mxman123 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I'm looking for grinding small batches of charcoal and was curious if anyone has used a grain grinder. Looks like numerous are using meat grinders, but it looks like a grain grinder such as below would allow further adjustment of the particle size. I can buy either at my local Grizzly tools warehouse for about the same price. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Cast-Iron-Corn-Grain-Mill/H7775 or http://www.grizzly.com/products/Stainless-Steel-Meat-Grinder-8/H6249 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooddude Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I use a grain grinder from nothern tool it looks just like the one from grizzly. It works great on charcoal and black powder pucks. The adjustable plates allow me to go from about 10 mesh too 120+. It's not very consistent so you need to screen but I think it works great. Grinding charcoal creates a cloud of dust, so you need to do it outside, and you will need at least a mask. I use a respirator.Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) I have an old sausage maker like the little attached picture. I bought it at a garage sale for $10 and it makes it airfloat but it really is a lot of mess. I don't care about the mess really but you wind up looking like an old time coal miner after an afternoon of grinding charcoal with it. It works for my sized situation though. You can find them now and then in thrift shops too. edit: the body of mine seems like Al but the plates and such that do the grinding are all steel for sure. If you know a deer hunter that used to butcher his own meat, I would bet he has one he would let go cheap too. I wear a full face respirator mask when I grind. You don't want a lot of charcoal dust in your lungs as it is not good for your health at all. I also have dedicated jumpsuit I bought off of eBay I wear so I don't have to worry about washing them out. I just hose them down now and then. It will ruin you washer and the clothes so I would be sure to keep this in mind should you be married (which I am not). Edited February 18, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allrocketspsl Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 use the grain grinder mate it is all set up for what you need.Let me know I might buy one.Garbage desposal is great also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxman123 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) Thanks! I bought it [the grain mill] today and will give it a try tomorrow. I'll let you know how it works! It has to be better (and cleaner) than hand grinding over screens... Edited February 18, 2012 by mxman123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) I checked mine, it is all iron, a magnet sticks to it all over the place so the Aluminum thought was false. So you were just crushing yours by hand before or working it through a screen?? I am sure you will be a lot happier now. I actually don't use my grinder very often at all anymore, I just bust it up with a hammer into small chunks and put it into my ball mill like that and I get Airfloat in a few hours. No muss, no fuss and I can use the same jar I use to make BP without needing to clean it out first. Makes it a lot easier for me at least. I am using black willow and balsa in case you wondered. Of course the balsa mills in no time but the willow can take a few hours to make into airfloat. It is much easier and cleaner than the whole hand grinding for sure. I only to it that way now if I want to make a bunch of it so I can put it away for the future in tubs. This only seems to happen for me these days in the last few days of Fall. Edited February 18, 2012 by warthog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Watch your local craigslist for a big old heavy bench size GRIST MIL (largecorn, grain grinder)The old cast iron ones are great for grinding small batchs of charcoal down to ball mill feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxman123 Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 @Oldguy - THAT IS COOL! I gave mine a try today and it works pretty good. The fit & finish is what you would expect of a $35 mill. It chews through chunks and actually isn't all that messy (compared to hand grinding through screens). It grinds it down to about 10-100 mesh. I put about 5 lbs of lumps (about walnut size down to grape size) through it in about 30 minutes. Stuck about a quart in my ball mill (Thumler Model B High Speed with ceramic cylinder media) to see how long it takes to make it to airfloat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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