Grain mill plans.

[Orfy]

Has any one got any detailed plans for building a grain mill.

I'm going to go search now but if you have any links or would share you plans that would save me time.

I'm going to get a machine shop to quote me.
It's not viable to ship from the States and I really don't fancy paying over $400!!!!
http://leylandhomebrew.com/item617.htm

 

[fifelee]

I have been pondering this mill.

http://suburb.semo.net/jthornton/Mill.htm

 

[mr x]

I saw some plans for mill made with hardened wooden rolls. I'll root around and see if I can find it for you.

Not the one I'd seen before but looks interesting

http://www.beertools.com/html/articles/mill.shtml
http://www.intothefray.org/brew/grainmill.htm

If you are looking for ideas on motorizing:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42598

 

[ScubaSteve]

I have been pondering this mill.

http://suburb.semo.net/jthornton/Mill.htm

I've seen that one before. Looks pretty sweet, though I'd knurl the rollers.

 

[fifelee]

I've seen that one before. Looks pretty sweet, though I'd knurl the rollers.

The mega mill guy claims that the larger diameter rollers don't need knurling to pull the grain through. It make sense if you think about it. The angle as the grain falls between the rollers is more gradual. I also think a smooth surface would make less dust than a knurled surface. Not sure what less dust would do to efficiency, but I think it would help prevent stuck mashes and create a better filter bed. Somewhere I though I heard that professional brewers use smooth rollers.

 

[Bobby_M]

I brought CAD drawings to 4 local machine shops and they all through out numbers like $400-500 to turn the rollers, mill endplates, and two eccentric bushings. With the pound strength againsts the US POS dollar, I'd say a barley crusher is a steal.

 

[Cheesefood]

Orfy,

You could always come out to a Beerfest here and bring one home! I'm sure most of us would be happy to have it delivered to our house and meet up with you somewhere.

 

[ctkach]

I've often thought about building my own mill but eventually broke down and bought one. One thought I had for the rollers were to use either concrete test cylinders or rock corings. If you have a civil engineering friend who works with either concrete or does geotechnical borings you could ask him for some of the waste cylinders or borings that inevitably get tossed out. Or talk to a materials testing lab... bribe them with a few beers!

The biggest issue I see with this is trying to mount the axles so that they are perfectly aligned down the center of each roller. I think given the hardness of the material it would be difficult to drill so you could always mount the axles through plywood that is then affixed to the rollers via construction adhesive.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Orfy, I have all the tooling to make a grain mill. I don't particularly care to fabricate the entire thing for a price you'd be likely to agree to, but I can make you a set of aluminum rollers for FAR less than the cost of a complete mill. I don't think 5 lbs would be that expensive to ship to the UK. The frame can be built from scrap wood, and the bearings don't need to be complicated - just a set of bronze bushings (I can include a set for about $10 if you don't have access to them).

Let me know if you're interested.

 

[Orfy]

Orfy, I have all the tooling to make a grain mill. I don't particularly care to fabricate the entire thing for a price you'd be likely to agree to, but I can make you a set of aluminum rollers for FAR less than the cost of a complete mill. I don't think 5 lbs would be that expensive to ship to the UK. The frame can be built from scrap wood, and the bearings don't need to be complicated - just a set of bronze bushings (I can include a set for about $10 if you don't have access to them).

Let me know if you're interested.

Yuri that would be fantastic. I can't justify the cost of the new ones over here.

Let me know the costs involved and a weights involved.
Hopefully it'll be in budget.

I can get laser cutting of mild steel up to 12mm done for a very good price for the end plates. If you have dimensions etc. then that would help.

The bearing would be good because they'd fit.

Could I use something like this?

http://rswww.com/cgi-bin/bv/rswww/s...mghielldcefeceeldgondhgf.0&cacheID=uknetscape

 

[jdoiv]

I don't think shipping should be too bad. I bought a steel rear sprocket for my motorcycle from a chap in Manchester a few years ago and the shipping wasn't much. He sent regular post. Now with the weak dollar, I think you would be getting a deal.

 

[Orfy]

Yep but Yuri's work is worth $$$$$$$ and hour.

 

[Orfy]

I also need to figure a good system for adjusting the gap.

 

[bigben]

Post #2

https://www.homebrewtalk.com//showthread.php?t=4015

 

[Cheesefood]

http://www.beertech.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=204&currency=GBP

What's wrong with this? A bit pricey perhaps?

 

[Orfy]

Best part of $300.

Yes too pricey.
I can spend a week in Africa for that. Plus it costs more then my full AG set up.

Thanks for searching though.

 

[ScubaSteve]

A week in Africa? What part?

 

[Orfy]

The Sahara
Egypt
The High Atlas.

 

[Cheesefood]

Best part of $300.

Yes too pricey.
I can spend a week in Africa for that. Plus it costs more then my full AG set up.

Thanks for searching though.

Dude over here says $177+

http://www.irishcraftbrewer.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=8882&sid=53c111629a268e31cdb90557c8195ca0

 

[Orfy]

Its £144 here or ~$288.

We get screwed on taxes!!!!!!!!!!!
It's tax free if shipped out of the EU.
You just get hit for any import tax customs gets you for.
$177 is £88 give or take.

Barley Crusher Grain/Malt Mill £144.99

 

[ScubaSteve]

Orfy- Why don't you just have someone in the States you trust buy it....then ship it to you? It'd probably cost $30 to ship to the UK. That'd be ~$200 total. The maltmill and c&s easily approach that (in the US) and don't even have a hopper or base.

 

[Orfy]

I can't drop $200 at present. (Well I could but I can't justify it)

That's why I'm looking to DIY.

I'm thinking of looking at the viability of purchasing a lathe for work.
But Yuri maybe able to help on that front.


In short, I can't justify the spend on a mill but I could use one.

a milled bag of grain is £28 a unmilled bag is £20 from the LBHS or £10-15 from a brewery if I can get it So lets say on average £13 saving per sack.

That's ~ 5 brews or a saving of £2.60 per brew.
That means It'll take 2 years to get the £££ back.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Orfy - how about $50 + shipping for a set of 8" knurled aluminum rollers (2" dia.)? If you want another size, just let me know. They'll come with 1/2" dia. steel axles installed. Total shipping weight will be 5-7 lbs.

The bearing you showed will work just fine, but it's probably easier to use a flanged bearing with mounting holes drilled in the flange.

Here's the catch - I'll be out of town until roughly the 20th of Nov. I won't be able to machine your parts until after that.

 

[Orfy]

Yuri you're a

I'll PM you.

really no rush.
After new year will be fine.
I Have 75kg of premilled at present.

I need to figure the rest of the construction out.