The Brakewheel
Mounted on the windshaft is the huge wooden gear known as the brakewheel, so called because round its rim is the wooden brake which is used to stop the mill. The brake is operated by the long iron brake lever, which can be raised by pulling the brake rope from the stage at the second floor level. The brake wheel is fitted with wooden cogs made of hornbeam, each one individually morticed into the rim of the wheel.