Gravity based wind mill design

[Blacksmith]

1/8" mild steel will bend without heating, use a form and wrap the rod around it.
You should be able to get 1/8" rod at a welding store.

[Onevoice]

Well, as usual, I'm behind on my efforts, but I did do some catch up work last night, after the kids - and the wife - went to sleep. I've finished cutting out a set of 4 new lifters using the high density cardboard backing from the flooring samples and attached the brass hinges to them. I am using 3/4 by 3/4 square blocks as stands to hold the lifters but I'm finding that the cardboard separates easily from the flooring when I cut the pieces that small so I'm reinforcing them with a little carpenters glue. I also cut out several smaller pieces of the wood without the cardboard to use as the stands for the stator. The hardwood surfaces on them should be able to hold the stator straps much better than particle board. I've glued 5 of the stands on one side of the wheel's frame.

Next on the to-do list:

1) Finish assembling the rotor lifters and attach 2 of them to the wheel.
2) Get a new (and probably thinner) metal dowel for the stator - see if I can get a softer iron material instead of steel - and work up some kind of jig to bend it evenly.
3) Take back the crappy metal shears and get a better one so I can finish the magnet holders.

[Onevoice]

PS. If anyone has been lurking and\or following my thread, I've been toying with using an odd number of lifters vs an even number. Even is easier to layout and is the simplest lever arrangement, but an odd number may lend some additional asymmetry. Whatcha think?

[Onevoice]

Status update:

I've finished rebuilding my wheel with the hardwood lifters and outer stays for the stator. On two of the lifters, I've built my magnet holders. I also have cut out several copper strips to hold the stator in place. I bought a 1/8 in rod from Lowe's and I'm using a paint can as a jig to bend the wire. Its close to the 8 1/2 in diameter circle that I need for phase 2 in my experiment. - I'm going to completely encircle the wheel with the wire and trim out the distances between the magnets and the wire to get a smooth turning wheel with the magnets trapped in proximity to the wire all around.

[Onevoice]

Big P.S: Thanks Blacksmith! I think it might work this time