What does shredded husks look like?

[mattd2]

So I am setting up my DIY malt mill and have run a bit throught it now (have a bit of trouble getting it started - need to give the lay roller shaft a turn to get it going but once running it seems ok).
"Everyone" says you want to avoid shredding the husk and just crush the grain, I think it looks ok but the husks are kind of busted apart. Probably into 4 pieces for each husk with jagged bits where they used to join together. My mill gap is set at 0.039" at the moment, might open it up a bit if you guys recommend - got that gap from Monster or CnS, but i also saw schimlder (sp?) used 0.045".
I have a photo but will take some time to get it up on here, sorry.
Does this sound like a normal crush or am I shredding my husks.

Sorry for such a noobish thread but want to get this right

 

[heferly]

Have to see the pics, but if you want finer crushes, you can try conditioning (wetting) your grain

 

[mattd2]

This is the best photo I have of it at the mo as a lightbulb is out in the garage, I'll try again in the morning.

 

[mattd2]

Ok better photo now.
I have tried to search but can't find any photos of shredded grain.
Cheers

 

[shecky]

Looks a bit like overkill. Not terrible but that's a lot of grain dust. Might want to tune it down a smidgen.

 

[mattd2]

Looks a bit like overkill. Not terrible but that's a lot of grain dust. Might want to tune it down a smidgen.

Thanks, is the issue with dust being stuck sparges? I might open it up to between 39 & 45 mil, so I'll go for 0.042" and see.
Now I might need to change my red ale recipe to include some malt ground by me.
Cheers

 

[mattd2]

So just been doing a bit of reading on malt conditioning. So my plan forward is to condition my malt (and hopefully this will also help draw it into the mill more when starting the crush) and opened the gap up a bit. Will try and post some photos of the new crush when I do it. Cheers guys

 

[shafferpilot]

that pic looks flawless. Flour is NOT an issue! Breaking up the inside of the kernels without completely demolishing the husk is the goal. I see plenty of husks in tact which will form a wonderful filter bed. The amount of flour vs chunks is completely irrelevant.

In fact, search through the sample and look for any unbroken kernels... if there are any, tighten it up a bit.

 

[mattd2]

that pic looks flawless. Flour is NOT an issue! Breaking up the inside of the kernels without completely demolishing the husk is the goal. I see plenty of husks in tact which will form a wonderful filter bed. The amount of flour vs chunks is completely irrelevant.

In fact, search through the sample and look for any unbroken kernels... if there are any, tighten it up a bit.

Thanks Shaffer, my other (probably bigger) issue is getting the second roller to start spinning, hopefully conditioning will help with getting the grain being drawn into the mill.