How to build a windmill in Dwarf Fortress

dwarf-fortress

I understand you need to put an axle under the middle square, but does it have to be a vertical one? I would have thought you'd want it to be:

ground level:

XXX
XOX
XXX

one level down:

RRR
AAR
RRR

Where R is Rock, and A is your Axle (one is vertical, one is horizontal) but can you build a windmill over two channeled squares?

I basically want a water pump and a windmill to power it…

Best Answer

Yes, the axle under the middle square has to be vertical. Your adjacent vertical and horizontal axles won't work because you have to use a gear assembly to change the direction of power flow. (Alternately, you can build a gear assembly under the windmill instead of an axle.) See http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Windmill.