Hoppo's Rustic Motorized Grain Mill Cabinet and Grain Storage Bin

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I like it a lot better on the under side of the lip, and even being pulled away from the storage bin that much gives it a lot more symmetrical look. So I change my vote to a YES :rockin:
 
I like it. I think it ties in the organic-ishness of the whole thing. All the squre-edges on the top didn't quite work for me. All of the other horizontal and similar edges of the piece have the cedar, I think that a subtle tuck under ties the hopper in with the rest of it. Just my "sittin-in-my-office-wishing-I-was-working-on-brewing-stuff-at-home" .02
 
If I keep the log, I'll round off the front trim piece and make it flow with the log. I just threw together the motor pulley system and plugged it in.....and it works! I used a heavy duty hinge between two pieces of plywood. Fastened the bottom piece to the base and then screwed the motor down to the top piece. It was just a rough fit. I will drill holes and use bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts to secure the motor to the top plate. I though that the weight of the motor would be enough to tension the belt, but I think I need to add a tensioner to prevent slack or slippage of the belt. I'll used either a heavy duty spring or a long bolt to create tension in the belt. Otherwise, everything tracked straight and the mill spins nice! :rockin:

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PS....the inside of the cabinet is not complete. I am putting a partition between the motor pulley system and the grain catching side of the cabinet, so that my motor is protected from grain dust.
 
I'll get the log cleaned up and attached. I will then knife the trim piece above to give it some contour to flow with the log. Hopefully I can get all of the wood work finished over the weekend, so that I can do a few coats of poly and install the stone. Almost there!
 
I'm hurrying man! Unfortunately I do not see brewing equipment building in my immediate future. I have a hard enough time trying to get my own sh*t done! ;) Maybe if I actually finished one project before moving onto 3 more my efficiency would improve and it could someday be a viable business opportunity.....NOT! I'll just keep opening up therapy practices and leave the equipment building to the pros. :mug:

Just had a new patient cancel, so I had a few minutes to hit the HD a mile down the road from my office to pick up a few odds and ends to hopefully get the bulk of this project completed over the weekend. I'll keep posting pics. as I progress. I think that I am going to get everything wired tonight when I get out of work and finish sanding the hopper/shroud component. Tomorrow I hopefully can get a couple of coats of poly on the pieces, and may find time late Sunday to install the cement board and stone on the tops.
 
Had movie night with my wife and kids, so only a little progress after they went to bed. I couldn't make a lot of noise running saws and the finish nailer, so I focused on the electrical and the log. I got the unit completely wired with an extra outlet on the front and a functioning switch that controls the power the another switch that the motor is plugged into in the back of the cabinet. I also detached the log on the hopper and knifed it, but that was the extent of my progress. Off to back to back soccer games......its 44 degrees and raining......:(

I'll try to find time later this afternoon, but have a haunted hay ride with the kids tonight. Pics later.
 
I re-trimmed out the top of the hopper and added the log. I knifed the front trim piece in the contour of the log. Once I get the log cleaned up and everything sanded, I'll fill the seam with a mixture of pine saw dust and elmer's glue, so that it will look more like a continuous piece. I also got all of the electrical done and added the tensioner springs to the motor. Just have about 10 minutes of sanding left and then will start the poly clear coat over the two pieces. Didn't get as much accomplished on this project, but got a ton done around the house to get ready for winter. Here are a couple of pics.

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Finally finished knifing the log and trim to blend and finish sanded the hopper and pulley shroud. I also finished up all of the trim on both components. I'm happy with how it turned out and once I get the finish on it, it should look pretty cool. I also used some of the maple laminate flooring to finish the floor inside of the grain storage bin. Next onto disassembly and a once over with 220 over all of the woodwork in preparation for the poly.

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Got everything finish sanded, wiped down, disassembled and ready for the polyurethane finish. I'm using a semi-gloss poly for the finish. After the first coat, I'll go back over everything with a fine tooth comb and fill all of the nail holes with natural pine wood putty, wipe it down again and then do two more coats of finish. My goal is to get at least one coat of poly on tonight and do all of the nail filling. Throughout the rest of the week I'll do the remaining coats of poly, reassemble, and start the cement board and travertine stone on the tops.

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I think that it looks nice. You're going to have to put in a lot of brewing hours to balance out the "other stuff" hours you've put in.
 
It's been 2 months since I last brewed.......forgive me father for I have sinned. :eek:

In my defense, I brewed 4 batches within a couple of week span, so my pipeline was plenty stocked.......who am I kidding, I should be (and am) ashamed of myself. I have disgraced my fellow HBT'ers. I promise to brew back to back batches this weekend. :mug:
 
You are forgiven! As long as you keep building kick-ass things for your bar and allow us to drool over your awesome craftsmanship. :rockin: :tank:
 
Thanks man. I got the first coat of polyurethane on all of the components last night. I took a few pics, but didn't have time to post them last night. I brought my SD card to work from my camera, but my office computer doesn't seem to read the card. Pics. later tonight. :mug:
 
Thanks man. I got the first coat of polyurethane on all of the components last night. I took a few pics, but didn't have time to post them last night. I brought my SD card to work from my camera, but my office computer doesn't seem to read the card. Pics. later tonight. :mug:


Like I said, less than 90 minutes to Gatlinburg. Happy to take the kids hiking while you build me one.
 
Here are a few pics that I took a couple of nights ago after applying the first coat of polyurethane to all of the individual components/pieces. After the first coat, I will fill all of the little nail holes and caulk any gaps with a natural wood caulk that I found for hardwood flooring.

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Once the first coat was dry, I slid the drawers back in, put the door in the r/o, and set the hopper/shroud into position to see how it all looks together. I also put the lid on the grain storage bin. After snapping a few pic. I disassembled the pieces and got them ready for nail filling, caulking, and light sanding. I was able to get a second coat on last night after I gave up on the Tigers ass whoopin'. Today, I will do another light sanding and apply the third coat of poly. The wood grain and cedar colors look better and better with each coat. Can't wait to get the stone on over the weekend!

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Applied the final coat of polyurethane this afternoon. Once everything was dry, I reassembled the grain mill, pulley, belt, etc. and installed the drawer knobs, door handle, and electrical trims. I then reattached the lid to the grain bin and rolled everything into it's final resting position. I am very happy with how these are turning out so far. I need to build a chute to direct the milled grains into the center of the bucket below, as the r/o for the mill ended up further back than I expected. No problem, I have plenty of lumber scraps laying around. I'll get these things tiled over the weekend, so I can move on to grout for these pieces and my fermentation chambers. Almost there!

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I'm jealous of your setup man. What are you putting on the studs, if you don't mind me asking? Rock? Waynescoating? stainless? T&G? Magic?
 
Thanks Ted. I'm going to use green board (water resistant drywall) for the walls. Then, directly behind the actual brewing station, I'll install 1/2 inch cement board. The wall surface behind the brewing table will be tiled in travertine stone from the floor up to the ventilation hood. I have a couple of cases of 18" x 18" polished travertine left over from my basement bathroom. My brewing table is 6 ft. long, so I will run 2 courses of 4 tiles, which will give 6 feet wide x 3 feet high with polished travertine. I will then use the same tumbled travertine that I used on my keezer, behind my bar, on my fermentation chambers, mill, etc. to tile the upper 3 ft. x 6 ft. section up to the hood. Make sense?
 
I worked most of the day installing gutter filters on my house, but found a little time after dinner and before the World Series to work on the mill and bin. Cement board and stone tile installed! A bunch of pics to follow.

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More pics......sorry about the picture quality on some of these. I'm using a really old Canon 7.1 mp camera that has been designated for my brewing projects. Sometimes the pics. are a little blurry, sometimes not and I don't always know until they are posted. :eek:

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......and a couple more. Next I am moving onto drywall, cement board, and tile in the brewery. You can keep up on the progress on my brewery thread. I'm trying my hardest to get this done, so that I can start brewing indoors this winter. Tomorrow I am going to try to find time to do a couple ofr 5 gallon partial mashes on the patio. Thanks for following along and for all of the nice comments. :mug:

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That's an incredible brewery you have. Have followed and enjoyed all of your builds, you have a knack for making some outstanding pieces of furniture.
 
Took me a few minutes to figure out what you did there, with the re-wording of my original post and all. I'm a little slow on the draw! I thought to myself after reading your post, "damn, that doesn't sound like something I would say, what a pretentious prick I was.......I must have been drunk when I typed that". :drunk: After combing back through prior posts, I had that ah ha moment. You smart a$$. :mug:
 
Hopp.. I just want to point out that I hate you! I am getting a mill for Christmas and I WAS happy with just that idea. Then.. even though I knew better when I clicked on it.. I go through another one of your posts. My SWMBO is going to kill me.. but a similar project MIGHT have to happen now. Awesome build man!
 
Be sure to leave the cabinet door open when milling, grain dust is highly explosive and the sparks from the motor can set it off.

You could mount an exhaust fan on the side that blows into a dust catcher and it will also help keep the inside of the cabinet clean because it won't take long before your drawers and everything in them will be covered in grain dust.
 
Hopp.. I just want to point out that I hate you! I am getting a mill for Christmas and I WAS happy with just that idea. Then.. even though I knew better when I clicked on it.. I go through another one of your posts. My SWMBO is going to kill me.. but a similar project MIGHT have to happen now. Awesome build man!

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I say....GO FOR IT! Let me know if I can help in any way and create a thread so I can follow along.
 
Be sure to leave the cabinet door open when milling, grain dust is highly explosive and the sparks from the motor can set it off.

You could mount an exhaust fan on the side that blows into a dust catcher and it will also help keep the inside of the cabinet clean because it won't take long before your drawers and everything in them will be covered in grain dust.

Point well taken. :mug: I'm not sure if I posted any pics. earlier in the thread, but I ended up completely encapsulating the grain catching compartment, so it is sealed off to the drawers and the motor behind. Here are a couple of crappy pics.....sorry they are sorta blurry, but my camera is taking worse and worse pics. With the way that I have it set up currently, do you think I would have any problems or concers? I plan on taking the shop vac to the compartment every few millings to keep it clean on the inside.

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