should I try and restore this grain mill

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squigglefunk
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should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by squigglefunk »

possible score , not sure... i was gunna offer 25 bucks?
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BlueSasquatch
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by BlueSasquatch »

Depends on what tools and experience you have. Restoring old shit is my pre-distilling hobby. But that aside, the hopper on that looks too small to be worth much, you'd want to slap a motor on it if possible, and then add a larger hopper on it, and something out the bottom. My grain grinder is mid-build right now but motor and large hopper were the first modifications.

What volume of grain do you use typically per batch? 8 hours to grind 50 gallons, won't be worth it. But for 5 gallon runs, yeah sure.
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Ben
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Ben »

I'd do it, bigger hopper could be made, motorize with a drill and a homemade adaptor and your off.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by squigglefunk »

BlueSasquatch wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:40 am Depends on what tools and experience you have. Restoring old shit is my pre-distilling hobby. But that aside, the hopper on that looks too small to be worth much, you'd want to slap a motor on it if possible, and then add a larger hopper on it, and something out the bottom. My grain grinder is mid-build right now but motor and large hopper were the first modifications.

What volume of grain do you use typically per batch? 8 hours to grind 50 gallons, won't be worth it. But for 5 gallon runs, yeah sure.
i dont grind my own grain now, looking to start experimenting with some different stuff.

so you think it would take 8 hrs to grind how much? The wheel is about 2ft high on this one, I figured it would be pretty fast.
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squigglefunk
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by squigglefunk »

Ben wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:50 am I'd do it, bigger hopper could be made, motorize with a drill and a homemade adaptor and your off.
hmm, Im thinking some kind of table mounted system with an electric motor and belt. I see small used motors all the time for cheap.

I just wonder how far gone the thing is and if it's too slow then not worth it for me. I do about 80-90 lbs of grain for my ferments.
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Ben
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Ben »

squigglefunk wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:57 am
I just wonder how far gone the thing is and if it's too slow then not worth it for me. I do about 80-90 lbs of grain for my ferments.
Hard to say without tearing it apart. $25 doesn't seem like a huge gamble. The insides are pretty simple on them, chances are good you can clean it up and adjust it to get it working well. You could also potentially re-file the burrs. With motorization it will eat, as long as the motor has enough mojo to keep up with the load.

What is 20-30 hours of your time worth to you... if you don't want to do it for the sake of it you are probably better off just buying what you want. I would do it just because I like old tools, and prefer to see them in use.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Bushman »

I agree, for $25 what do you have to lose. It looks a little like an antique coffee mill. That is what I used before buying my monster mill 2. My antique coffee mill worked great but couldn’t easily adjust how fine the grain would be.
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BlueSasquatch
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

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Bushman wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 7:51 am I agree, for $25 what do you have to lose. It looks a little like an antique coffee mill. That is what I used before buying my monster mill 2. My antique coffee mill worked great but couldn’t easily adjust how fine the grain would be.
I restored one of those wall-mount coffee grinders, arcade No.3, and you can adjust the grind by how tight you pull the inside burr wheel together. My parents just bought a large general store coffee grinder with two wheels, not sure yet if it's adjustable tho.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I vote to restore it. It seems like you would enjoy seeing it through. Even if you end up using a different tool for grinding down the road I'd think that the value could easily increase to $250 for a fully restored vintage grinder and you could always give it to someone that would fully appreciate the tool and detail you infused into the machine for them to further put to good use perhaps grinding flour for home baked breads or something...

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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by still_stirrin »

“Time is money”.

How much time do you have available? And what is that worth (to SWMBO)?

From my point of view, it is a rusty piece of cast iron that may, or may not be repairable. If all it takes is a wire brush and some paint, then maybe it’s worth your $25. But, if the plates are worn down and the bearings shot, let alone a crack or 2 in the casting, then it may be more trouble than worth.

Invest wisely. Sometimes “cheap” is a poor investment.
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p.s. - don’t forget about the “future cost” of adding a motor and pulley system to power it. You’ll have some money in that unless you have those parts laying around in your shop.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Deplorable »

I'd want to see the burr cones before I paid for it.
I restored one. It wasn't hard work, and took me about 30 hours total
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by zach »

I saw a similar functional one for $150 at a farmers marker a few years back.

If you can get for $25 you can likely sell for more even if it's not functional.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... r&_sacat=0
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by squigglefunk »

still_stirrin wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:33 am “Time is money”.

How much time do you have available? And what is that worth (to SWMBO)?
yeah I think you're right, I live right where a lot of this stuff was made over the years and there's piles of it popping up from time to time. I thought this one was a bit bigger than others I'd seen but I realize it's prob not worth the effort to restore this guy when I see ones in usable shape pop up from time to time for not much more.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by cob »

There are several antique items that if you restore them their antique value is decreased.

I don't know if grain mills are in that category, but firearms and knives are best left untouched.

no matter the condition.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Bushman »

BlueSasquatch wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:18 am
Bushman wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 7:51 am I agree, for $25 what do you have to lose. It looks a little like an antique coffee mill. That is what I used before buying my monster mill 2. My antique coffee mill worked great but couldn’t easily adjust how fine the grain would be.
I restored one of those wall-mount coffee grinders, arcade No.3, and you can adjust the grind by how tight you pull the inside burr wheel together. My parents just bought a large general store coffee grinder with two wheels, not sure yet if it's adjustable tho.
Mine is adjustable just not as accurate as I want.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by Deplorable »

Mine isn't that accurate as I'd like either dut to a century's worth of wear on the burr cones. Therefore I use it to get whole corn to a course grind, then run that through my roller mill to get it where I like it.
Hand grinding 37 pounds of corn in mine takes a good while. I grind several hoppers worth, then take a beer break and get back at it.
My hopper holds about 3.5 pound of whole kernel corn.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by shadylane »

Ben wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:50 am I'd do it, bigger hopper could be made, motorize with a drill and a homemade adaptor and your off.
I couldn't tell from the pic, but many of those style hand grinders had a belt groove cut in the wheel.
If it does, then converting it to electric would be easy.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by NZChris »

At that price, I would buy it and consider restoring it after I'd greased it and tried using it. It would look nice with the rest of my collection of old tools. It looks similar to the oat grinder that I used to make my first corn likker over thirty years ago.
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Re: should I try and restore this grain mill

Post by BlueSasquatch »

Deplorable wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 4:55 pm Mine isn't that accurate as I'd like either dut to a century's worth of wear on the burr cones. Therefore I use it to get whole corn to a course grind, then run that through my roller mill to get it where I like it.
Hand grinding 37 pounds of corn in mine takes a good while. I grind several hoppers worth, then take a beer break and get back at it.
My hopper holds about 3.5 pound of whole kernel corn.
Image

Gotta add legs on it. Project got put on hold during the move. Good bit of time and money on what is a $25 amazon grinder, but pretty cheap then to replace as well. Not sure on exact hopper size, but somewheres North of 150# of corn? 23x19 = 3.75 cubic feet = 170# then negate some for the cone bottom not being a cylinder. either way, should work well.
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