I just put the mill together this morning, standard MM2 with 1.5" rollers and 3/8" shaft. Assembly went perfectly fine and I set the gap to the same gap width I've been using for 3 years on my Barley Crusher 0.030". Made sure both rollers turned completely smoothly so that the roller alignment was correct. Connected the Black & Decker drill I've used with my BC for the past 3 years, filled the hopper halfway with some spare grains, pull the trigger and nothing, locked up. The torque had me really holding onto the whole thing too so it didn't flip over. Tried a few things - nothing. Then the drill clutch slipped and span around the axle. Wonderful, now there's some minor stripping on the shaft, though still perfectly usable as I stopped the drill quickly. Emptied out the hopper until there was only about an inch high of grain, spun the roller in reverse fine, then tried again and locked up. Dump all the grain, started the drill and had the wife very slowly pour grain in while the drill was already running. This worked and I crushed all the spare grain. Then I looked into the hopper and see the gap had widened noticeably. Tested with my feeler gauge and sure enough plenty of space around it. So it appears the thumbscrews, which I'd tightened as much as possible by hand, slipped and allowed the roller gap to widen. This common?
So, my questions are as follows:
1. Do I absolutely need a high torque low speed drill for this mill?
2. I'm worried that a higher torque would mean I wouldn't be able to keep the mill anchored on top of the bucket. Even when trying my black & decker it really reared up at one point. Possibly though that's simply because the mill was locked up with grain?
3. Does anyone else have trouble with the thumbscrews slipping and is there a fix or is it ok to use pliers to tighten them further or do they stand a chance of snapping?
Lastly, some general observations.
1. I truly wish these companies would brush off all the tiny metal flakes from machining. My rollers had a crap load of metal debris. I brushed it off outside with a faucet cleaning brush and also ran grain through. Just would be nice if they were already clean.
2. I also wish there was a better weight distribution for these mills for use on a bucket. The BC was always at risk for tipping but the Monster Mill is at even higher risk of tipping. It's a larger/heavier mill and with a drill hanging off all the weight is on one side. I thought about mounting it so the drill was on the other side but when I tested the drill had to reach in further so it looked like the trigger would be close to the wood and uncomfortable to use.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Rev.
So, my questions are as follows:
1. Do I absolutely need a high torque low speed drill for this mill?
2. I'm worried that a higher torque would mean I wouldn't be able to keep the mill anchored on top of the bucket. Even when trying my black & decker it really reared up at one point. Possibly though that's simply because the mill was locked up with grain?
3. Does anyone else have trouble with the thumbscrews slipping and is there a fix or is it ok to use pliers to tighten them further or do they stand a chance of snapping?
Lastly, some general observations.
1. I truly wish these companies would brush off all the tiny metal flakes from machining. My rollers had a crap load of metal debris. I brushed it off outside with a faucet cleaning brush and also ran grain through. Just would be nice if they were already clean.
2. I also wish there was a better weight distribution for these mills for use on a bucket. The BC was always at risk for tipping but the Monster Mill is at even higher risk of tipping. It's a larger/heavier mill and with a drill hanging off all the weight is on one side. I thought about mounting it so the drill was on the other side but when I tested the drill had to reach in further so it looked like the trigger would be close to the wood and uncomfortable to use.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Rev.