The Prairie Mills
Windmill
Golden, Illinois

Wallower

This photo shows the wallower, the brake wheel and brake lever of the Prairie Mill.  This assembly is in the cap at the top of the mill.

The brake wheel transfers wind energy to the wallower and main spindle, which provides the force to turn the millstones.  The conical cogs on each wheel are made of hard maple.

There are 31 cogs on the wallower and 55 cogs on the brake wheel.  There are uneven proportion of cogs on the brake wheel to keep all cogs wearing evenly.

The brake lever used to operate the Flemish Brake is also visible in this picture.

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