Setting the Bedstone
It's critical that the bedstone and runner stone be square with each other. Otherwise
the mill will just crack the corn rather than produce fine cornmeal. I struggled trying to
figure out a way to insure that the stones would be square. I found Gerald Johnson from a link
on Ken Christison's Williams mill page. Reading his story I found that he had rebuilt a mill
and ran into the same problem that I was trying to avoid. So I sent him an email. His solution
was brilliantly simple.
I finally got to the point that I was ready to set the bed stone. Following Gerald's directions,
here's how I did it. I set the mill vertically on the floor of my shop. I put the runner stone
in place vertically in the mill and adjusted it to the place where I had previously measured that
the two stone should meet. This was approximately a quarter of an inch inside the runner stone
enclosure. I took a piece of 1/4" plywood and cut a 12"+ circle out of the middle of it,
just big enough for the bed stone to slip thru. I then covered the runner stone with waxed
paper so that no cement would stick to it. I placed the bed stone squarely on top of the runner
stone. I then slid the 1/4" plywood over the bed stone, flush with the mill enclosure. I tacked
the plywood to the enclosure half so that it wouldn't move. Everything was now square.
Next, I squarely clamped the bed stone half of the enclosure in place. I cut a spacer where
the spout will be and clamped it in place. I used a plastic funnel as a form around the hole
in the center of the stone. It was time to pour. I mixed up some Easy-Crete mortar mix to a fairly
thick consistancy and poured it around the stone, flush with the top of the enclosure.
I let the mortar set up for four days. Though the mortar was hard, it was extremely brittle. I
could easily take a flathead screwdriver and bore a hole into it. It would just crumble. Now, maybe
that's the way mortar is supposed to do, but I was afraid if the stone vibrated even a little, the
mortar would crumble around it. I knew it would be easier to fix the problem now than fix it later.
So, I chipped away all of the mortar and removed the stone from the enclosure.
I called a friend who had experience rebuilding mills. He told me just to use high strength concrete.
So I went to the lumber yard and bought a bag. I got the bedstone all set up and ready to re-pour.
This time though, I decided to mix up a small portion of the concrete just to see how is cured.
I let it harden for a couple days. Satisfied with the results, I went ahead mixed the concrete
and poured it around the stone. I let it cure for several days. I then set the mill back horizontal
on the floor of my shop and disassembled it. I removed the plywood form and bolted the two halves
together. I set the runner stone flush with the bedstone and gave it a few turns. Sounded good.
Pictures can be found on page 3 off the main page.
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