Anybody know how to repair a bent rod on a Barley Crusher grain mill?
Do I contact the supplier (<1 year old) to see about a replacement?
I don’t know what happened, but I presume it bent a little due to my having to hand crank it so hard when I had the mill gap too narrow or when I excessively “malt conditioned” my grains.
I can’t use the power drill anymore–it wobbles too much. I accidentally triggered the rpms too fast yesterday and the whole thing just started leaping around like a possessed cat struggling to escape my grip. No grains were spilled. But I put the hand crank back on and did it old school.
You can straighten the rod but you will need to be able to determine how it’s bent. That can be accomplished by spinning the roller and finding the high spot. This is typically done on vee blocks with an indicator but you can also do it on a very flat table but you will need a way to find the high spot. Once you’ve determined the high spot, you will then need to tap it with a hammer (gingerly) to bring it back into the axis of rotation. Then spin it again to find the high spot and tap with hammer. This can be repeated until the runout of the spindle is in check.
Otherwise…you will need to return it to the supplier for rework and/or replacement.
You can straighten the rod but you will need to be able to determine how it’s bent. That can be accomplished by spinning the roller and finding the high spot. This is typically done on vee blocks with an indicator but you can also do it on a very flat table but you will need a way to find the high spot. Once you’ve determined the high spot, you will then need to tap it with a hammer (gingerly) to bring it back into the axis of rotation. Then spin it again to find the high spot and tap with hammer. This can be repeated until the runout of the spindle is in check.
Otherwise…you will need to return it to the supplier for rework and/or replacement
+1 Also check the bushings on the crank side From what you said 1 or 2 migth be shot.