My Ugly Junk- Corona Mill Station...

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Here is my setup. I get some grain sneaking out of the top of the shroud, and some dust, so I will likely add some sort of metal shroud that covers the entire top of the grinding plates.

Also getting some uncrushed grains, so will tighten down and see how that works.

$14.95 for the mill (local Mexican supermarket)
$4.50 for the wood (Home Depot)
$1 for the metal (leftovers from a previous project)
$4 for the downspout (Home Depot)
$3 for the driver (Home Depot)

$27.45 total. Not bad for a mill.

Mill.JPG

Interesting, never thought of checking a local mexican supermarket for a mill...theres a large hispanic population here so i have no doubt i could find one locally instead of online.
 
Got my mill put together and a 2 bucket design set up - I'll post a pic of it once I figure out a hopper. In the meantime - please evaluate my crush, seems a bit shredded - it's 2-Row:

crush1.jpg
 
Looks pretty good, mine is finer though, for reference. If you find a single uncrushed (or only slightly cracked but still in-tact) grain, tighten it more. Remember, you're not trying to get every single grain to be cracked with the entire husk in-tact, you're just trying to make sure you have SOME husks there to filter the rest.
 
Looks pretty good, mine is finer though, for reference. If you find a single uncrushed (or only slightly cracked but still in-tact) grain, tighten it more. Remember, you're not trying to get every single grain to be cracked with the entire husk in-tact, you're just trying to make sure you have SOME husks there to filter the rest.

Thanks - that makes sense. I BIAB so I'm not really worried about a filter bed so I'll tighten it up a bit more and post a pic later.
 
Ok - here it is tightened up slightly - what do you think:

crush21.jpg


crush22.jpg



Thanks

You could probably still tighten that baby up a "CH"! ;)


So.. Anywho..

Here you go boys and girls...

Here's my junk in action! I'm brewing a little ol' 1.5 gallon batch of "All Simcoe" tomorrow!

IMG-20121207-00214.jpg
 
Ok - here it is tightened up slightly - what do you think:

crush21.jpg


crush22.jpg



Thanks

If you're BIAB'ing, tighten 'er up even more! I do BIAB, and I tightened it down till everything is well crushed, and there's a bit of flour in it.

With BIAB, you don't need to worry about the crush creating a good filter bed, because the bag is doing it for you.
 
Picked up my first full sack of grain on Saturday. Had it in the back hatch while running errands, and was greeted by the sweet, malty smell everytime I got in the car: best.airfreshener.ever.
 
So Anguslow's pic finally got me off my a$$ to set up my grain mill with a nice bucket-and-cover. Believe it or not I've used it for several years by just clamping it on the counter and grinding into a bowl. But no longer--I built it on Saturday and tried it out on Sunday, it worked great. Pics to follow when I get home tonight.
 
So Anguslow's pic finally got me off my a$$ to set up my grain mill with a nice bucket-and-cover. Believe it or not I've used it for several years by just clamping it on the counter and grinding into a bowl. But no longer--I built it on Saturday and tried it out on Sunday, it worked great. Pics to follow when I get home tonight.

Ugh. I'm there with you. At this pace it will be several years for me too.

Glad you took initiative
 
I have a corona mill, some oak stair treads and a bunch of other wood too (I'm a carpenter by trade for the time being) and ill be putting mine together this week. Pics incoming soon!
 
Well here's my Corona Mill Bucket System. Thanks to everyone in this thread for the great ideas!


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What do u guys think of my crush? I'm wondering if my husks look shredded.



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Very well made.....a little too much craftsmanship to be really worthy of the lower echelons of "ugly junk." Needs some duct tape, maybe some cracks and stains.
 
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The first pic is my bucket in a bucket system and the second pic is it in a cabinet that was in my basement when we moved in.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Can I borrow the unicycle? The corona mill...meh...already got one, but nice work. Maybe we need a 2nd category for 12V ugly junk:mug:

Haha! Someone else asked me if I could ride it too! It is a electric power steering assist motor from a 04 Saturn View steering column. I've tried using several different power supplies but none can handle the amp draw so I bought a cheap battery and jumper cables so I don't always have to remember the jump box from work.
 
Wow, this thread is awesome. I got a Victoria mill for Christmas and mine was actually very good right out of the box. I tightened it down all the way and put a handful of grain through. It was basically coarse flour so I backed it off a quarter turn and it was perfect for BIAB. Here is my ugly junk! Christmas colors were unintentional. The string around the red bucket is holding my bag for BIAB in place, so I just grind right into it. Made my basement smell awesome!

025.jpg
 
I got my mill for Christmas. Picked up a food grade bucket at Lowes. I haven't had a chance to mill anything in it yet though.
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Sorry if I am nitpicking, but that looks like it may be pressure treated wood, some would say that PT wood is not food grade, contains arsenic I believe?

My apologies if I am incorrect...nice workmanship and happy milling.
 
wilserbrewer said:
Sorry if I am nitpicking, but that looks like it may be pressure treated wood, some would say that PT wood is not food grade, contains arsenic I believe?

My apologies if I am incorrect...nice workmanship and happy milling.

Ah dang I didn't even think of that... Shucks. Might have to redo it... Or maybe I'll wrap it in plastic or something. Thanks.
 
BoxBrewer said:
Ah dang I didn't even think of that... Shucks. Might have to redo it... Or maybe I'll wrap it in plastic or something. Thanks.

I'm not sure if its a big deal but if it is dont wrap it in plastic a 2x4 that's not pressure treated is like 2.50 at a hardware store just replace it.
 
Sorry if I am nitpicking, but that looks like it may be pressure treated wood, some would say that PT wood is not food grade, contains arsenic I believe?

My apologies if I am incorrect...nice workmanship and happy milling.

Pt lumber no longer contains arsenic. That was changed a few years ago.
 
So here's my corona mill box thing. I consider it ugly since everything I used was scrap around the shop and its got like 4 different kinds of wood in it. Even the screws were used :)

It started out as an ugly stand I threw together in an hour to hook the mill to (hence the ugly screw holes), but that was throwing grain everywhere. So I finally put the two boxes on it to stop the flying grain and to catch it, and poly'd it up. I made it so it can be disassembled by removing 4 screws (apartment brewer).

The plastic on top slides forward so I can clean or adjust the crush. It was scrap we had left from a sun room project.

I haven't used this particular set up yet, but I can't imagine it won't work. I have a cut jug to use as a hopper, thinking I could do ~5lbs at once.

Oh and the drill i use was free too!



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So here's my corona mill box thing. I consider it ugly since everything I used was scrap around the shop and its got like 4 different kinds of wood in it. Even the screws were used :)

It started out as an ugly stand I threw together in an hour to hook the mill to (hence the ugly screw holes), but that was throwing grain everywhere. So I finally put the two boxes on it to stop the flying grain and to catch it, and poly'd it up. I made it so it can be disassembled by removing 4 screws (apartment brewer).

The plastic on top slides forward so I can clean or adjust the crush. It was scrap we had left from a sun room project.

I haven't used this particular set up yet, but I can't imagine it won't work. I have a cut jug to use as a hopper, thinking I could do ~5lbs at once.

Oh and the drill i use was free too!



View attachment 92142



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View attachment 92144


Thats way too pretty to be ugly!! :mug:
 
So here's my corona mill box thing. I consider it ugly since everything I used was scrap around the shop and its got like 4 different kinds of wood in it. Even the screws were used :)

It started out as an ugly stand I threw together in an hour to hook the mill to (hence the ugly screw holes), but that was throwing grain everywhere. So I finally put the two boxes on it to stop the flying grain and to catch it, and poly'd it up. I made it so it can be disassembled by removing 4 screws (apartment brewer).

The plastic on top slides forward so I can clean or adjust the crush. It was scrap we had left from a sun room project.

I haven't used this particular set up yet, but I can't imagine it won't work. I have a cut jug to use as a hopper, thinking I could do ~5lbs at once.

Oh and the drill i use was free too!



View attachment 92142



View attachment 92143



View attachment 92144

Damn that thing's pretty!
 
Consumer Safety Information Sheet
Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ)

Do not use treated wood under circumstances where the preservative may become a component of food or animal feed. Examples of such sites would be structures or containers for storing silage or food.

http://www.ptw-safetyinfo.ca/acq.htm

Out of curiosity I did a little research, ACQ is also used to treat pools and spas as a biocide, so how harmful / toxic can it be??? IDK, YMMV.
 
Need a little basic help with my ugly mill. I went to the hard wear store and got a screw to put where the handle was. Sawed off the end and attached my drill. But the screw/end of the moll is not straight. So the drill wobbles when I use it.

Any suggestions?
 
scsjohn said:
Need a little basic help with my ugly mill. I went to the hard wear store and got a screw to put where the handle was. Sawed off the end and attached my drill. But the screw/end of the moll is not straight. So the drill wobbles when I use it.

Any suggestions?

I was just about to post these exact words lol!
 
How long a bolt are you using...perhaps a shorter length w/ only 1/2" to 3/4" protruding would not put it as far off center and minimize the flaw in the ugly junk. The longer the bolt, the more it will wobble perhaps? My bolt only protrudes a little more than an inch...just enough to get the drill on it.

Or perhaps try a short bolt w/ the head still on, and drive the mill with a socket on the drill, coupled to the bolt, so it is not a ridgind connection and has a little play???

Perhaps the guy drilling and tapping the mill shafts was a noob or came to work w/ a terrible hangover and we are seeing his mistakes???
 
Where did you guys buy your Corona mills? I can't find one for less than about $40 on Amazon. I was hoping to spend about $25 at most on one of these.
 
Fordzilla said:
Where did you guys buy your Corona mills? I can't find one for less than about $40 on Amazon. I was hoping to spend about $25 at most on one of these.

I got mine at discounttommy.com. One of many different mills available.
 
I actually came across them. They have it for $25 with free shipping but theyre out of stock. I changed my search from "corona mill" to "corn grinder" and I have found quite a few more options.
 
The crush looks pretty good I don't see any whole grains a titty bit more probably wouldn't hurt but if it was me I would brew with the current crush and she how your numbers are and go from there. Chopps
 
I dont think this qualifies as ugly junk since i used oak and birch to build it. But it was scraps i had laying around the shop and i threw it together quickly.

Cut part of an oak stair tread and then mortised a big rectangle in it, then built the chute out of birch. Simple, hopefully effective since i havnt tried it yet, but i will this weekend. I also have a Milwaukee corded drill i plan to hook up it.

Let me know what you guys think

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