I wasn't too keen on spending around $250 on a grain mill so I made this from an old Chrysler Borg Warner auto gearbox drive spline and universal gears. Next step is to pretty it up a bit with some paint, so far it works really well and it doesn't get any cheaper than free! (free scraps and leftover car parts anyhow)
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_236557.jpg)
I chose the drive splines because they were made of extremely tough steel and had grooves already cut longitudinally which are perfect for grabbing grain and crushing it.
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_401750.jpg)
I dismantled the universal gears which gave me two crosscut gears, the tooth depth is deep enough that it allows for adjustment I welded a blob on top of the spline then lathed it down to the inner diameter of the gear which then sat snug with a few hits.
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_153958.jpg)
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_212344.jpg)
I filled the cavity with weld and lathed it flat on the end with a countersink (the other end already has one from the factory) for the turned brass pivots to hold it in place and adjust the crush width.
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_250120.jpg)
The body is steel plate, thick enough to tap a good thread into to hold the pins. The splines were buffered and lined up with a few thin washers (which are plentiful in the gearbox). The brass bolts were tapered to match the countersunk holes and a nut is on each to prevent them from tightening and jamming in use.
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_235793.jpg)
While I was at it I welded a hopper to the top and burnished it flat covering the sharp edges with a protective auto strip from 'rare-spares'. The handle is just there while I was testing but the shaft has two nuts to put the chuck of a drill over.
** in practice: The mill works great and there is no give in the set width so that everything that goes through it is properly crushed and I have not needed to run it through twice.
The hopper bottom feed could be wider to let the grain fall freer.
![](http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/uploads/albums/gallery/album_941/gallery_20465_941_154178.jpg)