DIY Milling Station

Hey There-

Just got done putting together a rolling mill station, and I thought I'd post a thread of my build. All in all, it came together pretty well and I had a minimum of issues come up during the build. It took me a few hours...lots of eyeballing and measuring, with a minimum of actual work.

I scored this table from work:



It was left out in the snow and destined for the trash, so I gave it a new home! It actually can raise and lower the platform (with some significant strength) via a motor in the base. It's an old motor, but I bet it'd lift 75-100+ lbs. I probably won't test it, because I don't want to spoil a good thing.

Instead, I plan on placing a bucket on the wheeled base, and lowering the mill down onto the bucket. The BC base is still intact, so it still has the rubber feet which fit perfectly into a 5 gal bucket and create a seal against grain dust.

Here's a look at the switch:



It also has a 115v outlet on either end of the base, perfect for plugging in the drill:

Man that is a cool looking table...can't wait to see more



(Subscribed)

So, here's the parts I got together:



Pretty simple, just a Barley Crusher, some 3/8" carriage bolts, some large U-bolts, and a 10A corded drill I got from Harbor Freight specifically for the mill.

I wanted to have the mill on the underside of table to make for a neat install and more table space.

I basically bolted the Barley Crusher minus the hopper directly under the table:



I didn't really modify the mill itself in any way, so I'm assuming the warranty is still valid.

The carriage bolts make for a nice smooth profile:



Then, I made a hole for the grain to go through. The table is about 2" thick, but a hole saw and a homebrew got the job done....:

I wanted to duplicate the "guide" in the Barley Crusher hopper....I couldn't really cut the old hopper because of the way it was put together, so I just "fabricated" one out of ducting and tin snips:



It looks better in person, I swear :



This will fit right under the large hole I made, and just focus the grain right into the center of the rollers. Otherwise it would fall on the outsides and escape the crush.

Then, I used the U-bolts in a facedown fashion to mount the drill:



I would have liked the mounting hardware to be completely hidden, but it still turned out relatively low-pro, and the table space is still useable. Maybe later I can also use it to mount something on the top, like a laptop, etc.:

And here's the drill mounted in position. It has a button to hold the trigger down, so I will just have to start it up and the mill will do the rest:



Here's the whole drivetrain :



Worth mentioning is the alignment of the motor to the mill shaft. I was really worried about this because even a slight misalignment could cause vibration, damage the bushings, and basically wreck the mill. The BC literature states that the mill should never be belt driven due to the lateral forces on the axle. A direct drive drill is the way to go. In this build, it seems to fit together just perfectly and even after firing it up I can't detect a "wobble". This is pretty unusual...I was actually amazed I didn't have to tweak it. If necessary, I would have placed some shims under the drill or BC to even things out.

Sweet Steve! I like that table. I bet this thing is going to look pretty slick by the end of it.

+1 on the subsription.

I had a Better Bottle I had used a brush on several times before I realized that was a no-no. I never had an infection, but it was starting to show its age. I repurposed it:



WARNING! I almost lost an eye cutting the bottom out of this thing! I wasn't thinking and used my dremel cutoff wheel to make the cut...WITHOUT GOGGLES! I caught a chunk of PET at light speed in the tear duct. 1cm over, and I'd be at the hospital instead of posting this thread! ALWAYS wear the proper safety gear!

Here's the bottle as it fits in the hole. It's a perfect fit:

And here's the finished product:





I can't wait to get some grain and fire this baby up! I was THIS close to pouring corn flakes into the hopper just to see it work