison, when he retired (his name was Bob, so the kids all called him Bob the Builder.. ) anyway they had a wood fired oven for baking the bread, maybe it's still there... beautiful fresh bread.. that would be a nice connection, to bake some bread with flour from Day's Flour Mill. Any chance of grinding a bit of flour?

Looks like seriously good time was had by all..

Regards
Ray

PS... Missed the post about the missing parts, well Josh and I are eyeing off every bit of cast iron we come across, the radar is running..

Hi Ray,
I will be forever in your debt if you could keep the radar running. Not gunna hang by the thumbs waiting for a result but I more than appreciate it if you can keep an eye out and an ear to the ground. Ya never know. Thanks again.
It's not beyond running the mill again though I suspect it would be for display purposes. Yet another reason to get the engine going.

Originally Posted by robbo37

Interesting thread, but it brings back memories (not entirely pleasant) of furnace calibrations up in the Persian Gulf in the sixties.

Hi ,
Probably not going to calibrate this old girl. Once the draught got going I reckon it could suck the balls of a billiard table . Good enough for me

Phil

Originally Posted by RayG

Found some information on Edward Taylor Bellhouse on Grace's Guide for your interest..
There's a bit of company history here.. E. T. Bellhouse and Co

The image below is from Grace's Guide..


Regards
Ray

Thanks Ray,
I had never heard of Grace's Guide before. Fantastic resource
A Wiki article has been put up on Days mill since the weekend and Petes history has been put up there with a link

Phil
Days Mill and Farm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are some other pics of the mill.

Phil
Southwest with mill in foreground and southeast aspect with mill in background
DSC_0832.JPGDSC_0826.JPG
Interiors, apart from the last one which I think was the blacksmiths workshop
DSC_0853.JPG DSC_0852.JPG DSC_0851.JPG
DSC_0850.JPG DSC_0849.JPG DSC_0848.jpg

Phil, let me add to the chorus of thanks for taking the time to post this. I too would be interested to know more about the mill. I come from a long line of millers. Well, a line anyway. Sadly I know almost nothing about how they work. In fact I only know two things: They used to burn down with monotonous regularity, and if the flour dust didn't burn you it would choke you. I remember my grandfather wheezing with emphysema.

But to your problem: I guess there is a community of steam paraphernalia collectors. Does anyone know anyone on the inside? But I bet you're already onto that...

PS: Never mind the shaper, a whacking big flat belt planer is what you need!

Originally Posted by Bryan

Phil, let me add to the chorus of thanks for taking the time to post this. I too would be interested to know more about the mill. I come from a long line of millers. Well, a line anyway. Sadly I know almost nothing about how they work. In fact I only know two things: They used to burn down with monotonous regularity, and if the flour dust didn't burn you it would choke you. I remember my grandfather wheezing with emphysema.

But to your problem: I guess there is a community of steam paraphernalia collectors. Does anyone know anyone on the inside? But I bet you're already onto that...

PS: Never mind the shaper, a whacking big flat belt planer is what you need!

Thanks Bryan,
How awesome would a planer look running on a flat belt. In fact the main drive belt to the mill is still there. I took some pics but they aren't my best work. There is some pretty fancy lacing going on there that was done over 80 years ago.
I can only wish that there is someone that might know someone on the inside. We aren't after retribution, just the steam chest cover, moreso as it has the builders logo on it and as at the time of writing is the only bit missing. Keep your ears to the ground gents, I would be forever in your debt if it was located. As I say, I am not after the person who took it, just the cover.
Next time I am over there Bryan, and we can get access to the mill, I will grab some more pics. Apparently the top floor was used for dances and the dance lists are still up on the wall.

Phil

Hi Phil.

Your recording of history, otherwise lost for ever, is remarkable. I really envy your efforts in preserving skills lost to the computer & iPad.

I have a close affinity with old country things, mum had a joint in Golden Point which led to an interest in Fryerstown and Castlemaine, Ballarat & Bendigo.

Love seeing the snaps and reading your story.

Ken

Hi phil ,
Excellent work on the restoration of the Mill Boiler and adjoining works ,I love to see the old world restored for the future, and appreciate the tremendous time and effort you all put in to bring the mill back to life ,pity about the loss but there is always a rotten apple in the bin ,good luck with the future .

Eddie

My Dad was a great lover of steam locos. Mainly NSW ones. As a young man well before WW II he would travel on them as a passenger and take photos of them doing there day to day work. His collection has had a number of his photos published in books.
It is a real shame and big problem that the expertise that these machines need is slowly dying. There is a lot of people like Phil about but they can only do so much with materials and time they have. May be some Government body needs to act (and fast) to assist in the preservation of these wonderful pieces of our past. Another problem with restoring these is that they have to nearly come up to modern spec which a lot of them even from new would find it hard to perform.
At Timbertown at Waughope, they relocated and restored a steam powered sawmill. it passed the boiler inspection and everything was working but public liability stopped them from actually cutting timber with the mill. So now when you visit you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney and a breaking down saw goes up and down and.....thats about it
Good on you Phil and all the others involved in the breathing new life into the old boiler.
There is a bit of hope for the future. In Tamworth there is a little engine that generated electricity to the town at a small museum. I know a young fella (23years) who is so captivated by the engine that he is going for his boiler attendance ticket so he can keep the thing going

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Hi Phil.

Your recording of history, otherwise lost for ever, is remarkable. I really envy your efforts in preserving skills lost to the computer & iPad.

I have a close affinity with old country things, mum had a joint in Golden Point which led to an interest in Fryerstown and Castlemaine, Ballarat & Bendigo.

Love seeing the snaps and reading your story.

Ken

Hi Ken,
It's a pity the young don't use them for what they were originally intended for, information retrieval and research, well, data analysis initially, but that didn't last long. This sort of work is well and truly a passion for me and it's quite odd as occasionally I am offered money, then realise that payment hadn't even occurred to me. If you knew me, you would realise how odd that is. A mate has an Aveling and Porter steam roller and this bloke machined two new bronze bearings (bushes) for the second shaft (approx 3" bore). To say he got it wrong would be an understatement, The bore was approximately 0.050" undersize because he had machined the OD too big and used, wait for it, a hot rivet gun to install the bearings as the large threaded rod he was using to pull it in just couldn't do it. This bloke charged him $4000 for that effort. I removed the bearings and machined them to the correct tolerance for free. When he asked me how much I just said he could let me have a drive when he got it going. Gees that hurts when I say it out loud. Perhaps I have a sickness
Oh By the way, I noticed the stripper reference

Originally Posted by TKO

Hi phil ,
Excellent work on the restoration of the Mill Boiler and adjoining works ,I love to see the old world restored for the future, and appreciate the tremendous time and effort you all put in to bring the mill back to life ,pity about the loss but there is always a rotten apple in the bin ,good luck with the future .

Eddie

Hi Eddie,
Thank you for the encouragement. I guess I am pretty lucky in that I also do this for a living and ya know, I have never liked rotten apples.

Phil

Originally Posted by chambezio

My Dad was a great lover of steam locos. Mainly NSW ones. As a young man well before WW II he would travel on them as a passenger and take photos of them doing there day to day work. His collection has had a number of his photos published in books.
It is a real shame and big problem that the expertise that these machines need is slowly dying. There is a lot of people like Phil about but they can only do so much with materials and time they have. May be some Government body needs to act (and fast) to assist in the preservation of these wonderful pieces of our past. Another problem with restoring these is that they have to nearly come up to modern spec which a lot of them even from new would find it hard to perform.
At Timbertown at Waughope, they relocated and restored a steam powered sawmill. it passed the boiler inspection and everything was working but public liability stopped them from actually cutting timber with the mill. So now when you visit you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney and a breaking down saw goes up and down and.....thats about it
Good on you Phil and all the others involved in the breathing new life into the old boiler.
There is a bit of hope for the future. In Tamworth there is a little engine that generated electricity to the town at a small museum. I know a young fella (23years) who is so captivated by the engine that he is going for his boiler attendance ticket so he can keep the thing going

Public liability is always going to be the defining factor with old machinery. It's funny, at work we get away with it by having a massive fine hanging over us if something goes wrong. It makes you wonder if it is about actually being 'worksafe' or if it's about how much money they can make. Still, at least we do it as it was done.
Could you tell the 'young fella' from me that I am more than impressed and I hope he keeps the passion. There just isn't many blokes like him around and to get prepared for a lot of satisfaction out of what he is about to embark on.

Phil

Phil,
Not sure that you will have seen it, I meant to lend you a movie where you where over here last, but alas I forgot all about it on the day. You maybe be able to find it at the movie rental place (do they still have those?) It is an anime called SteamBoy.. see wiki entry
-Josh

Originally Posted by Brobdingnagian

Phil,
Not sure that you will have seen it, I meant to lend you a movie where you where over here last, but alas I forgot all about it on the day. You maybe be able to find it at the movie rental place (do they still have those?) It is an anime called SteamBoy.. see wiki entry
-Josh

Hi Josh,
I think that was floating around at work not so long back. I might have to see if I can locate it. Apparently it is quite factual...in parts.

Phil

Hi,
Great stuff, if you can come up with some pics and a dimensioned drawing of the missing cover I would be happy to make a loose pattern for it.
We have recently been using a production iron foundry in Sydney but there are probably a few jobbing founders still in operation down your way.
H.