alphaomega
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Some background first. I've built a motorized monster mill. That sucker milled malt like nobodies business. Once I finished it, I realized that I didn't very much care for it. I vented about in this thread, looking for a solution that fitted my needs better.
The short story is, I don't need a mill that goes through 10lbs of grain in 0.3 seconds. And I don't want a mill that takes up better part of a room.
I do want a compact mill, that is easy to carry (I want to mill indoors, and take it outdoors for cleaning), that has a small footprint, that is motorized and 'hands off' and of course provides a decent crush. Cheap is nice, but I'm not really on a budget.
I was leaning towards the MattMill Kompakt (sorry, in german, but the pics are self explanatory), and then found the MattMill Student. The MattMill Student was very appealing to me, but there is just not (IMHO) enough price difference between the full on proper mill Kompakt, and the Student (which has a plastic housing and is non adjustable). I've got no problem with the plastic body or fixed gap, but it just seemed too expensive.
Sorry for the rant, now the good stuff.
So I was looking around eBay, to see if I found something 'usable'. Preferably, knurled, to build a mill from, as I don't have access to tools to do much metal machining.
And I found what you use to make the knurls with in the first place. Knurling tool rollers.
So I ordered some, win or lose. And some 8mm rod for shafts. And some bronze bearings.
I did not know how I should attach the knurling heads to the shaft. Maybe metal epoxy (JB weld)? My torch does not provide enough heat to braze.
But, I have successfully soldered stainless before, using a special flux, so I gave it a try and it was a winner!
Then I got some 6mm acrylic (AKA Plexiglass) and drilled holes, aiming for a gap of about 1mm between the rollers. Knocking in the bronze bearings and using my trusted cordless drill, gave it a try...
..and failed. The rollers are only 28mm in diameter (or about 1 1/8") and just wouldn't 'pull' the grain in. Dammit. I really liked the knurling rollers. Small, cheap and hardened! And they soldered sooo good.
Then I thought, before I scrap this idea, I'll try driving both rollers.
Tadaaaa! Some success!
Close up of the soldered rollers and acrylic.
The crush. Maybe floury, maybe some torn husks, what do I know, I ain't got no Ph.D. in malt milling sciences, the point is: First try (or maybe second...), and it at least works.
The rollers were about 6 bucks for the pair. The rod (shaft) I don't know really but in the same neighbourhood. The bronze bushings about 3 bucks. And the acrylic I got in a local shop for about 10 bucks. So all in all, about 25 bucks for the build so far.
(Well, not really true, I spent more buying stuff on the off-chance I'd need it, since the shipping time from China is so long).
Next up, I'll try to motorize it on the cheap (I already got a motor off eBay, but need more parts to come in). Hopefully, I can build a mill that will suit my needs
The short story is, I don't need a mill that goes through 10lbs of grain in 0.3 seconds. And I don't want a mill that takes up better part of a room.
I do want a compact mill, that is easy to carry (I want to mill indoors, and take it outdoors for cleaning), that has a small footprint, that is motorized and 'hands off' and of course provides a decent crush. Cheap is nice, but I'm not really on a budget.
I was leaning towards the MattMill Kompakt (sorry, in german, but the pics are self explanatory), and then found the MattMill Student. The MattMill Student was very appealing to me, but there is just not (IMHO) enough price difference between the full on proper mill Kompakt, and the Student (which has a plastic housing and is non adjustable). I've got no problem with the plastic body or fixed gap, but it just seemed too expensive.
Sorry for the rant, now the good stuff.
So I was looking around eBay, to see if I found something 'usable'. Preferably, knurled, to build a mill from, as I don't have access to tools to do much metal machining.
And I found what you use to make the knurls with in the first place. Knurling tool rollers.
So I ordered some, win or lose. And some 8mm rod for shafts. And some bronze bearings.
I did not know how I should attach the knurling heads to the shaft. Maybe metal epoxy (JB weld)? My torch does not provide enough heat to braze.
But, I have successfully soldered stainless before, using a special flux, so I gave it a try and it was a winner!
Then I got some 6mm acrylic (AKA Plexiglass) and drilled holes, aiming for a gap of about 1mm between the rollers. Knocking in the bronze bearings and using my trusted cordless drill, gave it a try...
..and failed. The rollers are only 28mm in diameter (or about 1 1/8") and just wouldn't 'pull' the grain in. Dammit. I really liked the knurling rollers. Small, cheap and hardened! And they soldered sooo good.
Then I thought, before I scrap this idea, I'll try driving both rollers.
Tadaaaa! Some success!
Close up of the soldered rollers and acrylic.
The crush. Maybe floury, maybe some torn husks, what do I know, I ain't got no Ph.D. in malt milling sciences, the point is: First try (or maybe second...), and it at least works.
The rollers were about 6 bucks for the pair. The rod (shaft) I don't know really but in the same neighbourhood. The bronze bushings about 3 bucks. And the acrylic I got in a local shop for about 10 bucks. So all in all, about 25 bucks for the build so far.
(Well, not really true, I spent more buying stuff on the off-chance I'd need it, since the shipping time from China is so long).
Next up, I'll try to motorize it on the cheap (I already got a motor off eBay, but need more parts to come in). Hopefully, I can build a mill that will suit my needs
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