RON HENGGELER

Murphy Windmill Restoration Project

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On Friday September 9th, the ten-ton rotating ring was lifted up and placed on top of the Murphy Windmill.
A monstrous crane drove four hours into San Francisco from Stockton California.
It was followed by a fleet of eight flatbed semi trucks each bringing two ten-ton counter weights, and four massive squares
for the crane’s extended legs to stand on securely. It took nearly three hours to set the crane up.
Placement of the 135 tons of counter weight in 13 hauls took up most of that time. Once the crane was properly positioned and ready,
it only took another hour to place the rotating ring atop the windmill’s tower.

It was an astonishing accomplishment considering the ten-ton rotating ring was lifted nearly ten stories
up to the top of the tower and was aligned into16 waiting bolts.
All of it had to fit precisely with only a couple of centimeters of tolerance. The two-ton main axle was brought up right after
and was placed in the center of the tower without a hitch.

Windmill Index Page 24

Windmill Index: Folio 4, Folio 3: Page 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, Folio 2, Folio One

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© 2011 Ronald D. Henggeler. All rights reserved
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