Homegrown Mill (nearly Finished)

[tribalfish]

Well all I have to do now is make a hopper and maybe a skirt underneath and my mill is finished.
For her first outing, I Crushed just over 4 kg tonight ready for brewday tomorrow!




Tribalfish.

 

[hoohaaman]

My god,it is a beast

 

[Cocko]

pls post pix of the hopper added!!


:beerbang:

 

[Pollux]

Jesus, keep hands away......


I'd seriously add a BIG red kill switch as a "just in case".......I've seen what happens when someone's hand gets caught in a chaff cutter on a farm......It's not pretty.


Otherwise, it's a solid mill.

 

[chappo1970]

Farkin' Awesome Tribal Fish fingers :lol:



Absolutely gob smacked. That's a hell of a fabrication effort there. So share with us what you used for what, part scavenged from where? I love tinkering and this kind of home grown genius should be applauded.

Very Impressed Chappo!

 

[tribalfish]

Farkin' Awesome Tribal Fish fingers :lol:



Absolutely gob smacked. That's a hell of a fabrication effort there. So share with us what you used for what, part scavenged from where? I love tinkering and this kind of home grown genius should be applauded.

Very Impressed Chappo!

Thanks Chappo, but I have to give credit to my Dad also, as it was a joint effort.
We started at about 8.30 am yesterday morning and poured the first beer at about 5.30 pm

The plan took shape when I found the two 8" belt pulleys at a local antique/ secondhand shop. I then purchased some 7/8 shaft and the bearings and housings/mounts to suit.
The main frame is 75mm angle that was mig welded together and coated with red oxide primer.

The grooves in the drive roller where cut with an angle grinder and a fine cutoff wheel. We tack welded a bit of flat to the non drive roller to use as a straight edge, and just kept rotating the drive roller 2-3mm at a time. A bit time consuming but well worth the end result.

The drive is direct, using a surplus roller door motor with a custom connector shaft! The power supply is 240v as we used the original door controller modified so that it would operate when switched, and stay on (thanks Brother)

That's about it, it was a great day and a great build. B)

 

[troopa]

Can you tell us how you made the crusher roller?
Looks like you made the line groove by hand?

Bloody brilliant job though

Tom

Edit: looks like you answered it for me ta

 

[yardy]

Well all I have to do now is make a hopper and maybe a skirt underneath and my mill is finished.
For her first outing, I Crushed just over 4 kg tonight ready for brewday tomorrow!


View attachment 25244

Tribalfish.

nice job TF, do you think the 75 angle is heavy enough, may need some gussets in there for extra strength

because the hand cut grooves appear to be deep I'd be thinking of maybe a wire brush or heavy bristles on the return side to keep the clogging down, just my 2 bobs, seriously, nice job.

Cheers
Yard

 

[Steve]

Looks like a medieaval torturers tool!

Wish I knew how to use something other than a screwdriver.

Hows the crack?
Cheers
Steve

 

[yardy]

Looks like a medieaval torturers tool!



Hows the crack?

:lol:

 

[tribalfish]

nice job TF, do you think the 75 angle is heavy enough, may need some gussets in there for extra strength

because the hand cut grooves appear to be deep I'd be thinking of maybe a wire brush or heavy bristles on the return side to keep the clogging down, just my 2 bobs, seriously, nice job.

Cheers
Yard

No danger of flexing, it's really solid.

Last nights crush went well regarding clogging, no slipping whatsoever but maybe when doing a double batch and after more use, you might be right.

TF

 

[tribalfish]

Looks like a medieaval torturers tool!

Wish I knew how to use something other than a screwdriver.

Hows the crack?
Cheers
Steve

No torturing here, but I guess it does look a bit scary :unsure:

The crack is great, both rollers aren't 100% cylindrical, so as a result I get a nice mix of partial and fully munched grain.

 

[Guest Lurker]

The crack is great, both rollers aren't 100% cylindrical, so as a result I get a nice mix of partial and fully munched grain.

Aha! I was just wondering why everyone uses solid rollers if pipes will work, but I think that is the answer right there.

 

[Bizier]

Great work Tribalfish.
I am still considering something similar for myself. I hadn't even thought of inconsistencies when using pipe, so that is a help.

 

[tribalfish]

Great work Tribalfish.
I am still considering something similar for myself. I hadn't even thought of inconsistencies when using pipe, so that is a help.

Bizier,

Apart from the slight wobble I get, the main difference with pipe would be that I reckon it's mild steel and the belt pulleys I have used are cast and won't flex/bend.

TF

 

[samhighley]

Aha! I was just wondering why everyone uses solid rollers if pipes will work, but I think that is the answer right there.

Perhaps you could fill a hollow pipe with concrete or something similarly dense?

 

[Bizier]

My thoughts are that if the pipe wall is think enough, that any slight eccentricities can be smoothed out with a metal lathe. I think that if a solid driveshaft is fixed with welds at both ends of the pipe, then there should be minimal flex.

I like the idea of large diameter rollers a lot.

Unsure on the concrete idea, I live in an apartment... I'll save that for when I own a dedicated shed.

 

[Simon W]

Something thick walled, like steam pipe, trued up in a lathe would be ideal.
eeep, didn't see Bizier's post.