DIY grain mill

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sause said:
Now figure out how to use the lathe as the mill and your in buisness.
I swear I saw a picture of someone with a crazy pulley setup that ran a grain mill with power from a lathe. Now I can't find it!

...Of course, if my drill fails to power 25 lbs worth of rollers, I may have similar pictures of my own!
 
Fix a pulley to a bench grinder to drive it. Bench grinders are generally more powerful than a drill.
 
Yuri, you might want to restrict the 'inlet' from your hopper when using the drill motor. My 3/8's Milwaukee barely starts my Tortilla press with the 3" aluminum rolls and a 4" intake throat. Usually a jack shaft is used to get mills down to about 350 rpms, 1725rpm 1/4 hp ought to do it. Pully ratios of 2:1 and 3:1. Big pulleys make belts last longer, try not to go to the dinky 1 1/2" ones for the little sides.
 
Oh, and nothing wrong with heavy rollers- the fly wheel effect will actually make them use less horsepower.
 
I got so excited about the parts for the conical fermenters that I kinda dropped this project for a few days. I'm gonna finish it tomorrow. Here's what I got done tonight:

Finished both sides along with the steel eccentrics that hold the bushings on the "dead" roller side. The off-center hole allows me to adjust the gap from 0 to 3/16."
4688-eccentric.JPG


My first test powered test run! My 1/2" chuck Black & Decker drill powers this thing with ease! You can't tell, but I took this picture with the drill running at full speed (750 RPM). Even at less than half speed, the drill shows no sign of bogging down. I was all set to order some gears for a 3:1 reduction, but I think I'll save the $40! That 1/4 horse motor I mentioned is going to power the water cooler for my TIG welding rig as I originally planned.
4688-testspin.JPG


Now I just need to add some set screws for the eccentrics, a top, and a hopper. Should be a piece of cake from here! My next brew is a 15 gallon batch with 31 lbs of grain. I think that'll be a suitable test, don't you?
 
I don't think I'm going to get around to the hopper today...too many interruptions. I did get the whole frame put together, though. It fits very nicely on top of a 6.5 gallon bucket.

4688-minushopper.JPG
 
[

Now I just need to add some set screws for the eccentrics, a top, and a hopper. Should be a piece of cake from here! My next brew is a 15 gallon batch with 31 lbs of grain. I think that'll be a suitable test, don't you?[/QUOTE]
 
Chairman Cheyco said:
How are you keeping the eccentirc bearings in place?
I think sullifan was trying to give you the answer - in the pic with the bucket, look right between the rollers on the ends, you'll see a 1/4" bolt acting as a set screw.
 
Oh I see how you have it setup now. I saw that but couldn't discern what it was. I figured you were going to come in from the top or side with hex-socket set screws.
 
Finally, it's complete. I'll probably powder coat the hopper, but it works! The hopper holds about 15 lbs of grain, but I've yet to brew with it, so I don't know how fast it'll chew through that much. More to follow...brewing soon!

complete_415600.JPG
 
So I finally used this thing! It works pretty well - needs a refinement or two. Bigger buckets would be a good investment since it slings grain out of the small gaps on either side of my 6.5 gallon buckets. Maybe I'll use one of those tall kitchen trash cans. Also, I had the gap set too wide. It wasn't apparent right away, but when I dumped my spent grains, I noticed a lot of intact hulls. My efficiency sucked. However, I crushed (or mostly crushed) 31 lbs of grain as fast as I could measure and pour it. Next time I'll pay more attention to the crush quality before I get excited and dump it into the mash tun!
 
I wouldn't be so concerned about the intact hulls; actually I try to achieve a balance of good crush while leaving the hulls intact or as much as possible so that they will function as a filter once I start recirculating. Your grain mill looks incredible. Did you powder coat the hopper yet? You must have every tool available, I'd never leave my shop if it was stocked as well as yours. It has been fun to watch your progress on the mill and your fermenter. Thanks for the picts.
 
Yuri, how much would you charge to make up a couple of rollers? I'm thinking of doing this, primarily so I can buy my grain up-cracked for freshness (I often don't get a chance to brew until a couple weeks after my original plan), and I want to get a sense of how much the whole thing would cost me to put together. Prolly the only thing I couldn't do myself is those rollers.
 
I've offered this to a few folks via private message now, so I'll just post it here. Although my mill has steel rollers, I'm only offering to machine aluminum ones. I'd have to charge a lot more for steel rollers because they take so much longer to machine. Send me a PM to set up the details.

Your choice of length 2" dia. aluminum roller (at least 3" long, no more than 12").

1/2" OD steel drive axles threaded into the ends - I'll include those, so I know they fit. Unless you tell me otherwise, the axles will extend 3/4" from the roller ends, except for the drive axle, which I'll make 2 3/4."

You'll need to fabricate a housing with 1/2" ID bushings/bearings, a drive mechanism, and a hopper.

Cost by this formula:
(Roller length * 5) + $10
i.e., 10" rollers would be $60.

Subtract that extra $10 for a few homebrews.

And to answer the question from runhard - I haven't powder coated the hopper yet, but I'll post a pic when I do. Maybe I mispoke - I noticed a significant amount of completely intact kernels. I think setting the gap just a little tighter would take care of that. I enjoy my shop way to much...thank God SWMBO puts up with it!
 
OK, I'll let you know. Time to spend some more time in the hardware store visualizing how to put all of this together (and re-reading this thread a couple times).
 
Yuri - What type of tool did you use with your lathe to texture the rollers like that? I'm not all that familiar with lathe tooling, though I have access to one.

Thanks
 
JoeRags said:
Yuri - What type of tool did you use with your lathe to texture the rollers like that? I'm not all that familiar with lathe tooling, though I have access to one.

Thanks
It is a knurelling tool used on a lathe and they come in many different patterns. I think they have them in the MSC cat. I'm pretty sure I spelled it wrong but it will get you close.
Yuri, the mill looks great!!!!:rockin:
 
Yuri, I think I'm going to have you machine me up a couple of roller mills, if you're still in that business. Probably eight inch, but I need to do some measurements. I want to make a mill that will sit on top of a 5-gallon bucket. I've got the plans for the housing and the hopper all set in my mind.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
So I finally used this thing! It works pretty well - needs a refinement or two. Bigger buckets would be a good investment since it slings grain out of the small gaps on either side of my 6.5 gallon buckets. Maybe I'll use one of those tall kitchen trash cans. Also, I had the gap set too wide. It wasn't apparent right away, but when I dumped my spent grains, I noticed a lot of intact hulls. My efficiency sucked. However, I crushed (or mostly crushed) 31 lbs of grain as fast as I could measure and pour it. Next time I'll pay more attention to the crush quality before I get excited and dump it into the mash tun!
The nonadjustable malt mill http://schmidling.com/maltmill.htm is set at .045" and the LHBS says the thickness of a credit card. I didn't mic up a credit card yet but its probably about .045"
 
Was gonna PM you this pic, but your inbox is full! Figured it wouldn't hurt to let everyone else see what I've been up to.

Here's a collection of pics I took while machining a set of 8" aluminum rollers for the_bird.

4688-the_birdsrollers.JPG
 
A while back, someone asked that I post a pic after I powder coated the hopper. It's a little late, but here it is:

4688-powdercoated.JPG


The foil tape keeps cowardly grain from escaping out of the small gaps at the bottom.
 
Sorry... keep running out of room.

Those look really good, Yuri. My plan is to make a metal frame for the rollers, but do the hopper in wood. Yours looks pretty damn awesome - if I had metalworking tools (and skills), I'd be going that route. :D

Can't wait! It's like Christmas all over again!
 
Biermann said:
Damn, Yuri. . you should go into the manufacturing business. How much would you sell this for??
The whole mill? I'd probably be forced to charge something similar to what the commercial guys charge (Crankandstein, JSP, etc) - around $150-$200 because it's so labor intensive.

By the way, 12" rollers are awfully hard to power - my 1/2" chuck drill barely gets it done once the grain starts hitting the rollers. SWMBO just tossed a hand mixer with a decent motor and gear drive. I'm thinking about adapting it.
 
That's really not that bad. I bought a Crankenstein 2 roller mill and made the wooden housing and I'm using an old Propel bottle for a hopper, and all said and done, I have over a $100 dollars in it. Yours looks well made, and usable right out of the "box."

I like fabricating stuff, and wish I had more time to do it. Something about working 60-70 hours a week and two young kids that keeps me from doing it.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
The whole mill? I'd probably be forced to charge something similar to what the commercial guys charge (Crankandstein, JSP, etc) - around $150-$200 because it's so labor intensive.

By the way, 12" rollers are awfully hard to power - my 1/2" chuck drill barely gets it done once the grain starts hitting the rollers. SWMBO just tossed a hand mixer with a decent motor and gear drive. I'm thinking about adapting it.

I just took down a ceiling fan, and the first thing that came to mind was how I was going to use the motor to power my grain mill. I'm still thinking that one out. :mug:
 
For Christmas my wife got me a Crankandstein mill; SWMBO totally rocks. :rockin: My hope is that since I'll have better control over the crush as opposed to the LHBS that my efficiencies will even be greater plus I get to make a grain hopper and cabinet. I made a proto-type hopper out of MDF to discover where the flaws lie in the design and then I'll make a nice one out of some hardwood after I clean up the rough cut lumber that's collecting dust in the corner of the garage, ......I mean brewery. bird, once you've design your hopper post a picture so that I might gain some ideas before I build a cabinet and hopper out of hardwood.proto-type hopper MDF2.jpg
 
Hmm, glad you psted that pic. That looks like a much more stable way of putting the mill together than what I was thinking. I'll just start building, change things a half-dozen times, and stop once I get something that works.
 
Yeah I'm digging up the thread.

Yuri, I've got an old friend in the machining biz and I'm looking to setup some requirements to see if he'd be willing to do me a favor. I'm spec'ing out 2"diameter rollers with a 6" width. Do you think it's better to drill out and then press fit the 1/2" axles or to turn the rollers down at the ends?

If I press fit axles, do you then have to re-turn the rollers to true them up on this new potentially off center axis? How long did it take to turn the ends down on your steel rollers?

Besides using an eccentric bushing to mount your bearing in, can you think of any easier way to provide a slight adjustment on the crush? I was thinking of maybe drilling out two fixed bearing holes with one slightly closer to the drive roller than the other. I don't know, maybe making the eccentric is easy enough.

Finally, did you find that you needed to box in the frame with metal? If I look at a few mills, the spacing between the bearing boxes is maintained purely by their attachment to the bottom plate which is usally wood.
 
Do you think it's better to drill out and then press fit the 1/2" axles or to turn the rollers down at the ends?

If I press fit axles, do you then have to re-turn the rollers to true them up on this new potentially off center axis?
Press fit axles are probably a better way to go - I was concerned about my axles not holding up to wear and tear since they're just mild steel. I've made a few sets of aluminum rollers, and I drill and tap them to accept 1/2" Grade 8 bolts with long shanks (hex heads cut off) for the axles. I tighten the hell out of the bolts with some Loc Tite, and I recommend positioning the drive axle so that the motor will turn the axle clockwise. That way the axle won't be tempted to unthread as the mill turns. I always re-true the rollers on the lathe after threading the axles into them.
How long did it take to turn the ends down on your steel rollers?
FOREVER! (several hours)
Besides using an eccentric bushing to mount your bearing in, can you think of any easier way to provide a slight adjustment on the crush? I was thinking of maybe drilling out two fixed bearing holes with one slightly closer to the drive roller than the other. I don't know, maybe making the eccentric is easy enough.
I like the eccentrics, but you could use a elongated holes to allow the bearings to slide back and forth a bit and use set screws to hold the adjustment.
Finally, did you find that you needed to box in the frame with metal? If I look at a few mills, the spacing between the bearing boxes is maintained purely by their attachment to the bottom plate which is usally wood.
I used metal because I had it to use. Some hardwood would probably work just fine. I'd avoid pine - it probably wouldn't house a bearing very securely for long.
 
I need to post pics of mine tonight. I ended up making some elongated holes to allow for adjustment (probably more elongated than they need to be, but onceI get it dialed in they won't be adjusted again). I made the frame out of angle iron - unfortunately, all I could get my hands on was 1 1/2 inch, 2 inch would have worked better. This gives me a ton of strength, plus I can directly attach the frame to the (to be built) wood hopper.

Since I can't weld, I just built the end pieces out of the angle iron (subsequently sanded down and painted to deal with surface rust), the parts that the axles fit into. To hold THOSE together, I bought a length of threaded rod. Two pieces about a foot long, a couple holes near the edges of the angle iron. Eight bolds tightened down later, everything is extremely snug and secure.

Again, I'll post pics tonight.
 
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