Hi Everyone, I wanted to give you an update on the water tower project. I added the last items to the project over the last few evenings. The last things to be done were #1 add a pulley system with counter weights to the water spout, #2 add a crank to raise and lower the spout, and #3 was to add a hatch on the roof. I may still add a few finishing touches but I am not sure yet if I want to clean up the areas that I think might still need attention or just leave it to give it a more rustic or field built look. I am not sure if I like the hatch on the roof. If I decide I don’t like it I can either just remove it or change the design. The first three pictures show the spout in three different positions. The first picture shows the spout fully raised. The second picture shows the spout lowered half way. The third picture shows the spout in the lowered (down) position.
You will notice that I made lead counter weights to balance the spout. I have to tell you that I broke two drill bits trying to drill a hole through the center of the weights even though I was trying to be very careful. I wrapped a wire around the spout and soldered it on and then attached the handmade chain that I described in the original post. I had the pulleys for many years and never found a use for them. I think they came from my Grandfathers house and were used for window blinds. I also added a string to look like a rope that would be used to attach to the crank at the bottom of the tower structure to raise and lower the spout. Below is a close up picture of the pulleys. You can also get a pretty good view of one of the counter weights.
The next picture shows the crank at the bottom of the tower. It is just made out of a piece of copper wire and two pennies. The pennies are there to keep the rope confined. I covered the pennies with solder rather than leaving them to just look like pennies. I originally thought about making a ratchet to keep the crank from unwinding but then I though if it was a field built project they would probably just use a piece of rope tired to the structure to keep it from moving.
The final picture is a full view that shows the pump house and the spout in the half way position.
Mike
