All excellent and true observations Sam .. IMO there can be little doubt from the abundant MT comments that SB actions have a place in his working mechanical solution .. and sure do go a long way to why so much wheel diameter was required - space was at a premium it seems, and for more power generating ability perhaps, tho that could also be a factor of more room for more mechs ..Sam Peppiatt wrote: Fletcher,
I think you are right about the storks bills, for several reasons. They can change the normal arc motion of a lever, to straight line motion and, multiply the distance moved many times. Also, they automatically reverse the direction of motion every half turn of the wheel. I.,E., in on the up side and out on the down side. Finally, they can easily be driven with a heavy disc.
Two or three stages,(of a storks bill), can increase the diameter of a wheel several times. Maybe this helps to explain why Bessler's wheel(s), were so thin yet so large in diameter------------------------Sam
Finding the correct context for their use is the bit we are all after I'll wager ..