# Show me your Mini Mill setup



## Bribie G (4/10/17)

Rather than clutter the bulk buy thread, I'd love to see members' solutions to mounting their Mill Master mini mill - bench, cabinet, disguised as a 1950s Jukebox whatever. Keen to get some ideas about dimensions, materials and tools.


----------



## good4whatAlesU (4/10/17)

WEAL was extremely kind to donate a used mill to me recently.

My slightly Ghetto (okay very ghetto) solution .. is to mount it on a plastic chopping board from Kmart ($5) - with a suitably sized rectangular hole cut into the middle of it.


----------



## RdeVjun (4/10/17)

I think Tidal Pete has a few pics of mine, feel free Pete!


----------



## Stouter (4/10/17)

I like the chopping board ideas. I'll go with bamboo on that, and make it to sit on a round plastic bucket, as is my preferred catchment method.
A fixed motor would nice but I still can't separate myself from a crank handle for the "feel" of the crush. Got the cordless drill onto the old mill this week, and that has a bit of responsive give when I'm holding it. Even if I held onto a fixed motor, it wouldn't have the same "vibe". It's all about the "vibe".


----------



## Bribie G (4/10/17)

RdeVjun said:


> I think Tidal Pete has a few pics of mine, feel free Pete!


I didn't see it when I was at your place last, too busy getting ploughed on the verandah.


----------



## Tony121 (4/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> too busy getting ploughed on the verandah.



Sorry but that just doesn't sound right....,


----------



## RdeVjun (4/10/17)

Ah Ye Olde double entendre! Sadly no mischief on the verandah and all perfectly legit, my neighbour left slightly cross-eyed though and the dusty sensation the next morning was quite something to behold.


----------



## warra48 (4/10/17)

I've stayed at BribieG's and he's stayed at my place.
I can assure you there was absolutely no ploughing going on.
We might have got a little hammered on some beers and a nice Coonawarra red, but that's all history now.

And the only mill I saw at BribieG's was his marga pasta mill, so it's clearly time he got a decent bit of kit.


----------



## Bribie G (4/10/17)

Ah sorry for any ambiguity I was using "ploughed" as used in Modern Drunkard magazine that I subscribed to.


----------



## TidalPete (4/10/17)

RdeVjun said:


> I think Tidal Pete has a few pics of mine, feel free Pete!



No worries!
There you go Ralph!


----------



## Tony121 (4/10/17)

No need for apologies, I just found it amusing

Anyway, back to the mills - mine is still in a box so can't help with pictures of a set up, though I am planning on fixing it to an old office desk drawer on wheels with a motor once I get it. Cut the bottom out of the top draw and screw both draws together (if that makes sense?)

Edit: very similar to the above


----------



## mattyh77 (4/10/17)

That garage is way to organised and clean Pete.


----------



## Black Devil Dog (4/10/17)

Pretty low tech, but works for me.






The rounded ends make it more photosynthesis.


----------



## mattyh77 (4/10/17)

View media item 10525
My simple setup (MultMuncher 3 Roller from Cheeky Peak)
Works really well, no effort required which is why I still use the handle.


----------



## Bribie G (4/10/17)

Black Devil Dog said:


> Pretty low tech, but works for me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's the sort of thing I'm looking at, with my Ozito variable speed corded drill permanently attached - I'd use that arrangement as a top panel on a bedside cabinet like RdeVjun's - will trawl the op shops. 

Now, how long does it take to mill say 5 kg in minutes?


----------



## malt junkie (4/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> That's the sort of thing I'm looking at, with my Ozito variable speed corded drill permanently attached - I'd use that arrangement as a top panel on a bedside cabinet like RdeVjun's - will trawl the op shops.
> 
> Now, how long does it take to mill say 5 kg in minutes?


From the original thread when these fluted mills were first released, not much more than 2 mins, a lot quicker than the previous knurled versions.


----------



## Black Devil Dog (4/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> That's the sort of thing I'm looking at, with my Ozito variable speed corded drill permanently attached - I'd use that arrangement as a top panel on a bedside cabinet like RdeVjun's - will trawl the op shops.
> 
> Now, how long does it take to mill say 5 kg in minutes?




Never really timed it, but 5kg would take no more than a few of minutes. 
Velcro band around the trigger makes it hands free.
Freeing you up to do other things.............. like leaning up against a post waiting.


----------



## TidalPete (4/10/17)

Just a couple of minutes with the old Cranker Bribie.
You can mill without a table if you use both hands to hold the drill.
Pretty small pic but I think you'll get my drift.


----------



## mstrelan (5/10/17)

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/thread...r-mill-and-motion-dynamics-motor-setup.93984/


----------



## Mardoo (5/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> Now, how long does it take to mill say 5 kg in minutes?


Depends on motor speed of course, but I’d say no more than 4 for a relatively low speed, maybe 3.


----------



## bradsbrew (5/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> That's the sort of thing I'm looking at, with my Ozito variable speed corded drill permanently attached - I'd use that arrangement as a top panel on a bedside cabinet like RdeVjun's - will trawl the op shops.
> 
> Now, how long does it take to mill say 5 kg in minutes?


I'll get a pic of my set up for you tonight, Bribie. I got it to "trial" stage, it worked well so I never got around to making it pretty. From memory, I think I can do 30kg in under 10 minutes?


----------



## Mardoo (5/10/17)

My last mill stand was a Franco Cozzo-esque set of bedside drawers. This time I went absolute minimalist. Two pieces of jarrah from some old stair treads from a convent that got torn down. My drill lays perfectly on them. The rest of the stair treads became the top of my work bench.


----------



## Jase (5/10/17)

Pictures of my simple setup!







Cheers,
Jase


----------



## bradsbrew (5/10/17)

This is my dodgy set up. Hopper holds around 14kg.


----------



## doglet (6/10/17)

Here’s my grain mill station. Easy to roll around and keeps everything nice and neat.


----------



## mattyh77 (6/10/17)

That is an awesome setup. Jealous


----------



## Stouter (6/10/17)

I think you need to go into production and start selling these. Very clean and neat build.


----------



## homebrewnewb (6/10/17)

yeah it's got an air of pro-ness to it.
do tell, what motor are you using @doglet


----------



## EalingDrop (6/10/17)

Very polish setup mate. Is there a reason why you couldn't put the scales right under the mill? Instead of transferring to another bucket, just one.


----------



## doglet (6/10/17)

Thanks for comments guys. 
@Stouter - I tend to over engineer my projects but I enjoy doing them. I got lots of ideas from threads like these on AHB to come up with my design. So it’s now an open source design for you to build your own. [emoji482]
@homebrewnewb - The motor and controller is from Motion Dynamics.
The trolley and spider coupling is from eBay. The plastic box that contains the controller and power box is from Bunnings. So is the shaft and square tubing to raise the height of the mill. The box with the on/off switch and speed selector is just a spray painted plastic box from Jaycar. The scales are from eBay.

I did lots of measuring and “eye-crometer” work when building it all but I almost stuffed because the motor just fits hard up against the edge. 
After using it a couple times I realized that the thickness of the trolley material is pretty thin and the motor and mill were getting a wobble up. To stop this I used a piece of plywood to give it all so rigidity.


----------



## doglet (6/10/17)

EalingDrop said:


> Very polish setup mate. Is there a reason why you couldn't put the scales right under the mill? Instead of transferring to another bucket, just one.



No reason except I just liked having the scales at an easy height for measuring out my grain bill. I also do double sized batches so the hopper doesn’t hold the whole amount.


----------



## mfroes (6/10/17)

TidalPete said:


> No worries!
> There you go Ralph!
> 
> View attachment 108714
> View attachment 108715


TidalPete,
what's the plastic box you are using ? the ones that i can find are just too expensive. hehe thinking on maybe getting a first aid box or something


----------



## ein stein (6/10/17)

I dont have a pic but I used small pop rivets on my hopper so I dont have to worry about stray nuts going through my mill. 
also, nice set up doglet!


----------



## TidalPete (6/10/17)

mfroes said:


> TidalPete,
> what's the plastic box you are using ? the ones that i can find are just too expensive. hehe thinking on maybe getting a first aid box or something



Electrical box was from Hayman’s Electrical just up the road from where I live. A little on the expensive side (forget the price) but it’s completely waterproof\dustproof which is good what with all that flour dust blowing around.

On reflection, if I was doing this again I’d take the time to look further afield for something that wouldn’t stretch the budget so much.


----------



## homebrewnewb (6/10/17)

found it!


----------



## doglet (6/10/17)

TidalPete said:


> Electrical box was from Hayman’s Electrical just up the road from where I live. A little on the expensive side (forget the price) but it’s completely waterproof\dustproof which is good what with all that flour dust blowing around.
> 
> On reflection, if I was doing this again I’d take the time to look further afield for something that wouldn’t stretch the budget so much.



I think I got mine from Bunnings. It’s an outdoor electrical box. The same one is here on eBay https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...ahUKEwjq_5fH8dvWAhXEUrwKHaFNAcoQwg8IJw&adurl=


----------



## FarsideOfCrazy (6/10/17)

homebrewnewb said:


> found it!


That's it but they're out of stock atm


----------



## homebrewnewb (6/10/17)

TO THE FLEA BAY! or ali if you're feeling lucky?


FarsideOfCrazy said:


> That's it but they're out of stock atm


----------



## Rocker1986 (7/10/17)

This is mine, just mounted onto a round piece of timber which has four rubber feet on the underside to prevent it slipping on the 20L bucket it sits on. Works a treat. 













Grain Mill



__ Rocker1986
__ 7/10/17


----------



## Gregos (7/10/17)




----------



## Chris79 (17/12/17)

I think this is the best place to post my questions here. I just got a Mini Mill for my birthday/Christmas! Woot.

I'm just getting my head around some of the practicalities in terms of people's setup/config of their mill/drill. 

My question here is for those that use something like the Ozito spade drill, and have it upside down on a timber etc surface: do you have to turn the mill upside down? Is that just simply turning the mill upside down or some pulling apart of the mill is some way (was a bit unclear what ppl were saying on the bulk buy thread with the mill when using the drill upside down)? If you run it that way, are you running the mill in forward or reverse mode?

Or others who simply run it like Rocker above running it the right way up, I guess that's running it simply in forward mode?

Cheers


----------



## peteru (17/12/17)

It's not complicated.

You want to run the Ozito spade handle drill in forward mode. Running a drill forwards means that it will be turning clockwise, therefore you want to connect the drill and mill such that the drill turns clockwise.
You can do that either by:
Connecting the drill to the keyed end of the shaft.
No other modifications are needed.

Turning the mill upside down and connecting the drill to the triangular end of the shaft.
If you do this, you will also need to pay attention to the gear guard inside the mill. It is attached using two smaller screws on the side. Remove these screws, move the gear guard from the bottom of the mill to the top, then reattach using the same screws.


----------



## Chris79 (18/12/17)

ok, thanks @peteru . Just want to be clear on the basics first.


----------



## mkj (8/4/18)

Here's my basic setup for hand crushing, 8kg hopper. I thought the nylon compression fitting for the old Marga crank was a clever idea, until I tried some hard carahell and the copper pipe just kept slipping. I'll have to find a better crank or attachment there.


----------



## mkj (6/7/18)

So it turns out a drill chuck+marga handle works way better than a plumbing compression fitting!
Used a dremel to cut some edges for the keyed parts of the marga handle. Goes through that 8kg pretty fast, 6 minutes?


----------



## STIK79 (26/9/18)

Finally got around to buying a mill (what a fine piece of engineering this thing is!) and knocked up some 3d printed mounts to attach it and ozito drill to a small table.

(Please ignore the printing zits on the side mount - I was tuning print settings... badly)

Anyway - have uploaded the mounts to thingiverse if anyone wants them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/9/18)

You can't beat a nice neat job. Well done.


----------



## Abird89 (26/9/18)

Those mounts look great. How much in materials would that actually set someone with a 3D printer back?


----------



## STIK79 (27/9/18)

Abird89 said:


> Those mounts look great. How much in materials would that actually set someone with a 3D printer back?



The whole set uses about 90g of filament. PETG is roughly $36/kg so roughly $3.25 in materials (mind you that takes about 12 hours print time with PETG) - PLA is a bit cheaper $23/kg so $2 in material and prints faster - but has a lower glass transition temp so might get a bit melty if left in a hot shed (starts to melt at 60oC)


----------



## Crakkers (27/9/18)

Those mounts look brilliant!
I've been looking for an excuse to buy a 3D printer for a while now.....think I just found one.
In the meantime, my handle-mounted Ozito is still doing a good job.


----------

