Can I find a Hand Grinder [Archive]

CountryBertha

03-02-2011, 08:13 PM

That will grind meats or Grains by just changing an attachment? It seems that one time I saw one but now I'm not sure if I am remembering right. If you know of one were could I buy it for a fair price???

Lostone, meat grinders and grain grinders aren't the same kind of grinders.

The grain grinders have two plates that have ridges but no holes, you can adjust for the fine grind right on up to cracked corn and wheat.

The meat grinders come with plates that have holes and a knife blade thing. You use the big hole plate for your first grind of meat, then go on down to using the plates with smaller holes for hamburger meat. Meat grinders also come with sausage stuffer attachments.

I inherited a cast iron grinder from one of my Great Grannies and the others I bought. They are all cast iron manual types, not the electric kind. You can get some good prices on ebay as well as mail order catalogs. The ones I have are screwed to the table top, but there are some out there that will bolt down permanently.

Because meat is so hard to do, and is so much work, it's a family thing and a real group effort doing meat around here. So, I've got 3 meat grinders to help it along and go faster.

My grain grinder is a big heavy cast iron grinder. Seems like I paid $17 for it plus shipping on ebay after my other one vanished. The meat grinders that I bought were all less than $30. When you start looking for grinders, compare prices so you know what is a good price. Stay away from those red painted grinders because that paint will come off in your food.

When you get cast iron grinders, you have to prep them sorta like you do your cast iron cookware. I promise you, if you keep those grinders prepped (what we call "seasoned"), you will be able to pass them down to the generations who follow. If you need instructions on how to prep your cast iron stuff, let me know. I actually have the instructions from my Great Grandmother. (I'm old as dirt myself, so that sorta tells you how old those instructions are and they are still valid.) When cast iron is seasoned properly, it won't ever rust and food won't stick to it. It also lasts forever and ever.

It's funny -- when I moved to the city I quit using my cast iron stuff for a while. Then when I began using it again it felt soooo heavy. Those grinders are heavy too. I keep a seperate tote just for the grinders but the cast iron cookware stays in the cabinet.

You can use your cast iron in the house or outside. Hauling it around a campsite might be a chore, though.

lostone1413

03-06-2011, 02:17 PM

I sure would like to know how to prep my cast iron grinder

Thanks!

CountryBertha

03-06-2011, 03:29 PM

lostone, you do all your cast iron kitchen stuff pretty much the same way or it will rust and stick.

Take your meat grinder apart and wash it it hot soapy water. Dry it, then rub the parts down with suet, lard or cooking oil. You also want to grind suet through several times. Be careful with the blade. It's sharp. I put the parts on a cookie sheet and put in a hot oven the way I do my cast iron pans and let the suet or oil melt and penetrate the cast iron. Make sure you oil every part of the cast iron. I put on 6 or 7 coats or enough to see that there are no places I missed. Any place you missed will give you grief, and let me tell you meat grinders can cause a lot of grief. When it's all done, then it's ready to go.

I have a cast iron grinder that belonged to one of my Great Grandmothers who was alive when Lincoln was President and it is still working after all this time. It's so smooth and easy to use.

Now days I've noticed the cast iron grinders are painted. I don't know why they do that because the paint will chip off eventually. But those grinders still have to be oiled and you still have to run suet through and grind it up several times. People have told me they have trouble with their new cast iron grinders, that they are hard to use and so forth but none of them knew they needed to be oiled with suet and/or cooking oil. After the grinders sit in a hot oven, the oil/suet won't come off on the food either. It's like teflon.

You've got to be careful with your grinders after you get them seasoned or you can cut yourself because they do work easier.

I've got a big cast iron grain grinder sitting here I have to do, and how I wish the makers hadn't painted that thing. I know I'm going to get chips in that paint on those plates when the grains are ground. The plates on this one are not stone but metal ridged plates that grind together. We never oiled stone plates or the huge carved stone grinders. There was something the men did to those stones before we used them but for the life of me I cannot recall what it was. I want to say they soaked them in water, but I just can't remember that one.

That's the way everyone did it in the country. Oh, I forgot. Sometimes us kids ground in too much suet and the adults would run rock hard bread through the grinders to get that off. They'd then take that suet bread and make dressing with it and sometimes bread pudding. There was no margarine back then -- butter and animal fats were used on toast, biscuits etc. When Crisco was invented, the country people were spreading that on their toast and biscuits.

I don't stick the crank handles in the oven because they have wooden handles. I just oil those and wipe the oil away several times like I'm shining shoes.

On your meat grinders, make sure you take apart your meat grinder after each time you grind meat and clean the parts in hot soapy water really well. If you have to oil it or run suet through again, do it so it will be ready to go when you have meat again. I always wash my grinders before I use them too and store them in plastic bags.

My Great Grandmother ground stuff everyday and her grinders were just cleaned and put back on the counter. She also had a plank of wood out back she would put her grinder on and work out there.

CountryBertha

03-06-2011, 03:33 PM

Lostone, I've got the old instructions that used to come with all the cast iron frying pans that tells how to season cast iron properly. Do you want me to post that for you?

lostone1413

03-07-2011, 10:47 AM

Lostone, I've got the old instructions that used to come with all the cast iron frying pans that tells how to season cast iron properly. Do you want me to post that for you?

Thanks would like to be able to read them. Thanks for the info you have sent already
Take Care

Equilibrium

03-09-2011, 09:07 PM

Would either of you two.... or anyone else who really uses a manual grain mill.... please help me. I've been reading reviews and my heads-a-spinnin. Originally I had set my sights on The Little Ark until.... I read this review of 4 grain mills which made sense, http://www.homestead-products.com/mills.htm. I don't believe The Little Ark will meet my needs. I realize from having read threads here and even more reviews online that the Country Living Grain Mill is most likely the best value but... I can't afford $400.
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I think I've narrowed my search down to two grain mills.
Wonder Junior Hand Mill Deluxe
http://www.homegrownharvest.com/wondermill-junior-grain-mill-deluxe.html
Family Grain Mill, Hand Base with Grain Mill & Flaker
http://www.internet-grocer.net/family.htm
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They're both about the same price. One's about $220 and the other is about $215. I truly could use help. The reviews I read were all written by folk who obviously want to sell them or who.... received a free grain mill for writing a favorable review. I just don't know what to look for in a grain mill any more after looking at so many of them.
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Thank you in advance if anyone is in a position to point out real-life pros and cons of each of these units.

karlamaria

03-10-2011, 08:21 PM

Equilibrium

03-15-2011, 08:01 AM

I kept hoping a used Country Living Grain Mill would show up on Craigslist or something but I've been watching for 2 months and so far no go. Actually.... I haven't seen any grain mills on Craigslist except antique ones that look pretty beat. I'm leaning toward that Wonder Junior how about you? I keep noticing the price is "fixed" though. No matter where you go they're all like $219.99 with free shipping. What's up with this>>>? No sales no nothing on these grinders? I found some decent reviews on Amazon you might want to read on the Wonder Junior, http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Junior-Deluxe-Grain-Wondermill/product-reviews/B0026S3K42/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1. I still haven't bought anything yet.... I keep hoping there's another brand in this price range that someone's used and can suggest that I could check before taking the plunge on the Wonder Junior Dx.

Equilibrium

04-17-2011, 04:31 AM

CW&Mom

04-17-2011, 05:13 AM

I realize the Country Living Grain Mill is the "best" from reading all the threads discussing it here but.... no way can I afford it because all said and done.... it ends up costing a lot more than $400 shipped and out the door. Is there anyone using a grain mill that works that's around $200 or preferably less? I've been watching eBay for months and no go on used grain mills and the same thing with Craigslist so I'm going to have to buy new.

Click on this link for a list of hand-operated grain mills available at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A1055398%2Ck%3Agrain+mills+han d+crank%2Cn%3A%211063498%2Cn%3A284507&bbn=1063498&keywords=grain+mills+hand+crank&ie=UTF8&qid=1303046053&rnid=1063498#/ref=sr_st?bbn=1063498&keywords=grain+mills+hand+crank&qid=1303046082&rh=n%3A1055398%2Ck%3Agrain+mills+hand+crank%2Cn%3A !1063498%2Cn%3A284507&sort=reviewrank_authority

Equilibrium

04-18-2011, 04:46 AM

The Marcato was one I'd never stumbled upon before. I read the reviews, http://www.amazon.com/Marcato-8308-Atlas-Grain-Mill/product-reviews/B000UV492E/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1, and I'm thinking this one might not be for me since it's flour I'm going for. If you have a grain mill you use for flour.... which one do you use and like please?

CountryBertha

04-18-2011, 05:39 PM

You can use the 150 hand grinder, run your grains through 2 or 3 times or as many times as you like, then put the rough flour in a blender using a flat blade to achieve the regular grind flour. You can sift out the rough parts but I just leave them in.

The 150 has the large hopper on top, the plates are metal not stone, and the grind is adjustable down to a cornmeal and corn flour like consistency.

I paid less than $20 for the 150 grinder on ebay and have no idea what we paid for the blender or even what brand it is. It's old and still going strong. The 150 grinder is being used now by a lot of us for our bread making even though it won't do a really really fine grind. If there's time to run it through "the flat blade" then I'll do it but this bunch does like the "rough breads" now. Guess it's just what you are used to.

It seems like the blender thingy called the Bullet also has a flat blade for making flour, baby cereals and such. I see those on ebay all the time -- new, they are pricey. When I looked at one, it didn't look like it would hold much and you'd have to do a lot of batches.

I don't know why on earth flour grinders are so expensive now. When you are trying to make do, the last thing in the world anyone needs is outrageous prices on stuff you really have to have and the people making those things really ought to know better. In fact, they ought to be ashamed.

I've even thought about contacting a vendor in El Paso right on the Mexico border to see if he could supply some inexpensive flour grinders with stone grinding disks. Just haven't done it yet. (By inexpensive, I mean $20 or $30 for one grinder). Will let you know. Now that I think about it, it seems like India also has hand cranked flour grinders with stone grinding disks. I'll ask.

Someone has them. We just need to find them. We are a multi-cultural City here where I live and I'll touch base with everyone -- try to next week. I'm down with the count right now from dental surg and having to stay in or I'd do it tomorrow.

CountryBertha

04-18-2011, 07:07 PM

Ok folks, I just sent off an email to that fellow in El Paso Texas on the Mexican border to see if he can get us #150 cast iron hand grinders with the large hopper and stone grinders so we can grind flour -- and I told him we really needed to keep the price down (mentioning to him that the #150 I have with metal plates only cost less than $20).

I suggested pricing between no more than $30 and $50, or less, if he can get them. (That to me is still a lot of money for a cast iron grinder).

Will let you all know the minute I hear from him.

Granny

Equilibrium

04-19-2011, 06:03 AM

"You can use the 150 hand grinder" What brand is that 150 please? I'm searching my brains out and I'm getting too many hits.
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"I don't know why on earth flour grinders are so expensive now." Supply and demand I suppose. And... they aren't showing up used because folk are evidently hanging onto them. I was at an auction a few weeks ago and a red one with a wheel showed up on the block. It went for over $300. I found one similar online and I think the manufacturer might have been Bell... not sure. Doesn't matter.... I dropped out of the bidding at $150 even though it had stone grinders because it was turning into a feeding frenzy.
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"I suggested pricing between no more than $30 and $50, or less, if he can get them. (That to me is still a lot of money for a cast iron grinder)." Great!!! I dunno of $50 is a lot of money for a cast iron grinder with stone grinders though.... I'd be thinking $100 would be a fair price based on what I'm finding online. I dunno though... I'm just thankful you might find something waaaaaaaay less than $220 for that Junior Hand Mill Deluxe I'm leaning toward.

Cavediver

04-19-2011, 05:58 PM

I think I've narrowed my search down to two grain mills.
Wonder Junior Hand Mill Deluxe
http://www.homegrownharvest.com/wondermill-junior-grain-mill-deluxe.html
Family Grain Mill, Hand Base with Grain Mill & Flaker
http://www.internet-grocer.net/family.htm

Hello Equilibrium.
I have a the Family Grain Mill and Flaker combo. I think I've had it for about two years and have been using it a couple of times per week for the last year. I grind enough wheat to make bread for my wife and I; about 3-4 cups per week. I'd guess I've run about 50lbs through it so far. I also flake oats for granola and cereal once every two weeks, usually 2-3 cups at a time.

I bought it as a trial mill. I wanted a manual mill for the usual reasons, and I wanted to stay inexpensive to make sure I wasn't blowing a bunch of money and not using the grinder. The $200 for the FGM wasn't exactly cheap, but it seemed to be a good price for a medium weight / quality grinder. I also liked the ability to change the unit into a food prep tool if I buy the cutter heads.

FWIW, I didn't buy a corona or one of the cheaper mills because research indicated that they wouldn't grind fine enough flour or bread making.

So far I'm happy enough that I haven't felt the need to upgrade. I did, however, hook it to a gear motor. Grinding by hand is for the birds :D

Equilibrium

04-20-2011, 06:37 AM

The Family Grain Mill was one of the two I'd narrowed it down to so it's good to know someone out there in cyberland whose not selling grain mills and who didn't get one for free in exchange for writing a favorable review at their personal website or blog is telling me it's decent!!! I read a lot of reviews online but I started tracking back the folk raving about them in forums and... it became kinda obvious which ones were doing it for "brownie" points to score their next free product from a manufacturer. I guess it's become a racket out there writing reviews and steering folk and it gets real hard knowing whose legit and who isn't sometimes so THANK YOU for being legit! I really needed to know which ones were capable of grinding to a flour fineness although.... your comment that you had to hook it to a gear motor didn't thrill me. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. I suspect unless I buy electric.... which I don't want.... I'll be building muscles using a crank handle no matter whether I buy the FGM, the WJHMD, or whatever CountryBertha's guy comes up with. I found legitimate folk commenting about grinding by hand with the WJHMD being for the birds too complete with people asking for a re-design of the handle so those two are now neck and neck again.

Cavediver

04-20-2011, 08:44 AM

your comment that you had to hook it to a gear motor didn't thrill me. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. I suspect unless I buy electric.... which I don't want.... I'll be building muscles using a crank handle no matter whether I buy the FGM, the WJHMD, or whatever CountryBertha's guy comes up with. I found legitimate folk commenting about grinding by hand with the WJHMD being for the birds too complete with people asking for a re-design of the handle so those two are now neck and neck again.

Just to be clear, the motor wasn't a must have. The grinder is relatively easy to crank by hand; it just got old quick... It doesn't take much muscle, but you will need endurance ;)

I have the grinder mounted to a kitchen cart in my basement. I also have the beginnings of a wood shop in my basement. I found that I would rather spend the 10 minutes cleaning up the shop instead of grinding, so I pulled some stuff out of my unknown projects box to make it work with a motor I bought off of Ebay. I like tinkering and mechanical stuff, so it this project was for fun as much as anything else :D

When researching the mill, I had trouble finding honest reviews from folks that weren't selling it. One member of another forum had one, and she really likes it. She's been using it for several years with no complaints. The fact that she really knows what she's doing in the kitchen helped sway my opinion.

In any case, I like the mill and I'm glad I bought it. I will say, however, that if it breaks down and can't be repaired on the cheap, I will buy a Country Living mill or something else that's on par with it. Not that I think it's going to break, it's just that I like the heavy-duty construction of the CLM.

Good luck, and happy grinding.

PS: The FGM does not work well for corn or hard beans. If those are things you want to grind, I'd suggest upgrading to a better grinder or getting a Corona style mill in addition to the FGM. Since I have no interest in corn or bean flour, the Corona will work well enough to grind corn meal (assuming I get around to buying one :rolleyes:).

CountryBertha

04-20-2011, 09:14 PM

Have just a moment here to respond to your questions -- The 150 cast iron hand grinder -- the "150" denotes the size of the grinder. It's a big upright grinder that screw clamps to your table. It has a huge hopper on top for your grains, beans or whatever you want to grind. It has adjustable metal plates.

If you have ever seen Masa or either Corn Flour that is used to make tortillas, that is the grind of flour this will grind your wheat, corn or whatever into flour. It's not a real finely ground cake flour, just a little thicker and heavier actually. It can be adjusted, however, to cracking and even doing the cream of wheat type of grind for wheat. These metal plates don't have to be changed out when you grind oily things like nuts. Just wash them off. This grinder is not a meat grinder.

For those times when you really really want a really fine grind flour, just put the flour you ground in your blender.

I use the flour straight from the grinder for everything I bake. This grinder also has a plate cover over the grinding plates so stuff doesn't go flying everywhere when you are grinding. As I said it's adjustable and you can grind your coffee beans, all your flours, nuts and do your cereals too. It's the heaviest grinder I have, and the price was great. Got mine new off ebay for right at or less than $20.

I'll try to find you a link in the next couple of days (I'm still playing the role of Patient right now) and hopefully I will hear from the guy on the border soon about the grinders with stone grinders. These hand grinders are very popular in Mexico. One of my girls also decided to get one like mine and she just loves it because it will do so much. She paid something like $75 in Houston for hers. Me, I'm a bargain hunter.

Will catch you in a few days with some links. Wish I had a way to take pics of mine and the flour it will do.

Equilibrium

04-21-2011, 02:16 AM

Cavediver> "The grinder is relatively easy to crank by hand; it just got old quick..." Well.... me and that grinder have something in common... ;) Can I have a link to a Corona for corn and hard beans please? On an aside.... have you ever gone spelunking?
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CountryBertha> we use fine flour. I can live without fine flour.... can't live without a way to grind my wheat and corn. When you're feeling better, would you pull out your heaviest grinder.... the one you got from eBay for like $20 and tell me exactly what it is please. Any links you come up with when you're feeling better will be great too and any info you get from the guy at the border. Not having a decent grinder has been eating away at me for a few months.

Cavediver

04-21-2011, 01:10 PM

Cavediver> "The grinder is relatively easy to crank by hand; it just got old quick..." Well.... me and that grinder have something in common... ;) Can I have a link to a Corona for corn and hard beans please? On an aside.... have you ever gone spelunking?

LMAO!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Corona-Landers-121-Grain-Grinder-Flour-Mill-L-K-NR-/140536953826?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b8a7bbe2

I think CountryBertha and I are talking about the same type of mill. It's a cast-iron frame with adjustable grinding plates. Not the finest grind in the world, but great for corn meal!

My wife and I scuba dive in caves from time to time. We haven't been in the water for quite a while, but we're hoping to get back in next year. No dry spelunking for us though.

Equilibrium

04-25-2011, 05:40 AM

Corona Landers 121 Grain Grinder Flour Mill, that's what I needed to know. Thanks for narrowing down a search for me. Is that a good price if I add in the shipping?
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Caving.... I totally loved and.... were it not for the risks posed to our bats spreading that fungus around.... I'd still be going for it. Our boys loved "dry" caving too. We miss it. Spelunking.... not for me. I did it and got visions of becoming a human plug. No way was I getting stuck trying to ram my flesh through some hole where only cave crickets should be going especially with no vegetable oil on hand to get me "unstuck" so.... I backed out the moment it started looking like the going was gonna get tough and..... I can tell you the folk behind me weren't pleased. They tried to talk me into making it to the next chamber so they didn't have to back out. No way was I doing that.... I wanted out right then and there!!! Can we say panic attack in unison? Forget spelunking.... I'm too old for that crap.
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Same thing with scuba diving.... I'll go for it as long as the water has good visibility and.... the passage is large enough for a tuna to get through without scraping so much as one scale. Me thinks me needs to leave "wet" spelunking up to folk like you and your wife. I'm perfectly happy cruising around in open water observing reef activity. ;)

Cavediver

04-26-2011, 07:33 PM

I'm perfectly happy cruising around in open water observing reef activity. ;)

That works too!

Re: the mill
I don't really know if it is / was a good price. I just yanked one off of eba for a sample. I think they usually sell for $20+, plus shipping. Dunno if it's cheaper to find one locally or not. since I've got an operating grinder for wheat and such, and since I have no corn in storage, I haven't been watching and waiting for a good price. One day, but not just yet.

BWHLover

04-27-2011, 08:31 AM

Consider watching ebay, these are not wheat or grain mills, however they will do the job and some of them have lasted over 100 years so they should last another 100 years with the proper care.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230613069036

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&_rdc=1&item=120716950425&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2Fi.html%3F_nkw %3D120716950425%26_sacat%3D0%26_odkw%3DENTERPRISE% 2BNo.%2B1%2BCOFFEE%2BMILL%2BGRINDER%2B-%2BPARTS%2B-%2BPROJ%2B%2528120716950425%2529%26_osacat%3D0%26_ trksid%3Dp3286.c0.m270.l1313%26_fvi%3D1&si=HMhqS99rYupuVHZlgH1u2xinQhc%253D&viewitem=

CountryBertha

04-28-2011, 06:59 PM

Hello everyone, I have just a little time and did a search on eBay and this link shows the grain grinder I have. It's the 150, it has the big hopper on the top and it has adjustable plates. This one is a little more than what I paid for mine, but it's still very inexpensive.

If you've ever seen corn flour, that's what it will grind down to. What I do around here is first do a loose grind with the plates not adjusted tight. Then I put that through the hopper and tighten the plates for the next grind, and keep tightening the plates each time you grind until you get the grind you want.

Use your blender to get your flour fine -- but we like what comes out of the 150 grinder.

This little baby is a heck of a grinder. You can do your cracked grain, the cream of wheat and all your grains and beans/peas, even the oil producing ones. Just wash the plates off, dry them and put them back on.

Here's the link to Google:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270609808365&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Mine is a big grinder and as far as I can tell, the one in this link is the one I have. Mine isn't a Corona but the Corona is probably near the same.

I have contacted some folks who buy stuff in Mexico to see if they can get the grinders with the grinding stones. As well I did find something on the internet and lost it when I didn't write the link down. (Too much goin on around here).

Hope this helps. Will try to log on in a few days to see how it went for you.

Bertha

CountryBertha

04-28-2011, 07:10 PM

Folks, I should have added that corn flour and corn meal are not the same. Corn flour is a finer grind than corn meal.

When you go on that link, scroll down the page and read the description. It's also got really good pictures. The pictures don't really show how big that grinder is. Mine is big and it's heavy and the hopper on top of mine is big as well. That thing retails for way way more money than it's selling for on ebay. It's over a $100 grinder for what, less than $40 now? I will keep looking to see if I can still find them for $20 like I paid.

CountryBertha

05-05-2011, 09:07 PM

Hello again, folks. Just this week I got one of the mailers from Emergency Essentials, and they have a hand grinder on sale for $59.99 plus shipping. It doesn't say what brand it is. It's on page 45 of their May Specials 2011 mailer catalog.

You can also google Emergency Essentials. They have a good website.

Equilibrium

05-24-2011, 04:25 AM

Ok folks, I just sent off an email to that fellow in El Paso Texas on the Mexican border to see if he can get us #150 cast iron hand grinders with the large hopper and stone grinders so we can grind flour -- and I told him we really needed to keep the price down (mentioning to him that the #150 I have with metal plates only cost less than $20)....Have you gotten a response from him even if he can't offer a grinder for $20?

karlamaria

05-24-2011, 09:10 AM

WonderMill Junior Deluxe this is the one we will be getting soon, ( Im saving up LOL ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9QGuTH2CNU&feature=related

CountryBertha

05-24-2011, 03:00 PM

Yes I did. He won't step foot in Mexico right now. He said he'd make some contacts in Mexico but apparently all the violence is keeping people at bay.

What a shame.

Equilibrium

05-25-2011, 08:33 AM

Well..... I've got something. I don't know what it is but I think it's a "keeper". Just as soon as I can.... I'll post a little photo of it and y'all can tell me what I've got and how to repair it. I'm totally excited.... you know how you just feel it in your bones that you "lucked out" but don't know to what extent? Well, that's how I'm feeling right now. I know I've got something that's really useful but.... I don't know exactly what it is other than that it's an old time grinder of some sort.

Equilibrium

05-27-2011, 11:12 AM

This is a close-up of my "treasure".

Equilibrium

05-27-2011, 11:16 AM

I still don't exactly know what I've got here other than it looks to be a corn grinder so I figured it was worth the $35 to remove the rust and took it in. Here's a better photo of it resting on a chair at the sand blasting shop.
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Any suggestions of what to do after I pick it up would be greatly appreciated. I presume I'll need to spray it with something to stop it from rusting again. I asked about having it powder coated but the shop said they didn't want their guys powder coating something that had gears.

grumble

05-27-2011, 11:34 AM

The coating should be pretty easy to do yourself, if you're interested. Here are a couple options:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=41610/Product/GUN_KOTE_trade__OVEN_CURE__GUN_FINISH

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=24784/Product/LIQUID_TEFLON_MOLY_GUN_FINISH

If you're interested in doing a bit more, you can also clean every speck of imbedded rust missed by the sandblasting off the surface by electrolysis. All you need is a DC power source like a battery charger or even a large "wall wart" power supply, along with a tub of washing soda solution. After you clean the grinder like that, almost any durable finish will stick to the iron.

Equilibrium

05-27-2011, 10:29 PM

First thing I found when I looked up the product was this,"Gunkote will not rust and is 100% non-reactive to sweat, salt water, common acids, etc. It will burnish to a perfect fit which means it's fine for internals. It's heat rating is extremely high so it's safe for barrels that get smokin' hot. It's the perfect finish as far as I'm concerned but it does require forced heat curing. That can make it user un-freindly.

The biggest problem with some spray on finishes is that the sales person makes it seem so easy. "Just degrease, spray on our finish and let it cure for a month. And, if you order now, we'll double....etc." The most important part of any finish is the surface preparation. Appearance and durabilty are only as good as the initial surface prep.", http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329707.
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It's the "perfect" finish. I read that and didn't bother looking for more information so thank you thank you thank you for recommending it. I'd never heard of that product before. I'm pretty sure I can fit the grinder in my oven once I take the board off the bottom of it. No problem there. I'm sure my husband has what ever we'd need to remove any specs of remaining rust since he does it for car parts. I do have a coupla questions though. Do you think 1 can would be enough or should I order 2 out the gate to avoid getting hit with double shipping charges? Do you think the temps of a regular non-commercial kitchen oven would suffice for forced heat curing and since the paint only comes in a black do you think I could spritz it after I cooked it with a gloss black paint product like what Rustoleum sells?

grumble

05-28-2011, 05:40 AM

One can will be enough for what you want to do with the grinder. But, if you're like I am, as soon as you do one thing, you'll think of three other things to use it for. So, short answer, if it were me, I'd order two cans.

To get other paints to stick to the coating, you'll probably have to buff it with very fine sandpaper or steel wool. Once you get the coating on, though, if you have an artistic bent, you can paint little swirls and designs on it with regular hobby enamel and a fine brush.

Your household oven will be perfect for baking the finish. Just do it when you can open a window to exhaust the fumes. They aren't bad, but if the guys smell it when they come in for supper, they'll have a hankering to talk about guns all night.

Equilibrium

05-28-2011, 06:18 AM

Ugh, "So, short answer, if it were me, I'd order two cans." Money is so tight for us right now but.... will do. Will I need to use a primer before using the Gunkote? I have steel wool for sure here and we keep a box of sandpaper organized by type. Thanks for letting me know I'll be able to have the glossy finish I'd like. It's finished. I can pick it up today but.... it's raining again so the humidity's through the ceiling. I think I'm going to wait to pick it up because they "touch it up" before we take it home.... I want to coordinate this for when I've got the cans in hand and there's a stretch of at least a few warm sunny days so my husband can have at it before I have at it.

grumble

05-28-2011, 06:32 AM

Nope, no primer. Actually, the coating has to make contact with bare metal. Use some volatile solvent like alcohol or lacquer thinner to make sure all the oil and dust are removed, especially fingerprints. Just follow the directions. For me, that's easier said then done. My way of doing things is to read the directions AFTER I do something to find out what I did wrong.

When I blue guns, I wear some cheap rubber gloves like those used for women to wash dishes and keep their fingernails pretty. They're insulated, so handling the hot metal isn't quite as painful. <G>

Equilibrium

05-28-2011, 07:46 AM

"Nope, no primer." Gotcha, thank you.
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"Use some volatile solvent like alcohol or lacquer thinner" I hadn't thought of that.... thanks for giving me the heads up.
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Anymore pearls of wisdom you can toss my way on this rainy day since I'm stuck inside.... again?

grumble

05-28-2011, 07:56 AM

SURE! One pearl to cover all situations -- if it ain't fun, don't do it! Sometimes it's a struggle to make cleaning the stove fun, but it works. <G>

Equilibrium

05-28-2011, 08:11 AM

Your posts definitely crack me up sometimes.... I'm sitting here deciding whether or not I want to tackle scrubbing the grout in the kitchen or not and the mere thought of finding a way to make it so much "fun" that somebody else around here would want to steal away the task from me is reducing me to grins and giggles.

cubcadet

05-30-2011, 11:35 AM

I wonder if you can get it painted with the enamel that woodstoves and pots and pans have, in an economical fashion. I do know that marine paints sometimes have similar qualities. They don`t require that you bake them on either. The inner workings shouldn`t be coated with anything that can come off in the grinding process. Maybe you can season the iron with oil, similar to seasoning skillets. This will prolly require lots of heat to bake it on. Maybe you can get real friendly with a pottery maker, lots of colleges have adult courses in ceramics. Maybe you can try glazing the whole outside that way. I read that Coca Cola removes rust pretty good.

Equilibrium

06-02-2011, 05:46 AM

We bought a used Vermont Castings Defiant wood stove so I know the high heat spray paint you're talking about... folk use it on barbecues and such. We took the stove down to pieces then sprayed it and put it back together using furnace cement. That paint worked so good our wood stove looks like it's brand new and.... we didn't have to bake any of the pieces in my stove. At this point though... we're dedicated... we ordered 2 cans of the Gunkote and I went and picked up a can of hi-gloss black Rustoleum to spray over the top of the Gunkote. I don't have the grinder in front of me... haven't picked it up yet.... but I'm wondering if maybe I could take it apart somehow after I get it back to get at the grinder. I like your idea of "seasoning" it.... I won't be able to spray those I don't think.

karlamaria

06-12-2011, 11:18 AM

broke down and got the wonder mill junior deluxe. the kids are excited to grind the wheat, lets hope its so when we grind 300 pounds of wheat LOL

Equilibrium

06-13-2011, 08:55 AM

KM> Ah’m sooooo glad you bought that model. Now you can be the experimental guinea pig and tell me if it grinds easily enough and to a flour. Oh happy dance….. somebody else bought one so I’m gonna get an unbiased review of how it really works!!! Yaaaay!!!!!

Equilibrium

06-17-2011, 05:56 AM

grumble> I got the grinder back… I can see what it is whoo hooo!!! It’s a Wilson Bros Feed Mill No. 0 corn grinder. I’d been hoping it was a No. 3 but I’m still happy with my treasure. My husband thought the GunKote was the best choice so we’re running with it. He wants to know what you think of a product he uses called POR-15. He is gonna get rid of all the spot rust left behind as you suggested by electrolysis but we’re undecided on whether to run with your way to get rid of it from the inner grinding wheel or to run with the POR-15. I’m out of photo storage in the forums but I've never used any in private messages so I'll take some photos of where the residual rust is for you to look at and get them to you that way early next week. You'll be able to see what the problem is with the grinding wheel and why I don’t know which way to go as far as removing the residual rust from it.

grumble

06-17-2011, 06:28 AM

I'd never heard of POR-15. I just googled it, and it looks like pretty good stuff!

My knowledge of coatings and coverings is based on guns I've renovated, ones that were often neglected for many years. Rusty and fouled gun barrels can be restored with the washing soda electrolysis trick and a bit of fine lapping compound. NCLee discusses the electrolysis in several threads about restoring cast iron cookware, so I know it is a viable way to remove rust from almost anything metal. In general, I'd be cautious of using an acid on things that need sharp edges, like gears or gun barrel rifling, because the acid will chew on the sharp edges, rounding them off, and damaging close tolerances. Electrolysis won't do that, and it is also possible to check the progress often and cheaply, and you can vary the speed the solution is working by simply using more or less voltage on the electrodes.

But new things are always worth trying! Perhaps you could find a rusty old piece of iron (old horseshoe, bar link from a farm implement, whatever) to experiment with? Try both before committing your treasure to an unknown process, all you have to lose is time and a few bucks for the POR-15. As any farmer can tell you, you can never waste money on having too much rust treatment on hand!

Equilibrium

06-17-2011, 07:09 AM

"In general, I'd be cautious of using an acid on things that need sharp edges, like gears or gun barrel rifling, because the acid will chew on the sharp edges, rounding them off, and damaging close tolerances. Electrolysis won't do that"
That answers that question. I know my husband knows how to do the electrolysis but... I don't and... I need to learn. What forum are NCLee's threads on how to do that in please?
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"The inner workings shouldn`t be coated with anything that can come off in the grinding process. Maybe you can season the iron with oil, similar to seasoning skillets." I'll get the residual rust off the "inner workings" but.... what do I do to stop them from rusting again? Sand blasting them every time they rust will eat away at them like the POR-15 would and I can't spray them with the GunKote and I can't get at them to season them with an oil. Even if I could get at them to season them, I'm wondering if using an oil that could go rancid would be the best route to take since I'd be grinding corn with this grinder.

grumble

06-17-2011, 08:28 AM

Just remember your chem 101 lab! Keep the voltage below 12VDC, positive terminal to the sacrificial electrode (just an old piece of wire, metal plate, anything you don't want to recover), negative to the piece to be cleaned. Make a solution of washing soda that's fairly weak, say 2-4 Tbls soda to a gallon of water, distilled water if you want to be fancy. You should start to see bubbles in just a few minutes. The bubbles will be strongest closest to where the wire connects to the piece. You can control the action with strength of the electrolyte, voltage, distance from the cathode to the anode, and where you connect the anode lead.

I hesitate to say the following, someone is sure to show why I'm wrong, but here goes anyway. IF IT WERE ME, I'd coat the gears with powdered moly (molybdenum disulphide). That's what I do with gun parts. I use the vibrator for cleaning brass, but anything that will rotate or vibrate will work. I put 1/2 tsp of moly powder in with a bunch of regular BB gun BBs, turn on the vibrator and come back in a day or two. The moly will absorb right into the top two molecules of the part I'm treating, and has a nice (I think) dark grey color. The part is then permanately treated with a really good dry lubricant, and the only way to get it off is with an abrasive to take off those two molecules of material near the surface. Wipe the dry part with a dry paper towel, and you're good to go. The softer the metal being coated, the better this works. Really hard material, like a trigger sear or hammer face won't take the moly, but I doubt your grinder guts will be that hard.

The moly won't be 100% effective to prevent rust, but it will inhibit rust because it takes up the same interstitial space that moisture would when rust begins. If you do this, you will never be able to paint those parts, the paint won't stick to the slippery surface.

Don't try to take a shortcut by using spray on moly that you can get at a parts store. It won't absorb into the metal's surface, it will just make a surface coat, not much different from paint.

Now everyone can tell us why you shouldn't do this. <GGG>

backlash

06-17-2011, 09:43 AM

http://salem.reachoo.com/ads/141741026

Looks like it might be a good buy.
Search for grain mill craigslist and you might find more.

Equilibrium

06-20-2011, 06:52 AM

grumble> I try to forget those classes... especially the organic chemistry classes.... ;) I'll run your suggestion by my husband.... he's the one into getting rid of rust around here and I'm thinking your brainchild is gonna put a big fat smile on his face.... I can just see the gears churning in his head now as he envisions using it on his car parts.
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backlash> that's an EXCELLENT price for that grinder which is high quality German made and can handle oily seeds. I was looking at the Weston poppy seed grinder and decided against it because it's too cheaply made these days for the long haul and.... it's not all that effective at doing its job. Thanks for pointing that one out to me!!!

NCLee

06-25-2011, 01:17 AM

That answers that question. I know my husband knows how to do the electrolysis but... I don't and... I need to learn. What forum are NCLee's threads on how to do that in please?

Somewhere in the threads I've written up a fairly detailed how-to. Try searching using the keyword electrolysis and my user name.

Or

You can go to the place where I learned how to setup an electrolysis system and how to season castiron properly. There's a lot of bad info on the net. I know, I tried some of it before coming across this site. These folks are the pros - the experts on anything relating to castiron cookware. The processes they use can be applied to other castiron, as well. For example, I've used the same setup to restore a castiron wood cookstove and more.

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl

Scroll down to the section on cleaning castiron. And, at the top of the page theres a direct link to several write ups on cleaning methods.

And, a tip that may not be readily apparent. If you have a propane grill, use that for seasoning castiron pieces. Done properly, seasoning castiron will generate smoke. It's better to keep that smoke outside, if possible.

BTW, a little light rust on the inside of your mill isn't an issue. As mentioned earlier in this thread, you can run something through the mill to remove most of it. While I haven't used hard bread (dry in the oven to harden) I have used rice to "clean" other grinders. You don't have to get it spotless, unless you have a limitation to how much iron you can have in your diet. Why take iron pills when you can naturally incorporate it in your diet by using castiron cookware and kitchen equipment? :wink: You just don't want enough iron (rust) left to affect the flavor.

Hope this helps, a bit. Good luck in your quest.

Lee

Equilibrium

06-27-2011, 06:43 AM

I'm going with the Wonder Junior Deluxe.... my husband told me to stop being so cheap and just order it since I've got a lot of corn in the ground that we're gonna have to deal with sooner or later. He said he's tired of listening to me whine about the price and even more tired of me whining about the price that grinders capable of producing flour are going for at auctions. I guess I've got time to hold off ordering it for a month or so. I'm still hoping with the economy being so bad and all that one will show up used on Craigslist but after that.... I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and order a new one.
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NCLee> Neat site. Thank you. I'll poke around in there real soon since I just picked up a new 8 qt Lodge cast iron Dutch oven.