Fairbanks Morse & Co Mill...is it useful?

[nhansen]

Was at an auction instead of brewing like I should have been yesterday. An old, cast iron mill came up. It looked useful to me and it looked visually interesting to the wife so we walked away with it for $70.

It looks a lot like this:

only the second flywheel was removed and replaced with a belt pulley. Also, the base plate has been removed and holes were drilled in the legs. Looks like someone modd'ed this to hook up to a motor and sit on a much bigger hopper.

My research so far indicates that this was probably a coffee mill except the mill body is less of a bulbish shape than most of the Fairbanks Morse &Co coffee mill photos I've found online. The mill body is spherical on the flywheel side but the other side is like a two-tier wedding cake laying on its side. I forgot to upload my pictures from my camera but will post pictures if there is any interest.

The auctioneer described it as "Antique Grain Mill" but I haven't found any research that indicates FM&Co made grain mills other than attachments to their various engines. Then again, FM&Co look to be pretty far-reaching in their equipment catalog. The patent notice, "Coles Pat Dec 27 87" matches what is stamped into various coffee mill images I have found online.

So, the big question, can this be used as a grain mill? I didn't have any whole grain laying around last night but ran some mixed bird seed through just to get an idea. Millet went through pretty much untouched. Corn looked to get broken into slightly-bigger-than-millet sized chunks. Sunflower seeds were cracked and hulled. I'm new to AG (heck, home brewing in general) so am not a good judge as to what properly milled grain should look like.

I have no idea if I can get inside the mill body because all of the standard blade heads are in various states of being stripped. I've never done cast iron restoration but am generally handy with tools. Has anyone else had experiences with an FM&Co mill? Is it nuts to try to turn this in to my grain mill?

At the very worst, it's a nice decorative piece and I'm learning a heck of a lot about a slice of history I had no clue about earlier.

 

[onthekeg]

I am pretty sure its a burr mill for coffee. I am not sure how to adjust the burr's but it would be very similar to a Corona mill if you can figure that out.

 

[nbolmer]

Was at an auction instead of brewing like I should have been yesterday. An old, cast iron mill came up. It looked useful to me and it looked visually interesting to the wife so we walked away with it for $70.

It looks a lot like this:

only the second flywheel was removed and replaced with a belt pulley. Also, the base plate has been removed and holes were drilled in the legs. Looks like someone modd'ed this to hook up to a motor and sit on a much bigger hopper.

My research so far indicates that this was probably a coffee mill except the mill body is less of a bulbish shape than most of the Fairbanks Morse &Co coffee mill photos I've found online. The mill body is spherical on the flywheel side but the other side is like a two-tier wedding cake laying on its side. I forgot to upload my pictures from my camera but will post pictures if there is any interest.

The auctioneer described it as "Antique Grain Mill" but I haven't found any research that indicates FM&Co made grain mills other than attachments to their various engines. Then again, FM&Co look to be pretty far-reaching in their equipment catalog. The patent notice, "Coles Pat Dec 27 87" matches what is stamped into various coffee mill images I have found online.

So, the big question, can this be used as a grain mill? I didn't have any whole grain laying around last night but ran some mixed bird seed through just to get an idea. Millet went through pretty much untouched. Corn looked to get broken into slightly-bigger-than-millet sized chunks. Sunflower seeds were cracked and hulled. I'm new to AG (heck, home brewing in general) so am not a good judge as to what properly milled grain should look like.

I have no idea if I can get inside the mill body because all of the standard blade heads are in various states of being stripped. I've never done cast iron restoration but am generally handy with tools. Has anyone else had experiences with an FM&Co mill? Is it nuts to try to turn this in to my grain mill?

At the very worst, it's a nice decorative piece and I'm learning a heck of a lot about a slice of history I had no clue about earlier.

Never seen this sort of antique burr mill used in brewing. The only way to get your answer is to head to your LHS and buy a few handfulls of barley and have it. If you're new to homebrewing, snap a picture of the cracked grain, and post it

 

[pjj2ba]

I suspect a burr mill might be a bit rough on the husks which can cause sparge problems. I suspect if you played around with the settings AND condition your malt with a little water to make the husks less fragile, you could get satisfactory results

 

[nhansen]

Stupid life keeps getting in the way of experimenting with this but I plan on picking up a pound of 2 row and running it through just for fun. Chances are this won't happen until Thursday though I'll snap pictures if it seems even close.

All of my AG will be BIAB for the foreseeable future so I don't know that sparge issues will be much of a concern to me (at least) (yet). My primary concern is that the burrs are worn and/or I cannot make an adjustment to get my grist fine enough to be useful.

Thanks for the replies so far. It would make for a *sweet* mill if it works and it sounds like it is a possibility.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Yep, Its a coffee mill.

There was one on American Restoration a while back

2 list on fleabay one sold for $133 other for $425. Both restored so I would say you got a good deal if it all is there and works

 

[nhansen]

Finally ran a pound of Maris through the mill and side-by-side compared with the LHBS crush. Mill is slightly finer and the husks were shredded. On the other hand it looked close enough to try.

Milled 13 pounds of grain by hand in about 15 minutes yesterday. My efficiency was as good as the LHBS crush. I don't think I'd do anything but BIAB with grain from this mill (or use a metric butt-ton of rice husks). On the other hand I do BIAB so it's all good