The reason why you don't use electromagnets on a windmill this size is that the additional complexity isn't worth it. Though it would make assembly and dis-assembly a lot easier / safer ;)
It definitely could have been a lot worse, I recall having a tea break after it happened, once I stopped shaking enough to hold a glass without spilling.
Here is a picture of what the thing looked like in that stage of the final assembly:
Hehe, yes. And on the table is my Texan friend Ron B. who is pretending someone stabbed him with a very large chisel.
Ron is a God when it comes to woodworking and helped out with the making of the blades when I got stuck, he traveled all the way from Texas to Northern Ontario for that. Amazing guy, really.
The reason why you don't use electromagnets on a windmill this size is that the additional complexity isn't worth it. Though it would make assembly and dis-assembly a lot easier / safer ;)
It definitely could have been a lot worse, I recall having a tea break after it happened, once I stopped shaking enough to hold a glass without spilling.
Here is a picture of what the thing looked like in that stage of the final assembly:
http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/renewables/windmill/dscf0312.jp...