DIY Grain Mill. I was excited until....

[Reno_Raines]

I love Revvy's comment on the first page about "armchair quarterbacks" and "shooting people's ideas down". This is so true. There are people spouting bull all over the internet in all different kinds of forums. It is amazing to me how so many people can be so wrong about things. As an example, I am working through the immigration process with my wife and it is not easy so I read and post on forums hoping for some answers and get completely incorrect advice from about 20% of the people who respond. It is even worse if you bring it up in conversation with people at the office, or people in the bar, or anywhere else. People with absolutely no experience always want to chime in and sound important or hear themselves talk. Don't get me started with automotive repair, the people who talk the most know the least.

Sorry for the long post, I didn't even read the whole thread just the first page. I have gotten lots of good info from forums, especially this one, you just need to check the source. Good luck with the rollers.

 

[Bobby_M]

Um, nice first post?

 

[dale1038]

Um, nice first post?

No doubt! Awesome!

 

[mmb]

Immigration can be a pain with those mail order brides.

Welcome aboard.

 

[Suicided1954]

haven't milled anything with it. I just slapped it together to see if it wears out. Maybe I'll get to using it soon. I wont be brewing until the 27th so I won't have anything to add until then.

 

[Suicided1954]

I know the rollers aren't even... the stupid screws pulled it out of whack. My original design had gap adjustability... I wasnt going to put the effort into it unless it proves fruitful.

 

[Suicided1954]

i'm gonna make a cardboard and duct tape hopper to go with this fine piece of machinery also

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

There are people spouting bull all over the internet in all different kinds of forums. It is amazing to me how so many people can be so wrong about things. As an example, I am working through the immigration process with my wife and it is not easy so I read and post on forums hoping for some answers and get completely incorrect advice from about 20% of the people who respond. It is even worse if you bring it up in conversation with people at the office, or people in the bar, or anywhere else. People with absolutely no experience always want to chime in and sound important or hear themselves talk. Don't get me started with automotive repair, the people who talk the most know the least.

+1 on that. It is still amazing to me how confidently the ignorant can speak. I hate it when people show up at my office with Internet printouts that they seem to believe just gave them instant expertise.

On the flip side, on behalf of those of us whose idea of fine machining is a bastard cut mill file, kudos on the mill. I hope it works well.

 

[Reno_Raines]

Immigration can be a pain with those mail order brides.

Welcome aboard.

Now I know... should've read the small print. They don't come with a green card.

 

[crawford]

lol sweet. I've worked for a design engineer for a machinery company an we sell our machines all over the world. in the next two weeks i'll use the same software that Catepillar, John Deere and Boeing uses to build an attachment that will form part of a tunnel for an undergroud high speed train for a company in Germany, that will be flown from the US in the worlds largest cargo planes built in russia, to build a tunnel that will link France with even more people that think their surrender monkey wussies.

Anyway, i love the ideas, i respect the guys in their home shops trying to do what people say cant be done. And love the innovation and inventiveness, I can't always get over the cost effectivness of some designs but really, I think it's great when some guys just go for it and say to hell with it I'll try anyway. It's a great part of this hobby. Good luck to ya.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I think the mill idea is a good one. ...and being that I have recently discovered a local Harbor Freight, and being that I have been toying with the idea of building one of my own, I'm really curious to see how this turns out.

Let's assume you only get 10 batches out of it before it becomes worn, you can always spend another $24 and replace your rollers. For me, that's works out to once or twice a year. Or an additional $2.40 to the bottom line of each batch. Five gallon batches already set you back what, $30 in grain and hops? Another $7-$8 for yeast if you're not harvesting. What's another $2.40 a batch? And you built it yourself? That's what's important to me personally. With the exception of buying my grain, I won't be completely satisfied with this hobby until I'm doing everything out of my backyard and my garage...

 

[Bobby_M]

You're actually trying to justify adding $2.40 per batch in "mill wear"? You might as well order crushed malt on a per batch basis at that point. It negates the utility and cost savings of bulk buys and crush as you go. Actually, it would be better to use a cheap corona mill instead.

Just a question to the cheerleaders of the world, when IS it OK to play devil's advocate and state a negative opinion of something?

 

[Catt22]

You're actually trying to justify adding $2.40 per batch in "mill wear"? You might as well order crushed malt on a per batch basis at that point. It negates the utility and cost savings of bulk buys and crush as you go. Actually, it would be better to use a cheap corona mill instead.

Just a question to the cheerleaders of the world, when IS it OK to play devil's advocate and state a negative opinion of something?

What? You don't understand the benefits of building a half ass DIY grain mill while investing more than the price of an off the shelf mill plus time and effort? What's the matter with you?

 

[Suicided1954]

If it was about money I would buy beer...

 

[olllllo]

I'm just reading this thread now and I can say that I don't remember anyone saying that it would NOT work, or at the very least no one said it with any memorable persuasiveness.

Saying that a design has problems or concerns is NOT saying it won't work.

The cheerleader thing... Why does the argument, "You should build it because others said it wouldn't work and there are naysayers here." rise to some sort of unassailable fact, when it is still an opinion? It will work because the design is based on forum spite? Shouldn't the design, I dunno, stand on it's own?

What does the accuracy of other forums have to do with arguments here?

All we have here is our damned opinions, our forum track record of integrity, our previously discussed experiences. We are encouraged to post thoughts for discussion so that the best answers can rise to the top. The OP may decide one way, a future reader may decide another.

One thing I do not see often enough with these DIY trial ballons is a complete post build report AND a report as to the durability 6 months, 1 year, ect down the road. Because that SEEMS to be the chief concern among those offering constructive criticism.


The only ignorant claim I see here is anyone claiming that a person's opinion is ignorant, given that everyone has provided the reasons for why they would or wouldn't build it this way.

 

[olllllo]

I was assured in that thread that the rollers i have wouldn't work, that i needed industrial conveyor rollers.... by someone who hadn't ever seen anything more than the pictures of the rollers i'd posted. He didn't know their intended use, or construction... just knew that i wouldn't be successful.

He was wrong. My grain mill works fine. Took some tinkering, some adjusting, etc, etc, but it works I milled grain and got just over 70% efficiency on my first brew using it. Personally, i value ingenuity... be it my own or someone else's. Life would suck if everyone's creativity was restrained by their critics.

Good luck, let us know how well your grain mill does work, because it will.

Dude, I read that thread. It was one guy. He stated that he thought it wouldn't work and told you why. He assumed the rollers were lighter duty, but the discussions cleared that up a bit. He tipped you off about knurling the rollers too.

You then made the adjustments people suggested about knurling (as best as you could) and you made clearer, the materials you were using.

Where would you be now without any of that "naysayer" help.

Your mill is what? 1 month old? Again, most people had concerns about the durability of the rollers and the quality of the knurl. Those concerns, IMO remain.

 

[COLObrewer]

MAN! This is a soap opera for men, I can hardly wait to see if the mill works and who pats who on the back. Chapter two will be nice, will the mill suffer a catastrophic failure? Will it blow chunks just fine? What will the OP drive it with? I hope there are more "insights" before the 27th, what will I do with my time if I have to wait that long? . . . . brew a beer maybe? With my old hand me down corona type 40 year old feed grinder. I don't know anyone luckier than me, do you?

 

[Suicided1954]

One thing I do not see often enough with these DIY trial ballons is a complete post build report AND a report as to the durability 6 months, 1 year, ect down the road. Because that SEEMS to be the chief concern among those offering constructive criticism.

This is my intention at this point. I had already purchased the stuff and discovered the opinions that it would wear out rapidly and contaminate my mash. No one had gone through the motions to verify this opinion.

I can think of a few ways to test the wear and that's a digital micrometer, weight of the whole thing and the less accurate visual.

I really am not on the sides of the cheerleaders or the naysayers. I am just one of those people with no time to spare but I come up with all these little projects to consume more of my time.

 

[olllllo]

This is my intention at this point. I had already purchased the stuff and discovered the opinions that it would wear out rapidly and contaminate my mash. No one had gone through the motions to verify this opinion.

I can think of a few ways to test the wear and that's a digital micrometer, weight of the whole thing and the less accurate visual.

I really am not on the sides of the cheerleaders or the naysayers. I am just one of those people with no time to spare but I come up with all these little projects to consume more of my time.

Yes. I should have bracketed my comments. I agree with what you just stated. As you can see, though, there is a history about this kind of stuff.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

One thing I do not see often enough with these DIY trial ballons is a complete post build report AND a report as to the durability 6 months, 1 year, ect down the road. Because that SEEMS to be the chief concern among those offering constructive criticism.

I have to agree 100% with that concern. A difficult thing to mod, but it would be cool if such threads that do not conclude with good data one year down the line from the person conducting the experiment could be flagged, closed or stapled to a fast moving train with a mod warning or any other such tool. There is nothing worse than a 2 or 3 year old experiment becoming a zombie thread with no reliable data to kill the aforementioned zombie.

 

[DharkMeadBrewer]

Automotive store for battery refresh kit, at least that is what I used.

you can also get sulfuric acid in the plumbing supply of practically any store, I know my local kmart carries it.

 

[AnOldUR]

If it was about money I would buy beer...

It was jiggs_casey who was trying to justify this build with money. The others are just calling him out on it.

There is nothing wrong with you doing this project. You already have the rollers. I just hate to see someone go out and buy these specifically for the purpose of making a grain mill when steel rollers can be used for a small amount more. DIY isn’t always about saving money, but it is about craftsmanship.

And love the innovation and inventiveness.

The point is that there’s nothing inventive or innovative about this. It’s taking a well established product that’s already been thoroughly tested over many years and making it from an inferior material. I run a machine shop. I can assure you that it would be cheaper for the manufacturers of mills to use aluminum. There’s a reason that all grain mills are made with steel rollers.

I encourage the OP to go ahead, complete his mill and report back with the long term results. But he shouldn't overshadow reality. Anyone else looking to do a DIY grain mill should think twice before choosing these rollers and should be aware of the options. Don’t compromise when it’s not necessary. You could probably barter beer and get a shop or local guy with a lathe to make you rollers out of steel.

Best of luck!

(Sorry, couldn't help myself. Back to lurking.)

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm glad AnoldUR got to get as frazzled about a thread as I did in the pizzaman DIY soda bottle keg system and the recurring true cost of homebrewing threads. It's refreshing really.