my malt mill

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
the_Roqk

the_Roqk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
941
Reaction score
4
Location
Central Florida
Okay, third time is the charm. Yep I tried posting this thread about 2 hrs ago. Apparently I can't get my pics to be included to this thread. So you're gonna have to see em on the gallery. Just finished my ho-made malt mill this afternoon. I was so pumped I even became a regular supporting member here on HBT just so I could share it with everyone. Anyway the rollers are 8" long and 2" solid aluminum bar. It's been tested but not with grain just yet. Gotta buld me a hopper and base. Hat's off to Yuri for the help! I used his design and some other one's too. Just look it up on new gallery pics. Tell me what ya think. Cheers!:mug:
 
Just finished my ho-made malt mill this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Wow. I mean...wow! Dude, you got ho's to make your mill? Were they, by chance, nappy-headed ho's? I need some ho's to make stuff for me. Where did you find your ho's? Mail-order?

Apparently I can't get my pics to be included to this thread.
Click to expand...

If you go to your gallery and click on a picture, below it will be direct links that you can copy-paste into your message body. The one you want is the "bb code", including the img tags. Here, I'll do it for you:

7956-DSC00181.JPG
7956-DSC00180.JPG

7956-DSC00176.JPG
7956-DSC00177.JPG


Looks pretty nice. How can you adjust the grind?
 
I'm rebuilding my mill. My first was a prototype with a wood frame. It worked fine for about a year but I need to rebuild it and am thinking of usuing aluminum like you did. But I want it to be adjustable and haven't gotten my head around how to do that.

What exactly are those end caps on the one roller for?
 
Thanks Evan! I'm still new to posting pics since I upgraded. Won't take long to get the hang of it. As for the Ho's. They were a little expensive. All I had to do was show them the round bar and they took care of the rest. Should have heard them moan when I didn't pay em. :D

Yeah, these are fully adjustable. Note the knob on the sides. I can get it dialed to 1/16"- 5/16". The set screw is on the top. Probably will do a little more mods on it later once I get my hopper and base made. Thanks again for the uploads! You rock! :rockin:
 
One little criticism if I may. You'll definitely have to have your hopper drop the grain towards the center of the rollers because the train can dump down on the ends where you have those spacers.
 
Thanks for the input. I was thinking about making a sheet metal hopper to fit around those spacers. Course I could just go ahead and remove the spacers but I would have to retap and cut everything. Still I appreciate the info.
 
Do you have a plan you could post? I'd really like to see how your mechanism for adjusting your rollers work.

I might build one out of 5/8" MDF. I'm using two different sized rollers, one smooth. Both will spin, but since the are 2 diff. sizes the surfaces will be moving at different speeds, which I was told was a good thing. The bigger roller is slights grooved the other is smooth.

This worked great for me with my old setup but it needs to be rebuilt. If this works with the MDF case, then I'll build another out of aluminum.

Are you making the second roller spin?
 
Do you have a plan you could post? I'd really like to see how your mechanism for adjusting your rollers work.
Sorry, I don't have a plan that has been drawn out. I made the rollers first and then made the frame to fit around it. It took me awhile to understand how it was put together only by looking at other mills.

Hopefully I can explain it better. On the end plate I drilled a 3/4" hole to accept the bronze bearing that the drive roller will set in. I also drilled a 1 3/4" hole using a bi-metal hole saw. Then I turned the knob down to just under 1 3/4" so it could fit inside the hole. After that I drilled a 3/4" hole into the knob so that another bronze bearing would fit. This hole was drilled 3/16" off center so that when it was turned in the frame it adjusted from around 1/16"- 5/16". Keep in mind that both end plates are identical. The set screw on top is what keeps the "dead" roller in place.


Are you making the second roller spin?
The second roller only spins when the grain comes in contact. It is considered "dead". Because they are both knurled it will pick up the grains better and hopefully have a great efficiency rating. I know Yuri posted that he had an efficiency at around 80 %. But both of his rollers spin together.

I hope that this helps. Thanks for the interest. By the way, I might even draw a pattern for this. Not sure when. I am a very busy man right now. That's why it took me a month to make this thing. :)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
FNnewguy said:
Do you have a plan you could post? I'd really like to see how your mechanism for adjusting your rollers work.
Sorry, I don't have a plan that has been drawn out. I made the rollers first and then made the frame to fit around it. It took me awhile to understand how it was put together only by looking at other mills.

Hopefully I can explain it better. On the end plate I drilled a 3/4" hole to accept the bronze bearing that the drive roller will set in. I also drilled a 1 3/4" hole using a bi-metal hole saw. Then I turned the knob down to just under 1 3/4" so it could fit inside the hole. After that I drilled a 3/4" hole into the knob so that another bronze bearing would fit. This hole was drilled 3/16" off center so that when it was turned in the frame it adjusted from around 1/16"- 5/16". Keep in mind that both end plates are identical. The set screw on top is what keeps the "dead" roller in place.


Are you making the second roller spin?
The second roller only spins when the grain comes in contact. It is considered "dead". Because they are both knurled it will pick up the grains better and hopefully have a great efficiency rating. I know Yuri posted that he had an efficiency at around 80 %. But both of his rollers spin together.

I hope that this helps. Thanks for the interest. By the way, I might even draw a pattern for this. Not sure when. I am a very busy man right now. That's why it took me a month to make this thing. :)
Click to expand...

OK, I guess you have adjust both ends seperatly and keep measuring tthem the same then? I might try this method.

My current grinder is giving e between 85 -93%. Love to hear what your new roller gives you.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, it's made so that the dead roller can be adjusted on both ends. I found it worked well for my design. All you would have to do is make a gauge and place it between the rollers to get your width. I wanted to make one that could mill corn also. I want to try a Corona type lager. Thanks again for the input. I'll keep you posted.
 
Looks good FNnewguy. I can't wait to get home to my lathe and start some project like this. I love your one-piece adjustment knobs.
 
FNnewguy said:
Hopefully I can explain it better. On the end plate I drilled a 3/4" hole to accept the bronze bearing that the drive roller will set in. I also drilled a 1 3/4" hole using a bi-metal hole saw. Then I turned the knob down to just under 1 3/4" so it could fit inside the hole. After that I drilled a 3/4" hole into the knob so that another bronze bearing would fit. This hole was drilled 3/16" off center so that when it was turned in the frame it adjusted from around 1/16"- 5/16". Keep in mind that both end plates are identical. The set screw on top is what keeps the "dead" roller in place.
Click to expand...
Thats the way an adjustable mill should be built. Excellent design and execution. I'm very jealous.
Post some more pictures when you get it finished and operational.
Craig
 
Nice job! Very professional looking! Makes mine look...cobbled together...

One suggestion - you may find that those plastic bushings are too large, and quite a bit of grain takes the path of least resistance through the gaps in the sides of your mill. You may want to either shorten the entire thing (a big pain) or use some thin gauge sheet metal contoured to prevent that from happening.

I tried the "dead roller" thing. My rollers are solid steel and have too much mass for the grain to turn both of them. Without the o-ring that forces them to spin together, nothing gets crushed. Perhaps your lighter rollers will work better in that regard.
 
Well I know a guy here that sells his mills for thousands of dollars to the brewing industry. While his 16" Diameter rollers are a bit excessive/expensive for most of us, one principle I intend to follow is that the 2 rollers should spin at different speeds. One way to do this is to gear the other one slight different. the other way is to use to diff. sized rollers geared the same.
 
First of all thanks for the kudos and info. Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. Been busy working and doing some much needed cabinet repair on the house. I plan on getting back to the malt mill ASAP.

I am thinking of trying to build a wooden hopper that's made with 1/2" plywood. This hopper frame would go inside between the roller ends and the frame. Hopefully closing those gaps preventing grain from being dropped out the ends.

As for the "dead roller" I might have to use a rubber O ring to help pick up the grain so that it doesn't bind (thanks Yuri). I am still working on this project and will keep everyone posted on the updated progress.
 
that looks really nice!

mind if i ask how much it cost in materials, and where you bought the stock from?
 
The total material cost was just about the same as if I would buy the Schmidling malt mill. But I was able to get more than enough material to make 3 sets of rollers. I've already sold one set, and have not turned the last ones.

I went to a local metal fabricator and they sold me the 2 1/4" round bar and 3" x 5/8" bar. I will try and dig up the receipts and post those. It may be awhile. Right now I'm taking a break from cabinet work here at the house.
 

Similar threads

shoengine
Mill motorization
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
ClaudiusB
ClaudiusB
RCope
SS brewtech grain mill belt
Replies
1
Views
239
Indian_villager
I
JoeSpartaNJ
Cereal Killer mill issue
Replies
1
Views
518
Broken Crow
Broken Crow
shoengine
Replaced failing bearings on mill
Replies
11
Views
896
shoengine
shoengine
U
DIY Smooth roller grain mill project. Any tips?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Dave Parry
Dave Parry
BrewSwag 300

Latest posts

Back
Top