Why are Dutch windmills made entirely of wood?
For one, landowners in Holland would often relocate windmills on their property in an attempt to find the best location to catch the wind, thus realizing their mills maximum potential. Another other reason is that wood is one of the cheapest building materials. Since windmills often fall victim to high winds in severe weather, their broken parts can replaced as often as needed at a low cost. Yet another reason is that the very fine dust produced by grinding flour is flammable. If metal parts within the mill were to spark (even if just from normal vibration), it could ignite the dust and cause an explosion.
