1/2" Hammer Drill work for grain mill?

So I built my mill and the motor I used was not powerful enough. I have tried using two different 3/8" drills but they can't cut it either. One went too fast and the adjustable speed one when going slow enough wasn't powerful enough.

I have access to a 1/2" drill but its a hammer drill would this work?

It's a Shmidling malt mill so the rollers are like 10" long which is why I think it takes a fair bit of force to turn it, grinds a lot of grain at a time. Also if I go too fast the grain just bumps along on top of the rollers and won't really enter the rollers. I believe this is because one of the rollers are passive.

Grinding by hand is pretty labor intensive so I have been trying drills as a short term solution until I can find (afford) a more powerful electric motor for my belt and pulley system.

I believe most hammer drills have a switch to turn off the hammer, if this is the case, I would think you could use it to turn your mill.

wilserbrewer said:

I believe most hammer drills have a switch to turn off the hammer, if this is the case, I would think you could use it to turn your mill.

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I have a monster Bosch hammer drill and yes the hammering function can be turned off. Mine has a special chuck so that you can only attach bosch bits, so I don't think it would work.

BTW, I've got a Schmidling mill. I use a corded drill, 1/2" chuck. Can't remember the make, but I think it's a 7A drill.

Perfect guys thanks so much.

Passedpawn did you make your own hopper or use the shmidling one? If you diy your own could you show me a pic?

akthor said:

Perfect guys thanks so much.

Passedpawn did you make your own hopper or use the shmidling one? If you diy your own could you show me a pic?

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I use the schmidling one. I've thought about it, but I don't mind using my 1qt cup to scoop grain in there while milling. If I ever put a motor on the mill, though, I'll definitely make a hopper. I've got a culligan water bottle that would work I think.

Do you notice the same thing if you go too fast the grain doesn't feed?

akthor said:

Do you notice the same thing if you go too fast the grain doesn't feed?

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I can (and often do) run the drill as fast as it will go. No problem.

I used a hammer drill for a long time and realized not too long ago that you could switch it to normal mode. Should work fine either way.

What happens if you run a mill too fast (i.e above 250 or 400 RPM?) Nothing crazy like 2500 RPM, lets say 500 RPM

1. Does the grain stop feeding?

2. Does the quality of the crush suffer?

3. Does it damage the mill?

Won't feed, grain will bounce around inbetween the rollers. When I slow down enough for the rollers to grab the grain the force required to turn the mill was too much for the two 3/8" drills I tried.

Doing it by hand requires a lot more effort than the smaller mill at my local HBT.

I will return the drill I got and put in the extra cash needed to get the 1/2 hammer drill.

I bought a 1/2 inch corded heavy duty drill at harbor freight for like $35. It's worked great for 2 years now. It's variable speed so I can run it slow.

Definitely take it out of hammer mode. My corded makita hammer drill has too high of a slowest speed to work well. It tends to spin too fast and shred the husk. It doesnt have enough torque at low rpm. My Milwaukee cordless on the low speed setting works great. It does take two batteries to mill 25 lbs of grain though.

I malt condition (2% water addition prior to milling) and was having problems feeding thru the JSP stock hopper. Now I throw my grain bill in a pet food vault and rotate it around to distribute the water. When its time to mill the flip spout on top works well as a make shift hopper.

pet food vault

I think you really want a screw gun instead of drill. My 18 volt rigid has no problem turning my 6" Gunnar maltmill. Unlike a drill which typically spins at well over 1000 rpms a screw gun usually runs at under 400 rpms in low gear. Personally I'm one of those twisted individuals that actually enjoys milling by hand (even at the painfully slow rate of 2lbs per minute).

matt2778 said:

I think you really want a screw gun instead of drill. My 18 volt rigid has no problem turning my 6" Gunnar maltmill. Unlike a drill which typically spins at well over 1000 rpms a screw gun usually runs at under 400 rpms in low gear. Personally I'm one of those twisted individuals that actually enjoys milling by hand (even at the painfully slow rate of 2lbs per minute).

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Maybe its a regional difference in terms but a screw gun around Chicago is a fairly high RPM specialized tool that drywallers use to install a bazillion screws a second. Mine doesn't evenhave a chuck so I'm not sure how you'd hook that up.

starman said:

Maybe its a regional difference in terms but a screw gun around Chicago is a fairly high RPM specialized tool that drywallers use to install a bazillion screws a second. Mine doesn't evenhave a chuck so I'm not sure how you'd hook that up.

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Funny how regional terms cause descriptive conflicts. I refer to your version of a screw gun as a drywall gun(higher speed version) or a deck gun(slightly slower speed version) yes surprisingly there are two versions of what appears to be the same tool. We also call a miter box a chop saw, yet anyone who cuts metal studs will have issue with that term. In any event a cordless variable speed 18 volt drill/driver should easily turn the rollers of the typical home brewers grain mill.

Yup haha, if a buddy wanted to borrow a "chop saw" he'd get the $89 craftsman with a cracked housing and an abrasive cutting wheel... definitely not the 10" sliding compound mitre saw.

Apparently the Brits would give you an old cannon if you asked them for a screw gun. This might lead to astringency problems due to shredded husks.

I guess I need to buy a drill if I get a grain mill, since all I have are a Corded 2800 5.2 amp Makita Hammer drill (variable speed - but I dont think it will be able to maintain 250 RPM) and a Black and Decker Dry Wall/Deck/Screw gun variable speed 2500 RPM coded drill.

For a mill that uses a 3/8 inch shaft, would it fit in a dry wall screwdriver? Or is there some kind of chuck I can attach to the dry wall screwdriver that would allow it to hold onto the mill shaft?

A 1/2" drill, something approaching or above 10 amps, is pretty much required.

I use a half inch Bosch hammer drill on my Corona mill. I just turn off the hammer function and squeeze the trigger gently! I find that if I run it full speed it goes so fast that it will let full, uncrushed grains fly thru. Slow and low, is the tempo!

tre9er said:

A 1/2" drill, something approaching or above 10 amps, is pretty much required.

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What about 7.5 AMPs?

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html


Or will that not last?

ArcLight said:

What about 7.5 AMPs?

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html

Or will that not last?

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A lot of guys use those. I have the 10 amp one. Not sure abt the 7.5A but mine has RPM dial and trigger lock. See pic in my gallery