# Grain Mill Design/plans



## clean brewer (24/10/08)

Hello all,

Well, as much as id love to buy a grain mill, my father in law is a Engineer/Toolmaker with lathes and all the machining gear.

Since he has stainless rod and metal and all the stuff to put a mill together and for free basically, just wanted to see if anyone had a plan/design for a Grain Mill? Nothing over the top, just a 2 roller(adjustable) mill..

Cheers


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## raven19 (24/10/08)

CB - found these on the net that may be of use.

http://www.intothefray.org/brew/grainmill.htm

http://www.beertools.com/html/articles/mill.shtml

- i love this guys masking tape and cardboard work on the inlet, classic :lol: 

Cheers.


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## Tony (24/10/08)

I based mine on these plans but changed it a bit. I think i have photos in my gallery

cheers 

View attachment roller_mill.doc


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## clean brewer (25/10/08)

Thanks Tony and Raven19,

all seem very simple, we'll get one of these knocked up quite easy and save a motsa...  Bulk Grain here I come....


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## Ducatiboy stu (25/10/08)

I have one of "Tony's" mills...

very simple, very effective, very tough and needs next to no maint, hardly ever have adjust the gap..


It will take a decent motor to drive it.....and couple of pulleys to slow the roller speed down

But it does crack 5kg in under 3mins... :icon_cheers:


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## Tony (25/10/08)

Im glad your still happy with it mate. I know you and i know if you wernt happy you wouldnt have said what you said.

Many hours at 2 am in a cold workshop on breakdown callouts building that mill..... and redbeard's

The only difference with how i built them was i didnt use the seperate metal bearing housings, I incorperated them into the timber frame using a holesaw and router to make the bearing housings. Found a hole saw that gave a an interferance fit to the bearing. Slotted the timber so the adjustment screws pushed on the bearing of the non driven roller to set the gap.

too easy

I think quite a few have used this basic design with their own tweeks, as they will to build mills.

As stu said.......... they will run for years without ever having to look at them and they are tough as nails. 

cheers

I will post some construction pics tonight if you want


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## Ducatiboy stu (25/10/08)

Tony

Hope you are home around Xmas...


I will be down in that part of the world...SWMBO will drop me off and pick me up..

Might even brew a Red Ale for the occasion 


:icon_chickcheers:


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## clean brewer (25/10/08)

Tony said:


> Im glad your still happy with it mate. I know you and i know if you wernt happy you wouldnt have said what you said.
> 
> Many hours at 2 am in a cold workshop on breakdown callouts building that mill..... and redbeard's
> 
> ...



Some construction pics would be handy..

Thanks Tony


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## Tony (7/11/08)

As per discussion mate........ here are some pics of mine

any questions just ask

cheers


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## Ducatiboy stu (7/11/08)

looks just like my mill... :icon_chickcheers: 


And what a legand mill it is... :super:


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## Tony (7/11/08)

I hear they were limited edition mate.


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## browndog (7/11/08)

I have a mill very similar to Tony's and so does Jye, I can highly recommend this design.

cheers

Browndog


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## Ducatiboy stu (7/11/08)

Tony said:


> I hear they were limited edition mate.



I have No 2 .....


And there where only 2 made...


:icon_chickcheers:


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## clean brewer (7/11/08)

Just trying to figure out how the Rollers are adjustable? Just a little confused by the holes on each side of the wood(which are for the bearings for the rollers) but then in another picture there are the adjusting slots...

The answer is probably looking at me straight in the eye.. :unsure: :blink: :huh:


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## browndog (7/11/08)

I have one set of my bearing holes slotted so the bearing can move back and forth. There is a spring pushing them apart to stop the rollers colliding. The Bolt you can see in the pics sets the gap by pushing on the bearings. Clear as mud ?

cheers

Browndog


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## Ducatiboy stu (7/11/08)

browndog said:


> I have one of my bearing holes slotted so the bearing can move back and forth. There is a spring pushing them apart. The Bolt you can see in the pics sets the gap between the rollers. Clear as mud ?
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog




Basically you make one roller bearing housing eliptical with a long bolt pushing against the outer bearing housing.


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## OLDS2006 (7/11/08)

Looks good Tony, but where did you score the rollers from ?
Also do smooth rollers work as good as the grooved ones.
Dazza


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## Tony (7/11/08)

Yeah thats all i did 

I just elongated the non drive housings by about 1 or 2mm with the router and the adjsutment screw holds pressure on the roller. The grain running through the mill pushes it out and sets the gap.

Its so simple it works!

And stu.......... there were 3 actually. Redbeard got the 2nd. It never really got advertised.

I remember when i made mine, GT from grumpys asked me to work out how much it would cost to mass produce them.

I worked it out and the cost want that much but the time........... that was the killer. It was many hours of work and i couldnt do it during the day......... had to be done at night when noone else was at work

I couldnt do it. Not for the little bit of money. It worked out a a few $/hr profit so only 3 got made.

I did charge the boys for my time but i think they got a good deal....... im always glad to hear happy campers post 

cheers


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## Jye (8/11/08)

Here are some pics of my mill and there are some pics of the adjustment setup on page 3.


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## Tony (8/11/08)

Dazza........... I made them on a layth myself. I found a 3 meter length of 2" 316 ss shaft that had been removed form a press roller due to a worn bearing seat. 

In the layth it went, faced off into 16 inch lengths and taken home quick smart.

also.......

The slots for the adjustment screws hadnt been cut when i took the pics. That came later. It works as the boys above said.

I didnt put springs between the rollers. I drilled it very very carefully so that when the rollers are fully pushed in i have a 0.6mm gap. They cant touch. The free spinning rollers housings were skimmed out with the router so that the roller and bearings couls slide back and forth 1 or 2mm and the adjustment bolt just pushes on the outer ring of the bearing. Like i said, the pressure of the grain going through the mill pushes the roller out to hit the adjsutment bolt and sets your gap. 

I run mine at about 0.9 for a fairly fine crush but the gap depends on your roller dia and more so, the courseness of your knearling. 

As for smooth rollers......... you really beed to get up over the 6inch dia before this will work well. A light knearl like on these ones i made works great. Grips the husk but doesnt bust it up.

cheers

cheers


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## clean brewer (8/11/08)

Thanks Tony and Jye,

The last couple posts made it "clearer than mud  " , easy to work from that now..

Cheers Guys :icon_cheers:


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## Weizguy (8/11/08)

Tony said:


> <abbrev>
> I run mine at about 0.9 for a fairly fine crush but the gap depends on your roller dia and more so, the courseness of your knearling.
> 
> As for smooth rollers......... you really beed to get up over the 6inch dia before this will work well. A light knearl like on these ones i made works great. Grips the husk but doesnt bust it up.
> ...


My mill runs at 0.9mm too and also has a fine knurl. It leaves the husk mostly intact and breaks up the endosperm quite well.

FWIW.
Les


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## Tony (8/11/08)

Suprising Les.

Seing as its a poorly made under sized marga mill wanna be

:lol:  

Im so glad that mill stayed in the hunter!

cheers

PS........ do upi wet the husks Les?

Just a quick note on grain cracking. I only wet the base grains. All the specialty stuff, from carahell and carapills up gets done seperatly and dry. You get more bang for your buck and you can sus out the arona from all the specialty malts yor adding to the base grains. Helps build your knowledge

cheers


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## Weizguy (8/11/08)

Tony said:


> Suprising Les.
> 
> Seing as its a poorly made under sized marga mill wanna be
> 
> ...


No I haven't wet the husks, but was planning to. However, it appears that there is little need with my current mash tun (rectangular esky). May be necessary if using a taller tun with a wide base (e.g Drink cooler or modified -yet legal keg).

I didn't want to refer to the Borret mill directly, as it seems to be similar to yours in general design and operation.
I hesitate to mention that I didn't make my own mill, but it was constructed by a Product Engineer, whose time is worth much more than mine, and I didn't argue with the price he asked for the mill.


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## peter.b (14/11/08)

Hi guys,

Thought i'd share a couple of photo's with you on a recently finished grain mill. I should add the whole unit cost me $8.20 cents. That's right 820 cents!!!! 

I just happen to work on machinery that has this type of stuff available, and can utilise a lot of what we have. The rollers are 215mm dia knurled cast iron and were supplied my my best mate who is also a home brewer,He got them from his brother who had an old grain mill on a dairy farm, the gap is adjustable from 0-10mm. With .01mm increments.
The pulley on the motor has 4 speeds, I can crush at 90, 220,340 and 440 rpm.

The hopper is food grade plastic and the whole thing works a treat. I haven't timed it yet, but 10kg of grain goes through in about 4 mins.
With a steel frame on castors and a long 3 phase lead i can crush away from my brew area but store it there when I'm done.:icon_chickcheers:


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## Jye (15/11/08)

Holy crap that is awesome and I love the roller adjuster, its like a huge micrometer 

So what did you have to spend the 820c on?


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## jlm (15/11/08)

The bottle of Erdinger 'fest?


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## browndog (15/11/08)

I bow down to the mother of all DIY grain mills, that thing is awwesome, I bet it would tear your arm off if you got your finger too close.

cheers

Browndog


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## Tony (15/11/08)

Yeah awsome work!

I recon home brewing makes you a bit more apreciative of the usefulness of old stuff lying around hey

cheers


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## peter.b (16/11/08)

Jye said:


> Holy crap that is awesome and I love the roller adjuster, its like a huge micrometer
> 
> So what did you have to spend the 820c on?




Hi Jye, The vee belt, I didn't have any the right size at work. Bloody work!!!!!


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## peter.b (16/11/08)

browndog said:


> I bow down to the mother of all DIY grain mills, that thing is awwesome, I bet it would tear your arm off if you got your finger too close.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog




Hi browndog, with the hopper in place there are no pinch points, for sucking in and spitting out dopey bastards/brewers. It just sits there nicely, lifts off. Simple and easy to clean. The hardest of wheat, it doesn't skip a beat.


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## porky (16/11/08)

peter.b said:


> The hardest of wheat, it doesn't skip a beat.



I reckon you could grind gravel with that thing. What a beaut




Well done mate.

Cheers. 
Bud


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## rude (17/11/08)

Trying to make a mill at the moment, modelled on Roger Mellie's design.
It is all going well frame bearings but the 50mm stainless is a stickler.
Pricey to buy, but got some tubing so will give that a try at knurling but dont like my chances.
If that doesnt work I have some mild steel, clean it before crushes, maybe spray with olive oil?
Any way will post pictures of progress work so you can see Rogers idea.
By the way anyone out there wouldnt have a lump of 2" stainless rod they dont need, about 600mm? 
Cheers happy crushing.


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## browndog (17/11/08)

peter.b said:


> Hi browndog, with the hopper in place there are no pinch points, for sucking in and spitting out dopey bastards/brewers. It just sits there nicely, lifts off. Simple and easy to clean. The hardest of wheat, it doesn't skip a beat.




I reckon it would do a good number on a coathangar haha........ Rude, you could do what I did and make the rollers out of steel then have them plated, nickel would be best or even tin.

cheers

Browndog


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## rude (18/11/08)

cheers brown dog will look into that one mate


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## raven19 (19/11/08)

browndog said:


> I bow down to the mother of all DIY grain mills, that thing is awwesome, I bet it would tear your arm off if you got your finger too close.



The words 'heavy industrial' come to mind when viewing this beast!

Bang up job on a budget of under $10. Well done.


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## clean brewer (27/11/08)

Well, i got the first part of my mill the other day, its 1/2 metre of 2inch diameter bar, cost $35.. Got some pricing on S.S. bar and it was $160 per metre, just a little to dear for me...


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## Tony (27/11/08)

thats only $80 for half a meter

worthi t in the long run


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## clean brewer (28/11/08)

Tony said:


> thats only $80 for half a meter
> 
> worthi t in the long run



Yes, I know that much  , will just work with this at the moment, my F.I.L bought it so thats cool, he is going to machine it for me and ill do up the frame for it... 

Ill see how it goes and if I have any issues with rusting etc then I will get something done in Stainless or just buy a Nice bling mill when I win Gold Lotto.. :lol: 

Should be alright though, just give it a spray with some olive oil between uses...


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## Ducatiboy stu (28/11/08)

As long as it is kept dry, rust wont be a major prob. You can always run a bit of grain thru first to clean the rollers, even something like cheap chook food instead of malt...


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