Grain mill

[Steve Senseney]

A while ago, I asked about grain mills.

I put this together and was going what I did.

I used two disks (one was 4 inch and one was 4 1/2 inches) as the grinding mechanism.

I used the side grinder to place some notches in the surface to move the material around as it was ground.

Rather than add a motor, I wanted to be able to use this with the drill press that I have.

[Steve Senseney]

Here is a picture of the partial disassembly--

Here is a picture of the stones and the drive mechanism and bearing.

The upper stone is glued to the upper piece of wood.

The drive "bolt" was partially ground down to fit into the bearing.

The lower stone has a metal washer that had the "wings" bent up. This is glued to the grinding disc, and the wings capture the nut on the drive bolt.

[Steve Senseney]

All of this is held together with 2 bolts.

The "fineness" of the grind can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the bolts.

To make it easier to use, I placed a funnel which can be removed on the top of the aparatus.

Here is a picture with the assembled mechanism on the drill press.

[Steve Senseney]

Several other comments--

It works, but it does cause the motor to heat when used for a long period of time.

I have successfully ground rice and corn and "instant tapioca".

I had problems grinding pearled tapioca. It would gum up the plates and I had to chip it off with a ice pick essentially.

The total investment in making this was mainly time.

It has some vibration as I run it on the drill press. This actually shakes the grain down the funnel nicely.

I also place a bar clam on the mechanism as it runs to keep it from rotating.

Rather than use the small box I show in the picture, I have a nice metal mixing bowl that I use to catch the flour.

[Bob Francis]

I like it! Very clever.

[Mattia Valente]

Nice. My only 'concern' would be the food safety of those wheels...

[Mario Proulx]

What Mattia said....

It's not just what the abrasive(grit) is made from, but also what resins are used to bond the abrasive together.

I'd feel much better if you sought out some genuine food-grade stones. No thumbs-up from me until you do so. Sorry.

[Steve Senseney]

Here is the MSDS sheet.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS0002 ... 060223.PDF

No specific concerns with ingestion.

[Bill Raymond]

Section VII does say "ingestion not recommended".

[Barry Daniels]

You are using the disks in a fashion not intended by the manufacturer, so the warnings and hazards listed on the MSDS may not be relevant/inclusive.

[David King]

I love it but I'm not eating from it. I might drink beer brewed from it however...

[Jason Rodgers]

Despite the questions on the grinding surfaces, this is really clever. With regards to the grinding wheels, I wonder how much grit/matrix would be shed on grains or corn? Maybe only significantly if the wheels came in contact? Depends on how much you want to risk it. I've seen similar grinding wheels made of metal, though more expensive.

[Mark Swanson]

When archeologists study ancient skulls and teeth, they can quickly see that many ancient people had significant wear to their teeth from grit in their food.

[Steve Senseney]

Jason--I briefly looked on the internet, but I could not find any metal discs.

Could you show me a link?

[Mario Proulx]

Here's the first 'hit' I got when searching for "Corona mill stone". These are, obviously, for a Corona mill, but you're a wise, young, ambitious man with the skills necessary to make these work with your setup. Or buy a cheap Corona-style mill and add the stones...

http://www.retsel.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id/104

[Mario Proulx]

Or one of these sets:

http://www.retsel.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id/176

http://www.retsel.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id/103

Bottom line is that there -are- stones that are readily available, inexpensive, and food-safe. Google be your friend....