Yulee Sugar Mill Model

[jumps4]

Hello my name is Steve and I'd like to show a model I have been working on from time to time for the past 6 years.
short bio I'm an Auto mechanic in Florida that had no machine shop experience prior to 2009. I joined this site to view and learn from your members but I never felt I had anything to add to your community.
With no skills when I started and no money for materials or tools things went very slow at first. All of the equipment I have used was built or modified by me to make machining simpler I built all of my cnc equipment.
the only parts I did not cast or make myself were the screws and nuts.
the cylinder section of the model was built by hand out to the flywheel and then I went to cnc.
the original mill is located in Homosassa Florida and here is a site showing photo's : http://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=1113
here is a short video of the mill build as it sits today
thank you for viewing
Steve

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv31PltYodg[/ame]

 

[Tin Falcon]

Well Steve what can I say a beautiful historic recreation.
Seems like you have been holding out on us. Quite a journey from no skills and no shop to that wonderful working model.
Please post more maybe an introduction in the welcome area and a photo tour of your shop in the shop area.
Tin

 

[jumps4]

the first photographs of my mill build were lost due to the kids getting a virus on my pc but I have 2 slideshows on youtube showing a lot of the build. get a cup of coffee they are a bit dry to watch.
thanks for viewing
steve

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q6PffnVyOI[/ame]


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdKNUZWehvw[/ame]

 

[Herbiev]

Absolutely magnificent Steve. Thanks for sharing

 

[Tin Falcon]

what scale is the model ? About 1/4 ?
Tin

 

[jumps4]

Thank You for the kind reviews
the scale is .083 to an inch or approximately 12 to 1. the model was scaled with a medical photographic software used to measure cell growth. with a good straight on photograph and one known measurement you can measure anything else to scale from the photograph.
steve

 

[robcas631]

Fantastic!

 

[cfellows]

Beautiful work, Steve. Also watched some of your other videos on youtube. Lots of good information.

Chuck

 

[Krutch]

Steve,
So why is it called Yulee mill if it is in Homosassa Fl.? I've been to Yulee but am not familiar enough with the area to know such things.
Great work, BTW! To model from a known measurement and a photo shows more than a passing ability in machining.

 

[Tin Falcon]

So why is it called Yulee mill if it is in Homosassa Fl.

It was built and Owned by David Yulee in 1851 as part of his sugar plantation.

Apparently the machinery was built in New York.
http://www.crystalriverstateparks.org/Yulee.html

:wall:
Tin

 

[jumps4]

I'm sorry for a slow reply
The history of the mill and David Yulee are something I know quite a bit about. In order to determine the appearance of the missing parts I studied everything I could find from many manufactures, engines and this owner.
Davis Yulee owned a 30,000 acre plantation with 5,100 acres under cultivation. The plantation was worked buy 1000 slaves and 100 were needed to operate the sugar mill and molasses manufacturing part of the business. This plantation's name was Margarita and Mr. Yulee also owned a plantation named Cottonwood. Margarita is the plantation located in Homosassa Fl.
The plantation was a land purchase from Spain.
The mill was built by the Novelty Iron Works In New York city. Novelty Iron Works was a Ship and Engine building company that built manly ships including the first steam ship to steam across the Atlantic. Another interesting thing about the company for the history buffs that know a little about the first iron clads and the battle of the Meramec and the Monitor is that the Novelty Iron Works built the cast armor plating on the Monitor. both ships battled each other without damage to a tie. This is the only mill I can find produced by them.
Davis Yulee was a US senator and the first senator of the Jewish faith to ever serve our country. His father was very wealthy and also owned large plots of land in Florida.
David Yulee built the first railroad to cross the state of Florida. The line ran from and Jacksonville on the east coast to Cedar Key just north of Homosassa on the west coast. the rail line cut the time, cost and losses of transporting goods between New Orleans and Gulf states to the Atlantic coast considerably. He understood the value of this railway first hand because everything required for this sugar mill plant sailed from New York through the Florida Keys to get where it is today and included several workers/engineers to assemble the mill and put the plant into operation. they even shipped a barge of coal with the mill to fire it for the first time.
Sugar was a major morale booster to the southern troops eating mostly hard tack fried in pork fat when available. more important than coffee to many. as important as bullets because without maintaining morale most would have went home. oh and don't forget the rum, molasses is what is used to make rum.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people died in the building, maintaining and operation of this mill and the plantation during the war because they needed the sugar no matter the cost.
The North knowing its value bombed it with gun boats, destroying the plantation home and shutting down the mill after 13 years and it never returned to operation no longer having the slaves required to operate.
I'm not a very good typist or I could tell you so much more.
Steve

 

[jumps4]

I have been trying to contact the Citrus County Florida Historical Society to donate the model to the citizens of Homosassa. I am guessing they don't check their email often and will post their reply when I have more information.
steve

 

[Tin Falcon]

I have been trying to contact the Citrus County Florida Historical Society to donate the model to the citizens of Homosassa.

I agree this model deserves to be publicly displayed. IMHO you may want to loan it to them. From what I have seen public owned entities tend to be political. The leaders change. Priorities change.

If you donate a model with no strings attached. you have no control over its future fate. if not protected and cared for it could be damaged or destroyed by enthusiastic children if allowed to be a hands on display. it could be stored in a corner of a dark closet and forgotten. It could be deemed surplus and sold to the highest bidder.
Chances are the people who run the local museum will have no clue as to the treasure you built. No idea of value or the time effort and passion you put into this model.


Loan or donation write up a contract that that will insure 1) prominent public display of the model. 2) protection of the model from the public IE proper display case. 3) maintenance preservation from corrosion. 4) the fate of the model should the museum no longer meet stipulations 1-3. Add any other stipulations you see fit. these are the ones that come to my mind.

Tin

 

[jumps4]

I think I'm going to travel there on Monday and spend a few days in the area trying to talk to someone and your advice is very sound. A lot of people think things like this are just toys. There is also a privately owned museum across from the mill site that is full of old printing presses from 1850 to 1950 and I have considered placing it there with the proper paper work. the owner there is mechanically inclined and would care for it or call if he needed anything.
the problem there is what happens if he passes away? I'll let you know what happens.
What's funny is, I would really like to get it placed somewhere and start on something else.
steve

 

[Tin Falcon]

the problem there is what happens if he passes away?

that is where loaning and a contract in writing states your wishes .
Also if it is loaned even for long term you can designate an heir or will it to someone you trust to keep an eye on it ad protect it even on public display.
At one time i considered donating an engine to a local private museum. Then I see the museum closed and the entire collection it owned went to public auction.
The other thing to think about is if you want to have this potential museum piece insured. Then you need to decide who pays the premium and who the beneficiary is if something happens.

IMHO most people have good intentions. Most museums focus on history. But in uncertain times people do things to survive. Museums need money to pay bills managers have to worry about building maintenance, budgets ........ sometimes hard choices need to be made. Sometimes people even in public service get greedy.

I guess the best question to answer is what is the bet way to get and keep your model on public view and preserve it for generations to come. someone needs to be responsible for its care. And if cared for it will last longer than one lifetime.
Tin

 

[Krutch]

History lesson much appreciated! Always interested to learn of Americas' "lost" history.
I have a friend living in Yulee, Fl. No where near the mills site, I know. But to know some more of Fl. and the people that made it livable makes me a bit smarter. Can't use the info to make money, but still like to know such things.



Edit: Just went to goggle earth and viewed the area. Almost across from Daytona. May have to visit next time I get to Bike week. Always like to know of sites from history to visit when I've run out of usual haunts.
Seems like a Union ship or boat shelling the area could be in trouble if the south had a cannon available in the area at the time. River don't seem too wide. And wanders a lot.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Great work and great history. Thank you so much for your contribution to the forum.----Brian Rupnow