DIY Grain Mill
If you are a frequent home brewer, building your own grain mill could be a very beneficial project. Purchasing a professional mill can be very expensive, which is another incentive for this do-it-yourself project. This simple grain mill can be created using an inexpensive pasta maker with filed-down rollers mounted to a wooden frame. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Pasta maker with counter clamp
- Pencil
- Two wood boards
- Heavy metal file
- Large plastic pail
- Empty 2-liter soda bottle
- Saw
- Scissors
- Two-sided tape
Instructions
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1
Disassemble the pasta maker and remove the two pressing cylinders. A grain mill requires a knurled surface on the rollers to properly grind the grain. Use a nail file to scuff or "knurl" the smooth metal surface of the rollers.
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2
Re-assemble the pasta maker, inserting the newly knurled rollers back in place.
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3
Trace the exterior of your pasta maker in the center of a piece of wood. Cut out the hole.
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4
Put the board on the floor and put the bucket on top of the board. Trace the curve of the sides of the bucket and cut the edges of the wood. The board should fit snugly inside the rim of your large plastic bucket.
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5
Mount the pasta maker to the board using the counter clamp that came with the machine. The grain will go through the hole in the makeshift counter.
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6
Cut the bottom off a 2-liter soda bottle using a pair of scissors. Use the saw to cut a hole in the second piece of board that is the same diameter as the spout of the bottle. Set the bottle upside down into the hole in the board and attach the board on top of the pasta maker using double-sided tape.
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References
- Photo Credit grain image by DBarby from Fotolia.com
Comments
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the stainless layer flakes, be sure to get all of it off or it ll wind up in your beer! I didn't disassemble just turned it and filed in my lap, using my 4 in grinder diamond blade to put some extra deep grooves.
