Building a medieval capstan with hand tools, video

This video is so incredible, and there is something weirdly soothing about watching a bunch of hand tools be used. Maybe it's the lack of roaring motors and whirring drills, but I love listening to the soft scrape of wood!

I had no idea what a capstan was initially, but it's incredible to think of the amount of work that goes into such a simple device when it's made by human hands and basic tools.

was that a Mr Chickadee video? I have been watching those with my 6yr old. someday... all exept the sawing, but the 6 yr old can do that when he is big

Skye Alexandra wrote:was that a Mr Chickadee video?

Yep, sure was! I really like the way he produced it, beautiful, great shots, and such a calming experience.

What's the intended use of this? I know of capstans from colonial-era ships, which would use them to raise and drop anchor; I can imagine it's good for hauling on land, to a point?

I'd love to have ideas for a use for this, 'cause I love a good capstan shanty, and an excuse to actually use one in a work situation would be just fantastic.

I went to this thread (mentioned in the dailyish) because I was curious wo knaow what is a 'capstan'.

Now I understand: it is a 'kaapstander'! That's the Dutch name, I think the original name, of that thing.
Exactly as someone here says: from the colonial-era ships. During the 17th century the Dutch were very 'colonial minded'! Their ships sailed everywhere, and sailing involves doing things with ropes ...

A capstan is used with a rope, and a windlass is used with a chain.
Early sailing ships used ropes for their anchors, but after losing them, switched to chains.

Just looked it up - capstans are vertical axis and windlasses are horizontal axis. Capstans only work with rope and depend on friction controlled by the user. Windlasses generally work with chain, and use a geared "gypsy wheel" to pull the chain. They can sometimes use rope; the article I read does not specify how.

All this discussion of the minute differences is fascinating, but I'm still curious if anyone has any ideas for terrestrial uses of a capstan. Especially wondering about the video title 'medieval capstan' since I know them from several hundred years later and maritime. What might someone in medieval Europe have used a capstan for?

Would it be any help in moving large logs out of the woods after they were felled?

Coydon Wallham wrote:Would it be any help in moving large logs out of the woods after they were felled?

Possibly, but it does not seem a very efficient method - you would have to anchor it very well to the ground (in a somewhat flat and open place, to let the workers operate it), and then you would either have to move it or increase the length of the rope (and size of the drum) as the trees reasonably near the machine were removed.

I'm not sure this was used more than ca. 500 years ago actually. I have seen ship parts that seemed to belong to similar machines, which I *think* were from the 1500- or 1600s  (in archaeological excavations in Oslo), and I have seen mediaeval illustrations of treadwheels and pulley systems (back to the 1200s at least). This doesn't mean all that much, since I have only seen limited sources, but presumably the need to fix a capstan very firmly in place limited their usefulness to a few  niches. They could have been used on land in shipyards/docks, or for lifting bridges maybe? Or on the upper floors of storehouses? The mediaeval cranes I have seen illustrations or reconstructions of have all been treadwheels or simple counterweight/pivot systems, but as far as I can remember these were outdoors - a capstan might be easier to accommodate in a building.

Marvin Warren wrote:All this discussion of the minute differences is fascinating, but I'm still curious if anyone has any ideas for terrestrial uses of a capstan. Especially wondering about the video title 'medieval capstan' since I know them from several hundred years later and maritime. What might someone in medieval Europe have used a capstan for?

That question made me try to find an answer. I searched in Dutch. But the only use I found that wasn't for a ship was: to trawl a fishing net through the water (with the capstand on land next to the water).

To do real research takes too much time I don't want to spend on it
I think (but that's my own imagination) that in general they were used for ships (both standing on land and on the deck of the ship). In the Middle Ages the sailing ships were smaller than in later ages, but there were sails and ropes, so the use of a capstand back then is very well possible. Maybe even before the Middle Ages.

Maybe we are trying to be too complex. Do it the permie way:

How to pull a car out of a lake

technically this is a capstan. I've used very similar setups in a small scale for creating tension.

I happened to see a modern 'capstan' (a 'winch capstan' it was called) in this video. For use with trees. Starting at 1:31 here:

You could add an engine driven capstan to the front of a land-rover at least up to a Series 3, often used to pull logs.
There's also the "flip flop" winch which is simple and powerful, an improvised made by hand in the bush kind of thing.
I wonder if a capstan used in building hundreds of years ago was more of a brake to control descent?

jason holdstock wrote:You could add an engine driven capstan to the front of a land-rover at least up to a Series 3, often used to pull logs.

Is that any different than a winch?

I'm not sure what you're asking? A capstan on a Landy is a winch, but I believe you can more easily feather the line in or out speed by how much tension you give the free end.