Crank wheel

About the sound

In the Sawmill Remblinghausen (Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia) this crank wheel device has been used to open and close the drainage of the water reservoir since the 1920s. When required, water can be directed into a Francis turbine in order to distribute power from the line shafts to the machinery.
The use of this mechanism creates a typical cranking sound.

The Sawmill Remblinghausen is a heritage-protected building in Meschede (Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia). The oldest part of the sawmill still standing today was built in 1809. Up until its shutdown in 1983 the sawmill threshed clover and it manufactured lumber, boards, wooden wheels and wooden tools.
Today the sawmill still has its system of line shafts and belts for power transmission, which extends throughout the entire building, as well as an ensemble of historical machines from the wood processing business and threshing equipment of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1987 the sawmill was placed under heritage-protection. In 1994 the Sawmill-Association of Remblinghausen took over the sawmill and restored it.

Sound recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Photographer: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Video recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke