GoeHaarden
The best advice is unsolicited
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2017
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I would not run a mill with that drill. It runs at 2800 rpm (!), way too fast, and by the time you slow it down to 150rpm, there's no torque left.
I would not run a mill with that drill. It runs at 2800 rpm (!), way too fast, and by the time you slow it down to 150rpm, there's no torque left.
The following model runs at 600 rpm, and is more similar in specs to the older Low Speed Heavy Duty model drill I've been using for over 8 years.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-low-speed-spade-handle-drillmixer-56179.html
Haha. Yes, indeed. Those were the specs I was reading, too many pages open I suppose.
That's crazy. Sorry you're having issues with it. I don't think there is anything wrong with the mill, it's just straight from Mad Max and it runs on anger. Jokes aside, it was a little worrisome the first few times I ran it as those gears sound a little scary when they run.
I use a Dewalt DW235G that I've had boxed up for a few years and it pulls 7.8amps. Right now I try to throttle it manually, but I can tell when it starts to get bogged down and I need to bump the trigger a little. I try to run it on the lower side, but no way to know for sure at the moment (drill max rpm is 865). I need to get a router speed controller, but it mills so fast that doing it manually hasn't been an issue yet.
Honestly, I've thought about widening the gap a little and running it twice. I could probably mill my batch twice faster than most other mills can get through once. It takes under 90 seconds to get through.
I didn't even try to use any of my cordless drills with it. I should test my 20V cordless Dewalt to see if it'll even budge it.
Think I'll give the drill some thought. There is a HF couple miles from me and I bought that drill to use for mixing thinset for a big tile job in our bathroom. It was strange but it would loose variable speed control and only run on high when it was warmed up. I exchanged it and the second one did the same thing. Guess I could try one again - they actually have a great return policy.
When the 3GT would run on my gear motor it would really gulp the grain even at 160 rpm. Reminds me of a positive displacement pump - what you feed it must go through since all rollers are geared together. Other pumps have leakage so they don't get overloaded - like my old Barley Crusher.
That old gear motor I have is only rated at about 3.4 amps and 4.9 ft-lbs (my 18v makita drill is 42 ft-lbs).
Oh well, I can put this back on my BC and sell it as a motorized mill now.
Did you try the Makita on it?
Did you try the Makita on it?
SUCCESS!!!
Put my Makita cordless on it and it will run 0.025" even with the hopper filled from a dead stop! But, @GoeHaarden is correct the mill-drill-base are starting to hop around badly.
So glad - thanks for all the help. My setup will be much simpler now with a removable drill.
Thanks
Mike
I love this new mill!
Plus, if I were to use 0.025" gap with this mill all the time it would need a stronger base than plywood
Still like mine and can highly recommend it. I haven’t had any issues with it. Time will tell how long the knurls on the rollers will last, but the geared rollers should alleviate any knurl wearing issues@GoeHaarden and others in this thread who have the 3GT......do you still like it? Any issues or regrets?
Pretty sure I'm going to order one but just checking in.
Thanks!
I still love mine. No regrets here. Finally broke down and got an Ale Works motor for it last year and the whole setup is great.@GoeHaarden and others in this thread who have the 3GT......do you still like it? Any issues or regrets?
Pretty sure I'm going to order one but just checking in.
Thanks!
Still like mine and can highly recommend it. I haven’t had any issues with it. Time will tell how long the knurls on the rollers will last, but the geared rollers should alleviate any knurl wearing issues
I still love mine. No regrets here. Finally broke down and got an Ale Works motor for it last year and the whole setup is great.
How is the hopper attached to the board on top of the mill?Not a 3GT, but I made sides and a hopper for my 3D.
View attachment 739487
The hopper is 3/8" hardwood plywood and 1/8" acrylic. It holds about 6-1/2# of grain, so I have to stop and refill. I usually use an aux handle (not shown) to avoid tweaking my wrist when milling, it takes some serious torque to run this mill when the gap is set tight.
View attachment 739488
The sides are more 1/8" acrylic. If the sides extended into the cutout, that dust wouldn't be there. But that was all that escapes after a typical 5 gal grain bill, so I'll probably leave it as is.
The circular base has a rabbet on both sides, one to center onto my MLT, and the other to center on a bucket for inverted storage.
Hopper is glued and screwed to the triangular pieces, and triangular pieces are glued and screwed to the hopper's base.How is the hopper attached to the board on top of the mill?
Thank you.Hopper is glued and screwed to the triangular pieces, and triangular pieces are glued and screwed to the hopper's base.
There's a lot of bonding surface, so the screws could probably be omitted if well glued.
Sorry to be so late with this. My remembery isn't so good anymore.Thank you.
Would it be possible to get sketch of the hopper with the dimensions?
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