Page 302 - The Lost Ways

The mechanical advantage for a water wheel is easy to calculate. The formula is:

Weight of water x length (force side) ÷ distance (load side) = Total
force produced

Considering the very short distance between the center of the axle and the edge of the
axle, it is clear that the force multiplication of even a fairly small water wheel is extremely
high. This allows them to do a lot of work.

A large water wheel, such as the 53-foot diameter Charlie Taylor water wheel outside of
Idaho Springs, Colorado, can produce an enormous amount of force. This large water
wheel was originally built for a stamping mill, where gold-bearing ore was broken into
small particles as the first stage of smelting the gold ore.

Making That Force Usable

Having all that force available is great, but it’s not enough to have it only at the water
wheel itself. That force has to somehow be made useable. This meant passing the power
through a gearbox so that it could provide power in the manner needed for the mill.

Mills were the factories before the Industrial Revolution, although they were not the only

kinds of factories in existence. Rope walks for making rope and foundries for casting metal
artifacts were common as well.

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