Anyone have info on C&S mills? I've asked a few times but cannot get any straight answers. Particularly, the history between MM and C&S.
I have a CrankandStein from before the split. I don't expect to ever have to replace it, and to be able to pass it on to my children once I die. I actually do want one of the big Monster Mills, but given that my mill works perfectly fine, spending $300 is a bit unreasonable for me, at least right now. Haha.
The only wear showing on my mill is from when there were rocks in the grain, and it wore a couple grooves.
I have the cheapest CrankandStein 2 roller mill (I bought it when I was in college and was on a tight budget). I also have it motorized with a gearmotor using spidercouplings, and it is now wall mounted and wired to a switch, so it is really simple and easy to mill my grains now.
As for the drama, there were two parties involved, Fred the frontman that we all dealed with, and then the mill maker who he contracted the mills from. Fred was the business guy and actually owned the name, web address, etc. The mill maker thought he owned it, they decided to separate, there was confusion for a while, and then Fred started Monster Mills and gave up his rights to CrankandStein to my understanding.
If I were to buy a mill now, I would buy a Monster Mill in a heartbeat. I would get one with hardened rollers just for the heck of it, and if I had the money, I would get the three roller 2 inch mill.
I consider Monster Mills to be made with the best alloys for the rollers, even for their cheapest mills. If you look up the alloy compared to what the others are using, you will be able to see the difference.
If you search for barleycrusher problems, you will see that they were really popular when they came out because they hit the right value point because they were using a cheaper alloy. If you read about the service for the 'lifetime warranty', you will not want to buy a mill from the guy. After a certain amount of time, the knurls will wear down, and good luck getting help in a reasonable amount of time.
Because of what has happened with barley crusher, and what continues to happen, it makes me very hesitant to try other value priced mills, or to recommend them.
Because Fred is who I worked with when I bought my mill from crankandstein, he is the one I trust, which is why I would recommend Monster Mills. I also did the research into the alloys for those that publish that information, and I like the steel used in his mills better.