DIY grain mill

Yuri_Rage · Apr 23, 2007

I just had a brainstorm on how to motorize my mill! I have an 11 Amp variable speed sander/polisher that runs 1000-3000 RPM. All I have to do is machine a pulley that will fit on the arbor, and run a belt to drive a larger pulley on my mill. I just ordered an 8" pulley and 36" v-belt from www.mcmaster.com. I figure something around a 4:1 reduction will work pretty well. More to come, of course!

Yuri_Rage · Apr 29, 2007

This is how I crushed my grains yesterday:

The polisher/pulley setup made REALLY short work of 40 lbs of grain. I thought it'd be best to run it at the slowest speed. It turns out that max speed works much better (6,000 RPM at a 4:1 reduction to get 1500 RPM at the rollers).

As usual, I can't wait to brew again!

eriktlupus · Jul 5, 2007

yuri,
do you have any stock left? :ban:

Yuri_Rage · Jul 5, 2007

eriklupust said:
yuri,
do you have any stock left?

Sure do! PM me.

moterhead63 · Sep 19, 2007

I just have to say you guys rule I had seen the link for the home made grain mill and youv' gave me even more ideas, I have a lathe but no access to a mill Ive been brewing for almost a year and have made a cool mini mash system but I need a mill now and then Im going to do an AG can't wait,,,,money time,,,,

nduetime · Dec 13, 2007

Yuri_Rage said:
Mine'll be twice as big for a quarter the price.

If you ever hear that on a street corner - run far, far away.

Yuri, you posted the above in reply to beer4breakfast's post about the crankandstein complete system for $139 back on page 3.
So where you able to produce yours for roughly $35.00. I noticed your price you would charge others to make another one but that also included time and labor. Could this project be made by others for less than $40.00?

DNW · Jan 21, 2009

Brewing Clamper said:
Uhm... when it comes time for me to go to all grain I think I'll just stick to this little number. It'll go nicely with all my other attachements...

Does anyone have a Magic Mill Mixer and use one of their attachments? There are two available and I'm wondering if either is suitable for milling grain for beer.

Grain and Spice Mill

Flake Mill

TIA,

bluecarpetsample · Jan 24, 2010

Hey Yuri-

It's been a few years since you built this, have you had any problems with oxidation? I am hesitant to make my own out of steel due to rust.

jimjart · Jan 28, 2010

Yuri_Rage said:
I just had a brainstorm on how to motorize my mill! I have an 11 Amp variable speed sander/polisher that runs 1000-3000 RPM. All I have to do is machine a pulley that will fit on the arbor, and run a belt to drive a larger pulley on my mill. I just ordered an 8" pulley and 36" v-belt from www.mcmaster.com. I figure something around a 4:1 reduction will work pretty well. More to come, of course!

thanks for the Brain storm.
looking to motorize with an old Pro-con pump motor .the rpm's are 1750
with 120 vac. 1\3 hp 5.5 amp.
just need to do the math as to what sized pully's to use.
we are hooking up to a Barley Crusher model.

smonteton · Jun 6, 2013

this is an old thread but maybe i could have a question answered? i have two rollers being made for me , and was thinking of doing the same rig , but i dont understand how the adjustable roller stays in place. are there just two screws going to the eccentrics and the force of the screws keeps them in place?and why use eccentrics when i could just use a flat cylinder with an offset hole? might my definition of eccentric be off? I googled steel eccentric and got pics of "offset pipe" IDK? Any help would be appreciated

Yuri_Rage · Jun 6, 2013

You just answered all of your own questions...

smonteton · Jun 6, 2013

and one other thing what size did you make the diamond pattern?? how many diamonds in an inch? and how tall or deep did you make the cuts?

Yuri_Rage · Jun 6, 2013

"Medium" knurl. About 30 TPI, .010" - .015" deep.

smonteton · Jun 6, 2013

Awesome just what i needed to know . Did you ever try making i three roller? What would be the purpose of the extra roller ? I saw monster mills 3 roller and it looked as if the top 2 rollers were stationary and the bottom was adjustable? Do you think that is the way to go (3 roller)? Either way i appreciate your write up and responding to my Q's!
cheers-

Yuri_Rage · Jun 6, 2013

If I had it to do over again, I'd make a 6 inch wide mill with 3" or even 4" diameter rollers. They would provide a longer "squish," and likely keep the husks more intact, which is the goal of a 3 roller mill.

smonteton · Jun 6, 2013

i was going to do 6 inch wide and 2 inch thick, but the 3" or even 4 " is no problem , and would you have gone with a 3 roller with that large of diameter rollers?

Yuri_Rage · Jun 6, 2013

No. The bigger rollers should negate the need (desire) for a third roller.

smonteton · Jun 7, 2013

alright lest Q's steel or aluminum?

Yuri_Rage · Jun 7, 2013

Steel

smonteton · Jun 7, 2013

Great . I will post pics of mine as i build parts. I will be doing 6" long 3" dia steel 2 rollers.

bionut · Mar 26, 2015

Sorry for reviving this thread. Where can i get some plans for a roller mill to show them to a machinist?

StMarcos · Mar 27, 2015

If you're going to all this trouble, one really should use some variety of tool/high carbon steel or surface treatment. Machine as normal and send off to Peters Heat Treat (or the like). Probably will cost less than $20 for the service. Perhaps they will carburize the surface so you can stick with mild steel and save $$ on the raw materials. A large enough blob of 01 for 3'' rollers is probably a chunk of $$. Maybe 1075 or 1084 would be feasible. I would imagine that larger commercial producers of roller mills use a surface treatment over a solid chunk of tool/carbon steel though.

bionut · Mar 27, 2015

I live in Europe, so this is out of the question. The cost of a mill is bigger than my entire brewery. Corona style grinders are also hard to get, and more expensive that the same thing in the US. Now i use a vintage cast iron Corona style grinder, but the grinding wheels are old and i get a lot of flour from my malt. A roller mill would be a great piece of equipment to own.

DIY grain mill

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