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Milling
For the actual grinding of flour three main adjustments have to be watched carefully. Adjusting any one of these affects the other two. Optimum performance is always a compromise and depends on the skill of the miller. All three can be adjusted from the ground floor.
These adjustments are:
1) The flow of water set by means of the sluice gates. This controls the rotation rate of the waterwheel. Optimum is about 10 revolutions per minute.
2) The clearance of the rotating mill stone over the fixed stone set by raising or lowering the bottom shaft bearing with the bridge tree (bt) using a screw. The closer the stones the finer the flour.
3) The rate of feeding the grain into the mill stones. This is set by raising or lowering the shaker shoe under the hopper. The slower the feed the finer the flour.
The finer the flour the more power will be needed to turn the waterwheel, the slower is the milling, the greater is the wear on the stones.
The coarser the flour and the faster the mill turns, the more grain is ground. If the grain stops flowing for any reason the mill stones will grind against each other, get overheated, worn and probably damaged. |
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Dressing the Stones
Every 50 to 100 tonnes of grain, the mill stones have to be dressed. In use the faces of the stones become polished and the grooves for pulling-in the grain become too shallow. Dressing involves roughening the surfaces of the mill stones and re-cutting the grooves. Dressing the stones is a highly skilled job as the working surfaces of the stones have to remain perfectly flat. To do this the hopper and the circular box around the stones (which keeps the flour from spreading and directs it to the bagging area on the ground floor below) are removed.
The top stone is lifted and turned over. Once both stones are dressed, the lower stone is re-levelled if necessary. The bearing for shaft, in the centre of this stone, is cleaned, re-packed and re-lubricated. All the other shafts are checked for alignment and all bearings are lubricated. The top stone is now lifted, turned over and carefully replaced and the box and hopper are put back in position over the stones. After testing, milling can start again. |
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The Mill Workings
Educate yourself on the inner workings of the mill.
[Click here] |
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History of the mill
Educate yourself on the inner workings of the mill.
[Click here] |
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