Replacing the Waterwheel Bearing

While the rest of the team worked on the inside waterwheel bearing Martyn and John laid bricks on opposite sides of the mill. The bearing shell was removed last week for cleaning and inspection, so this Tuesday we jacked up the shaft and replaced it. There are some signs of wear but the condition is really quite good and it has all gone back together nicely.

The outside waterwheel bearing disappeared many years ago and we have been support that end of the shaft on a notched piece of timber. This has worked well enough for turning the wheel a couple of times but the shaft has dug into the timber. To overcome this problem we raised the wheel again and slipped a steel tube into the notch in the timber. The wheel now turns much more freely than before.

By the roadway, John has completed the repairs to the wall apart from the capping, and has made a start on restoring the brick steps. The capping for the walls was originally bull-nose bricks but we don't seem to have enough for the length of wall as some have disappeared. If anyone out there has a few they don't need we would love to hear from you.

Down in the tailrace Martyn has completed the arch and made a start on the retaining wall. The first couple of courses of bricks all need to be shaped to the top of the arch so this bit of building is going to be slow and steady. Once they are done we expect the rest of the wall to fly up. At the very least Martyn will be pleased not to have to work standing in cold water!

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