Earlier (c.1772), he also invented windmill 'spring sails', which replaced the simple canvas designs previously used with sails made from a series of shutters that could be operated by levers, allowing windmill sails to be quickly and safely controlled in the event of a storm.
Meikle worked as a millwright at Houston Mill in East Linton, East Lothian, and inspired John Rennie to become a noted civil engineer.
He died at Houston Mill and is buried in East Linton's Preston Kirk (close to Rennie's father, George, who farmed the nearby Phantassie estate).