Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen baard met askop

Tot Voordeel en Genoegen (''Profit and Pleasure'') is a windmill built in 1798 on the Molendijk 15 in Alphen, Netherlands. It is a large

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

, built above a roundhouse, used for grinding wheat flour. It is the only windmill in the Netherlands that drives three pairs of millstones. The mechanism is mostly wooden, since iron was expensive when it was built. The windmill, which is still functional, can be rotated on its post to face the wind for maximum effect.

History

"Tot Voordeel en Genoegen" (to advantage and satisfaction) was built in 1798 for P. van Dam. It is beside the river so it catches as much wind as possible. The last miller to own and operate it was van Dreumel, to whom farmers in the Alphen area regularly brought their flour to be ground until 1978. The municipality of West Maas en Waal now owns the mill, which is still functional, and may be visited for tours and demonstrations. The mill was completely restored in 1964, and moved about . The post is no longer elm, but is now made from bilinga wood. The sides of the box are now also made from this wood.

Description

The windmill's

sails A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

have a wingspan of . The whole upper part of the mill is built around a vertical timber post about thick. The upper part, which weighs , can be turned on this axis to orient the blades so they get maximum force from the wind. The lower part of the windmill is a brick roundhouse. The ropes are made from flax, which was once grown in the area, and the gears are wooden. Use of iron was avoided wherever possible due to the cost. The mill is unique in having three sets of millstones, each of which can be operated independently. The main drive from the upper wheel turns the forward wheel, which in turn drives the two rear wheels. This differs from most post mills, where there are two sets of millstones, each driven directly by the upper wheel. The forward and the left rear mills have artificial stones with a diameter of . The right rear mill uses natural stone with a diameter of .

Owners

Owners have been: * 1798–1825: P. Dam * 1825–1850: A. Peters * 1850–1860: J. van Brink * 1860–1978: van Dreumel family * 1978–present: City of

West Maas en Waal West Maas en Waal () is a municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality covers the western part of the , an island located between the Meuse and Waal rivers. Population centres Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the m ...

(currently managed by miller Jeg Li)

Gallery

File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen bovenwiel achterkant en achterkrans 13 juli 2008.jpg, Upper left back wheel with the sprocket File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen askop 13 juli 2008.jpg, Axle head File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen trapbint 24 juni 2008.jpg, Stair Truss File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen trapbint.jpg, Stair Truss File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen kast.jpg, Closet File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen luikapje.jpg, Hatch Cover File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen kruibank.jpg, Platform, known in Dutch as a ''kruibank'', for the operation of a capstan wheel to turn the sails into the wind File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen zeeg 24 juni 2008.jpg, Sail File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen bovenas eiken.jpg, Oak windshaft File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen bovenas pen met muts en bronzenplaat.jpg , Pen upper shaft with iron hat and bronze plate File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen spoorwiel.jpg, Track wheel File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen varkenswiel met bovenwiel.jpg , Pigs wheel with upper wheel File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen bovenwielstut 24 juni 2008.jpg, Strut for blocking upper wheel File:Molen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen vang trommel.jpg, Catch Drum

References

Citations

General sources

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External links

* {{Dutch Windmills Flour mills in the Netherlands Post mills in the Netherlands West Maas en Waal Windmills completed in 1798 Windmills in Gelderland