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DarkSide · 07-28-2009, 01:17 AM

Hi All,

I'm back for part 2. If you didn't read my introduction, basically I had been planning an all-grain brew set-up for the past 10 years. Well, I finally finished and am detailing the whole build over several posts. Welcome to Part 2.

Back in the early spring I started ordering parts that would make up the final brewery build. One of the first things I ordered was a grain mill, a Crankandstein adjustable 2 roller mill. It was just the base, here's a link to have a look:

http://www.crankandstein.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_ id=1

Now you can get the hopper and mill together, but I found someone with a great little page where he detailed how to make a basic hopper from plywood. If your interested here is the link:

http://www.slobrewer.com/howto/building-a-compact-crankandstein-mill-base-and-hopper/

As you'll see from the pics below, instead of making a base to fit over a bucket, I converted an old change table from our daughter's nursery that we were going to trow away. I began by laying the mill base on top of the table. Right over top of a drawer:

Then I traced the outline of the base on the table. To get an exact layout of where the bolt holes were on the bottom of the base, I took a piece of paper, placed it on the bottom of the mill and rubbed a pencil over it. It made an exact rubbing of the bottom layout. Then all I had to do was lay the paper over the outline that I had traced and mark the hole spots for drilling:

Then I drilled the holes for the attaching bolts and the actual hole for the grain to fall thru:

I built the plywood base that surrounds the mill base and did a dry fit:

Then I built the hopper, screwed the hopper to the plywood base, then mounted the whole unit over the mill and screwed it to the table top:

That's it! The mill sits over top of a drawer. So I have a plastic container that sits inside the drawer, when I mill the grains they all fall into the container below. Then I pull the container out with the milled grains, ready to go into the mashtun.

Orangevango · 07-28-2009, 11:54 AM

The hopper looks a bit small and a bit steep, otherwise it seems nice.

DarkSide · 07-28-2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orangevango

The hopper looks a bit small and a bit steep, otherwise it seems nice.

Yeah...it's not very big. It holds about 3 to 4lbs when completely full. Right now I'm making 5 gallon batches, so I'm not putting thru a lot of grain. I use my 18V cordless drill to run it. It puts that 3 to 4lbs thru in less then 30 seconds.

Here's a better view if the hopper:

**rico567** · 07-28-2009, 03:08 PM

Very innovative, a nice approach- but I don't have the floor space to dedicate to a grain mill. I just got a Corona/Victoria mill, and mounted it in a plastic bucket. Good crushes, and very compact. Just put it back on the shelf when I'm done........

DarkSide · 07-29-2009, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rico567

Very innovative, a nice approach- but I don't have the floor space to dedicate to a grain mill. I just got a Corona/Victoria mill, and mounted it in a plastic bucket. Good crushes, and very compact. Just put it back on the shelf when I'm done........

The table serves 2 purposes. I have the grain mill on the top, but I use the shelves and another cupboard area as a storage area for kegs and other equipment.

bendavanza · 07-29-2009, 12:30 AM

Nice stuff, but you may end up building a bigger hopper later, and obviously you have the skills to do so. Storage is a big plus.

DarkSide · 07-30-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdavanza

Nice stuff, but you may end up building a bigger hopper later, and obviously you have the skills to do so. Storage is a big plus.

Yea, It's like everything else in life. You start out small but end up going bigger and better eventually.