My Grain Crusher WIP

[Homercidal]

So, I've been building this thing for a while now, but with the weather warming up, I decided to get some bulk grain and finally kick it in the butt and get it done. Used it for the first time two weekends ago and it performed well, but with a couple of mods still planned.

The gap is adjusted by rotating the eccentrics, which moves the idle roller back and forth a small amount.

The grain was not being grabbed well, and even though we tried adding an O-ring to the idler roller, the grain dust instantly made it start slipping again. Perhaps a larger O-ring would have worked better, but I really didn't want an O-ring between the rollers anyway.

Gears would have been nice, but the price of the gears I could find were much more than I wanted to pay for a "free" project. I decided to try and do the friction gear method, but outside of where the grain was being crushed. Hopefully this will do the trick and prevent the roller from being eaten up, or slipping.

My corded drill was not quite up to the task, but even a hand crank was not very hard and didn't take too much time. I may look into adding a reduction gear on any future models, so that a drill would be a more viable option. Or I can maybe get around to rebuilding that 1/2" drill I have had sitting around that needs to be fixed.

It also has a butt ugly hopper that holds a bit more than 2 lbs., but I didn't want to post pics of that.

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

Wow ! A computer controlled Mill !!!!!! Is the server required ?

 

[xxdcmast]

I dont know that mill cant be that good. The server it is sitting on appears to be a few years old. You should really think about virtualizing your mill.

 

[Bean]

I want one !!

 

[Homercidal]

Yeah, they are hand-me-down servers. One is designated as an emergency backup to our current server, and the other one is in consideration for serving a particular software, but so far has shown problems that make me not want to use it. And it's too loud for home use...

One design problem I am still working on with the mill is that when I add the friction gears, it will cover the gap adjustment, so any future adjustments will require removing the drive gear. I'm thinking that the whole adjustment thing needs to be re-worked anyway. It was fine to start, but they are hard to turn with the two little holes (I didn't build a tool to go with them) once the grain dust gets pushed into there. Not a deal-breaker, but not as handy as I hoped.

 

[the_Roqk]

Nice mill! Sorta looks like my design (check my gallery pics). I built mine about 2 1/2 yrs ago. I like your gap from the rollers and frame. Nice and tight! This will definitely keep the grain from falling around the rollers. I need to remodify my mill at this time. I'm not getting a bad crush but sometimes it will bind up and not turn the "dead roller" causing the the mill to bind and STOP. I use a 1/8" vacuum belt on both ends to help drive the dead roller. Still have problems with grain getting between the belts and dead roller causing the bind to happen.

My mill:

 

[Homercidal]

Well, I made friction rollers for the mill and forgot to add texture to the idle side. So I went to redo that and couldn't find the knurling tool for the small lathe I had been using. plus, the lathe was being used, so I grabbed a larger knurling tool and got help using the large lathe. well, the knurling was so much deeper that I decided to re-knurl my crusher rollers.

WOW! I got a heavier knurling and ended up not needing the friction drive anyway! Only problem now is to mount somewhere solid. It turns a bit hard when crushing some kinds of malt. I was thinking about putting it between to 6x6 posts in my garage. Just stick a bucket under it and crank away.

the_rogk, I like your design for the eccentrics better. Mine is a pain to use to adjust, so I might copy your design for a friend's mill that I'm making (or give him my old one!)

Now to build that crank handle and fix that 1/2" drill. My old 3/8" drill is not up to the task.