Earthbound's Grain Mill

[EarthBound]

So, once again, I copied some dude's design.

I haven't seen anyone on here build this kind of grain mill, and I don't understand why. The same could be said about my conical stand.

The reason I like this is because the mill fits in the bucket for easy storage. I just use a 1/2" Dewalt (850 max RPM) drill AND a router speed control. With the speed control, you can adjust the mill to the perfect speed (200 rpm). All I bought from crank's was the bare bones - model 2S. I decided that a motor is not required because I already had the drill, and the router speed control was a cheap and easy way to control the drill's speed. People usually go through a lot of hassle with mounting the mill to a table/bench along with a motor/pulley.

I used epoxy between the hopper and the housing because that's the weakest point in the entire design. I used a jigsaw for the circle and a table saw for the rest. I think the dude I copied the design from made this project a little too complicated, so just make it easy on yourself by not getting too anal.

Mine was quick, easy, affordable (of course, cuz it was DIY), and just as good as anyone else's, IMO. More importantly - it was fun. DIY is always fun, and it's almost always the path I choose. I prefer to work with metal, but sometimes it's got to be wood... like a grain mill or a keezer. Guess what my next thread's gonna be...

Here's some pics:

 

[camiller]

Well done. I think why you don't see too many like this is because a lot of guys building a milling station want a hopper big enough for an entire grainbill for a high gravity beer to fit and they want to let it run while they get out the rest of their brewday gear. That said I have seen a few similar setup and even the commercial barley crusher with the 15# hopper is similar.

 

[Sizz]

I had a similar setup but got tired of using the cordless drill. It would get stuck at slow speeds and had trouble with wheat and a small gap. The chuck would also slip sometimes. Got a used gearmotor with a starting capacitor and it chews through anything with a flick of a switch.

 

[Dog House Brew]

We saw the same Dude's set-up.
I made my hopper larger to fit on a trash can, but same one. My hopper holds about 22# of grain.

 

[fc36]

So affordable, ehhh? What might I ask was the final cost breakdown for the whole project? Again, this is a much better alternative than the corona mill, but I'd like to see some pricing before I decide to fork over some cash for a crankandstein mill guts system. The corona is nice, but it is clearly for those on a budget.

 

[EarthBound]

Well done. I think why you don't see too many like this is because a lot of guys building a milling station want a hopper big enough for an entire grainbill for a high gravity beer to fit and they want to let it run while they get out the rest of their brewday gear. That said I have seen a few similar setup and even the commercial barley crusher with the 15# hopper is similar.

Thanks! I kinda figured that was why no one builds this design. Like I said, I like this design better because of storage, but there is, of course, that hopper constraint. I don’t mind scooping in some grain a few times during the milling process. I have a brewstand, so there’s really not much time required to get out brewday gear. The time it takes to mill some grain is negligible anyway…

I had a similar setup but got tired of using the cordless drill. It would get stuck at slow speeds and had trouble with wheat and a small gap. The chuck would also slip sometimes. Got a used gearmotor with a starting capacitor and it chews through anything with a flick of a switch.

Got pics?

My drill has never gotten stuck cuz it’s got hella torque. The chuck has never slipped, either. It only costed $40, and I use it for many other applications… unlike a gearmotor that is customized for this single application. I use a router speed controller to control the RPMs of the drill, so I get it down to about 200 RPM. Of course, it needs to run faster for more dense grain like wheat. The gearmotor also defeats the whole point of choosing this design: storage capability. The thing fits in the bucket that the milled grain goes into.

We saw the same Dude's set-up.
I made my hopper larger to fit on a trash can, but same one. My hopper holds about 22# of grain.

Got pics?

So affordable, ehhh? What might I ask was the final cost breakdown for the whole project? Again, this is a much better alternative than the corona mill, but I'd like to see some pricing before I decide to fork over some cash for a crankandstein mill guts system. The corona is nice, but it is clearly for those on a budget.

Yes, it was so affordable, Francis. I bought Crankandstein’s cheapest, most basic mill: Model 2S. I got it on sale for $58 plus shipping. I built the hopper/base out of cheap plywood ($10) instead of buying their hopper/base ($35), so I saved $25 plus shipping right there. I already had the drill and the router speed controller. The hardware and bumper feet amounted to maybe $5 or so.


The whole point of this project was that it was DIY. I enjoy building stuff, watching it fail, troubleshooting the problems, fixing the problems, and then finally watching the thing work.

 

[RedHouse]

Yes, it was so affordable, Francis. I bought Crankandstein’s cheapest, most basic mill: Model 2S. I got it on sale for $58 plus shipping.

Did you buy it directly from CranknStein at $58?

 

[fc36]

Yes, it was so affordable, Francis. I bought Crankandstein’s cheapest, most basic mill: Model 2S. I got it on sale for $58 plus shipping. I built the hopper/base out of cheap plywood ($10) instead of buying their hopper/base ($35), so I saved $25 plus shipping right there. I already had the drill and the router speed controller. The hardware and bumper feet amounted to maybe $5 or so.

Wait, that sounds great, but how exactly did you know my real name is Francis? Anyways, obviously most people call me Frank, except for of course past teachers and my mother and SWMBO when they're angry with me.

 

[snccoulter]

Look at your profile.

 

[fc36]

Look at your profile.

Never really thought of that, but ya most people know me as Frank Costanzo and yes I have seen Seinfeld! Also, unfortunately Crankandstein.net seems to have raised their prices. Their base 2S mill is now $76, so I see no reason why not to step up and buy the 3E at $145 and have an awesome two-crush mill to really put the Valley Mill and Maltmill to shame.

 

[EarthBound]

Also, unfortunately Crankandstein.net seems to have raised their prices.

Nope, they didn't. I got it on sale. It was about a year ago, and the normal price was the same as it is now...

If you have such an awesome two-crush mill, then why did you want "to see some pricing before you decide to fork over some cash for a crankandstein mill guts system?"

 

[fc36]

If you have such an awesome two-crush mill, then why did you want "to see some pricing before you decide to fork over some cash for a crankandstein mill guts system?"

No I don't have one yet. I'd been hearing some good things from friends in my brewclub about the crankandstein and I was wondering what the pricing was like. Now seeing how easy it is to build on top of one and seeing the price for such an awesome mill, I'm highly interested in getting myself a 3E and rolling with it (no pun intended).

 

[EarthBound]

I apologize. I misinterpreted what you said before.

 

[fc36]

I apologize. I misinterpreted what you said before.

No worries. I'm just excited to get me a 3E and start building a milling rig like yours.

 

[Apoxbrew]

crazy old thread i know... but curious what a router speed control is and how it's rigged up to this type of mill?

 

[camiller]

crazy old thread i know... but curious what a router speed control is and how it's rigged up to this type of mill?

http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

Plug router(woodworking tool) into it to control the speed. In this case he is plugging the drill into it. The controller then plugs into the wall.

 

[EarthBound]

http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

Plug router(woodworking tool) into it to control the speed. In this case he is plugging the drill into it. The controller then plugs into the wall.

Yep, it works very well for precise control of RPM.

Make sure to use a drill that has a lower maximum RPM (like 850 RPM) because it will have the torque required to start the milling.