Using a Drill with a Barley Crusher

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ProfessorBrew

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I recently got a Barley Crusher to begin crushing my own grains. It works great, but I can't figure out how to attach my drill to it. It appears to work fine, until I add the grain. Then it just spins.

One suggestion was to use a drill with a keyed chuck, but both of mine are keyless. Any ideas?
 
Mines a cheap keyless drill from harbor freight, and I don't have any issues. Put it on there, and tighten it, then REALLY crank it on. But also can you adjust the torque on the drill?
 
I just sounds like you're not getting the chuck tight enough. Mine works just fine with a cordless dewalt drill with keyless chuck. I find on keyless chucks that the best way to get them good and tight is to hold on to the chuck and hit the power for a second (or as long as you can hold onto the chuck).
 
Afte you do it the first time (hand tight) then wrap something around it (like one of those rubber jar openers) to get a different grip and try cranking tighter. Another though, rough up the spindle a little bit with some sand paper or something, roughing it up may allow your chuck to get a better grip.
 
I remember having the same problem. Just try to crank it down nice and tight.
 
The problem with the shaft is that it's only square for about 1.5cm or so, the mistake I made at first was to jam it at the end of the drill's chuck so it would only try to 'grab' the round part. The 'front' part of the chuck needs to be on that square part.

I read some ppl just filed it but for now it works well that way.
 
So blacksquid, you're saying not to put it all the way into the chuck? Only put it in a little so the chuck can grab the square part?
 
Yes, line up one of the chuck "teeth" with the flat on the shaft and tighten. if needed file another flat on the shaft inline with anothe teeth on the chuck
 
Align the chuck jaws with the flat(s) of the shaft on the mill. You'll want one of the jaw 'teeth' to actually rest on the flat. Also, I never put anything all the way into a drill chuck, so that it 'bottom's out' in it. I've also never needed to go more than 'normal' tightness on the keyless chuck on my drill (DeWalt 18v cordless hammer drill). Trying to over-tighten it can actually damage the drill. Or make it a total pain to try and remove after you're done.
 
I haven't had a problem using my dewalt on it personally. What speed are you all crushing at. I tried full speed and it crushed 10 lbs in under a minute and I have also tried half of the slow speed and it took about 10 minutes, but no difference in crush that I could notice. Maybe less flour but I biab so it really doesn't matter to me.
 
I haven't had a problem using my dewalt on it personally. What speed are you all crushing at. I tried full speed and it crushed 10 lbs in under a minute and I have also tried half of the slow speed and it took about 10 minutes, but no difference in crush that I could notice. Maybe less flour but I biab so it really doesn't matter to me.

I use mine in the low speed range (0-500rpm) at about half speed. Makes for a real nice crush that way. :D Pretty sure running it too fast will also do harm (more wear and tear) to the mill. Most of the manufacturers recommend under 250rpm for speeds.
 
I had the same problem with mine for a while, it was a huge pita. I finally marked the shaft where the jaws make contact. Then I ground down three flat spots about an inch long with my dremel. Now it works great. FWIW I use a corded Dewalt 3/8" keyless chuck.
 
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