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About The GrainMaker
GrainMaker® mills are made by Bitterroot Tool & Machine, a custom machine shop in Stevensville, Montana. Our team has more than seventy five years of experience working with metal. We routinely manufacture parts for a custom gun manufacturer, dies used in the aerospace industry, fine tools used by woodworkers and log home builders and other precision machining.
We built the first grain mill for our own use in February of 1999 when we didn't want to wait months to have one delivered from another source. (Y2K was in full swing!) Friends and neighbors soon wanted one in their kitchen; the machine was also well received at shows. After a few modifications, the GrainMaker mill was born.
Owner Randy Jones' passion for solving problems, commitment to precision workmanship and strong faith is evident in everything he does.
Making Our Mills
GrainMaker® mills are hand-crafted; formed, not cast, in our Montana machine shop. Our mill is a quality machine, made to deliver years of trouble free service, not a toy.
Every part of the mill including the body, handle, hopper, stainless steel GrainBreaker auger and high quality alloy grinding burrs are made here on-site, so we know we can guarantee the quality. Many of the GrainMaker's parts are machined from solid material, including the dust cover, adjustment knob, main shaft and GrainBreaker auger.
Our GrainMaker® flour mill is made to the same rigid standards we use when making parts for a custom rifle manufacturer, dies for the aerospace industry and other clients. We're very proud to say that our mills come with a Lifetime Heirloom Guarantee, and that even covers our Burrs!
We use a GrainMaker® flour mill in our own kitchen, so we understand what customers want in a quality mill:
•Large Hopper. We designed our mill with a large hopper that holds six cups of grain - that’s enough flour to make two loaves of bread.
•Dust Guard. Milling flour creates some dust; we added a guard to keep it down.
•Adjustable. The GrainMaker® mill is adjustable, so you control the coarseness or fineness of the finished product with the simple turn of the locking knob - you never have to grind material twice.
•Easy to Use. We designed our mill with a large flywheel and handle extension to increase leverage so the mill is easy to use. With modest effort, you can expect to output from three-quarters of a cup to a cup and a half of flour a minute when grinding by hand. Note: Some grains and legumes are harder to grind than others; experiment with removing the resistance coil auger to make the handle easier to turn.
•Hand or Motor Driven. The GrainMaker® is a quality hand-powered mill. It can also be motor-driven by removing the extension handle, securely bolting the mill to a solid surface and using an appropriate belt. We recommend a 3/4 hp motor with an imput speed of 1100 RPM's. You will want to use a 1 1/2" pulley on the motor and this will reduce the RPM's down to 165. You want to keep the RPM's below 200. Our new custom Bodine motor attaches directly to the shaft of our flour grinder!
Every GrainMaker® mill is tested before it is securely packaged to ship. Your mill comes complete and ready to use; the mounting clamp is optional.
Assembly
The GrainMaker® mill is easy to assemble and take apart. Simply turn the adjustment knob counter-clockwise to remove it, remove the front burr, lift off the dust cover and remove it, turn the stationary burr clockwise about 15° to remove, and pull out the stainless steel GrainBreaker auger. That's it! Reverse the order and attach the handle to assemble.
Parts
Cleaning
When using the GrainMaker® mill for dry material, there's no need to clean it after every use. We include a small brush to dislodge any dry remains and the powder coated body is easily wiped clean. After grinding peanuts, flax seed, coffee or other oily material, simply disassemble and hand wash the grinding burrs and auger. We've also found that grinding legumes after peanuts helps absorb some of the peanut oil so the mill is easier to clean.
Download:When hand grinding, the mill must be secured to your counter or work surface by either bolting through the base or using the optional clamp. Motor driven mills must be bolted securely before attaching the appropriate belt - no exceptions!
The hopper holds a full four cups of dry material - see the list of grains below or experiment with your own combinations. Give the handle a few turns to test both the coarseness of the finished product and the amount of resistance you feel. You can correct/adjust the coarseness or fineness of the finished product by loosening or tightening the adjustment knob. To make it easier to grind very small grains, it may be necessary to take out the stainless steel auger and replace it with the coil auger.
Grinding Whole Grains
Always buy the highest quality grains and seeds you can afford; the quality of the finished product is never any better than the raw material you use. Here are some popular choices:
Wheat - Hard red spring wheat has a high protein content, but can make a really dense loaf of bread. Mix with soft white spring wheat for a good all-purpose flour.
Peanut butter - It takes hardly any effort to make your own peanut butter using roasted, salted or unsalted peanuts. No extra oil is necessary. It helps to have a spatula handy! Wash burrs in soapy water when finished.
Corn - Popcorn makes the best cornmeal/flour, because it is very dry and hard.
Rye - Make a beautiful rye flour for bread or crackers.
Rice - Makes a great flour, a good alternative for people with gluten sensitivity.
Coffee - Make any grind for the way you like to brew coffee.
Flax seed - This tiny seed packs a big punch as an anti-oxidant. Crack or grind it easily.
Beans- Ground legumes are awesome! Grind fava beans to make a gluten-free flour substitute. And to utilize all the protein in wheat, add legumes to add lysine. A 4/1 ratio boosts usable wheat proteins by 33%.
Manufacturer Information.
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The GrainMaker's manufacturer!
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