General

 

The mill
Mill “De Weert” was originally built in 1807 as a bark mill (used for grinding oak bark for the tanneries). Later, the mill was also adapted for grinding grain. Due to competition from steam engines around 1900 and later combustion engines, the use of windmills was no longer profitable. Most mills were dismantled and demolished at that time. In Meppel there used to be 25 mills. Mill “De Weert” was taken out of use around 1935, and its upper structure was demolished. Only the brick base remained.

The reconstruction
In 1992, an initiative from the community established a foundation with the goal of making mill “De Weert” operational again. By reusing the freed octagonal structure from the Schuilenburger mill in Hellendoorn, the mill received monument status, which made it easier to obtain subsidies for reconstruction. The rebuilding was completed in 1999.

 

On the stage

The sails
In the miller’s world, the sails of the mill are called “The Flight”. Each sail is 10.40 m long. They are fitted with wooden slats (called “fokken”) to catch more wind. By stretching canvas over the sails, the wind-catching surface can be increased. The ends of the slats act as air brakes: if the mill spins too fast, centrifugal force opens them, slowing the mill down, similar to the flaps on an airplane wing. The stocks of the sails are made of steel, which makes the mill vulnerable to lightning strikes due to the great height of the upright sail. When the mill is at rest, the sails are always connected to the lightning conductor.

The winding mechanism
When the wind changes direction, the mill must also turn. Mill “De Weert” is a “bovenkruier”, meaning only the cap can rotate. With the so-called “winding wheel” at the “tail” of the mill, chains are used to rotate the cap relative to the base. The cap, with its shaft, sails, and gears, weighs 22,000 kg. The wooden cap slides over wooden blocks, and the sliding surface is greased with lard. If not greased in time, winding becomes a very heavy job.

The brake
The brake is a mechanism to stop the mill. On the (almost) horizontal windshaft sits the “brake wheel”, which transfers the sail’s movement via the “wallower” to the vertical shaft of the “great spur wheel”. Around this brake wheel is a steel band that can be tightened, bringing the entire mechanism to a stop. This tightening is done by hanging a heavy weight on the band, which can be controlled with the “brake lever” extending from the mill’s tail.

The mill biotope
A mill can only function well if the wind is not obstructed by surrounding buildings or vegetation. The “biotope” of mill “De Weert” is moderate, as many buildings were constructed around it during the years it was not a mill. Only southwest winds can reach it freely.

 

On the stone floor

The mill wheels
The motion of the sails drives the millstones via gears and shafts. The large “great spur wheel” above you is driven by the windshaft via the “brake wheel” and the “wallower” (not visible here). The “millstone frame” is engaged when the cogs of the spur wheel mesh with the staves of the “lantern pinion”. This drives the vertical “stone spindle”, turning the upper millstone. Due to the gear ratios, the millstone rotates about three times faster than the sails.

The millstones
The stones used here are partly natural stone and partly concrete. The rotating stone, called the “runner”, weighs 1,200 kg. The bottom stone, the “bedstone”, is slightly hollow on top to allow space for the grain to enter between the stones. The stones contain grooves, the “furrows”, which ensure that the grain kernels do not roll but break. The stones must be cleaned regularly. To do this, the spindle and wooden “stone vat” are removed, and the runner stone is lifted with the “stone crane” and placed beside the vat. The grooves are then brushed clean. Occasionally, the grooves must be deepened, a process called “dressing”, once done with a hammer but now by machine.

The sack hoist
Grain arrives in 20 or 25 kg sacks. These are hoisted up with wind-driven shafts. By winding a rope around a rotating shaft, the sacks are lifted. This system is called the “sack hoist”. When there is enough wind, the shaft powered by the spur wheel is used. Without wind, the hoist must be operated by hand.

The crusher
By first breaking or “crushing” the wheat, grinding requires less energy. This allows the mill to grind with less wind and makes the process faster.

The wheat
Two types of wheat are milled. Wheat grown in the Netherlands is less suitable for bread baking because the Dutch climate is too wet and cool (a sea climate). Flour from wheat grown in continental climates (with hot, dry summers) rises better. For products where the dough or batter does not need to rise, Dutch wheat is perfectly suitable.

The milling process
The wheat to be ground is poured into the “hopper”. Via the “shaker”, the wheat is dosed into the “eye” between the stones. The flour emerges at the outer edge between the stones and is collected in a chute, from which it is gathered on the flour floor.

 

On the flour floor

The flour
The flour coming from the chute contains all parts of the wheat kernel and is therefore called “wholemeal flour”. Wholemeal bread is baked from this. For other products, the coarser parts must be sifted out. What remains is “white flour”. The sifted-out fractions are “semolina” and “bran”. The bran consists of the husks of the grain, while semolina is made up of small flour particles, fragments of husk, and germ.

The bolter
Sifting flour is called “bolting”. The word derives from “bag”. In the past, the miller would bolt a portion of the flour by placing the wholemeal flour in a loosely woven bag and shaking it for a long time. Only the finest particles passed through the fabric, leaving bran and semolina behind. Today, we use an electrically powered bolter for this process.

The small mill
Because there is not always enough wind but customers still require flour, an electrically powered “small mill” has been installed.

The mixer
The mortar mill set up here is used to mix different types of flour for specific purposes, such as pancake mix, spice cake mix, and cake mix.

 

In the shop

What we sell
In addition to the products produced at mill “De Weert”, we also sell souvenirs and several other products. The full range can be found on the pricelist or in the shop.

 

Finally

 

We hope you now have a clear picture of what happens at our beautiful mill. All the work is done by volunteers—there are no paid staff. All income is fully used to preserve this piece of heritage. If you would like to support us, you can do so by:
- making a financial contribution in one of the donation boxes
- purchasing products in the shop.

For more information, please visit our website www.MolendeWeert.nl

Thank you very much for your visit.