Posted 11 years ago
dbreporter
(1 item)
I found this wood machine stored away on the third floor of an antique store in Lebanon, TN, and bought it several years ago. All they knew about it was that it found on an old plantation and that it allegedly had been used by slaves. It is entirely handmade except for the metal shaft to which the blades and handle attach. I found one item somewhat similar to it on eBay that referred to it as a winnowing machine. I've searched the Smithsonian's archives and only found a picture of one similar that also called it a winnowing machine. It still functions and the wind production from it is amazing.
Another name for it is a fanning mill, it could be from the early to mid 1800's based on it's construction & simplicity.
Great find ! and Walksoft knows about old machinery so I would believe what he has solved your piece to be correct :-)
http://www.google.com/search?q=fanning+mill&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=t7BgUZ6XAYTHrQHjiYD4Ag&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1477&bih=693
Loved it immediately. Never heard of such a thing except for maybe forges. There's that "maybe" again!
Here is an article on fanning mill history, "The Devil's Wind".
http://www.farmcollector.com/equipment/fanning-mills-devils-wind.aspx
Wow. Entirely different from what I thought. Sounds like work now. Work is another 4-letter word that ends in "k".
I'm fortunate to have stumbled upon this site and to have had such quick and knowledgable responses to a question which has nagged me for some time. Thanks in particular to walksoftly for the identification and follow-up historical reference and to manikin for the follow-up link to photos of similar fanning mills. I will return to this site often.
You're very welcome dbreporter, glad to help!
Look forward to seeing more items from you in the future, there are a lot of helpful & knowledgeable people on CW.