The windmill's blades are made from plastic piping backed by wood poles. Occasionally, high winds cause the blades to clip the tower and snap. Two weeks ago, something more frustrating happened: the steel shaft of the windmill snapped from metal fatigue. the blade assembly fell to the ground destroying 3 of 4 blades. My friends from America and Lilongwe had just visited the day before. I was upset, but said little. The next morning, Monday, I woke up at 4 am, used a hacksaw to cut the spare plastic piping I had in back of the house, then built a fire to soften the plastic and then flatten and shape it into replacement blades. When my friends came back at noon, they were surprised to see the windmill working normally again.
After the shaft snapped, the windmill blade assembly plunged to the ground, damaging three blades
The broken windmill
my little sister holding the plastic pipe I used to fashion blades.
Tiyamika holding the pipe to reveal its diameter
I used a hacksaw to cut the plastic pipe before heating.
After cutting, I heated the plastic pipe in the fire to soften, flatten and shape the plastic into the new replacement blades.
The windmill, good as new.
